Summer is a wonderful season to spend time outdoors. Although kids enjoy playing games and running around on a bright summer afternoon, they also love to engage in activities that are creative and fun. One such activity that never fails to make kids happy is bubble painting! If you don’t already know, bubble painting is an artwork one creates by taking bubble imprints on paper. And how do you do that? The next section covers it all!
Cute bubble painting idea for budding artists
Materials required:
- White sheets of paper
- Dishwashing liquid or hand soap
- Acrylic paints or watercolors
- Cloth rags or paper towel
- Paper cups
- Paintbrushes
- Pencil
- Straw
- Water
Instructions:
Before you start making your bubble painting, gather all the supplies mentioned in the list. Keep cloth rags or paper towels handy to clean up the mess (yes, this is a messy but fun activity!).
Pour or pump out a small quantity of dishwashing liquid or hand soap into a cup. Then add some water and mix well.
Add color to the soap and water solution you just prepared. Here we have prepared one soapy water cup with deep blue color. You can prepare more cups depending on how many colors you want to use for your painting.
Acrylic paints and watercolors work well. You can also try using tempera paints for this activity. For darker and brighter results on paper, add a substantial amount of paint to the solution. For subtle paintings, a small amount of color will do.
Now comes the fun part! Place a straw in the cup of your choice and start blowing air through it. You will notice beautiful and color-filled bubbles forming in the cup.
Don’t know how to do this yet? Get yourself a glass of plain water and try blowing bubbles in it. The key here is to not pull the liquid upward, but instead push air down the straw. This air, when it escapes from the liquid, forms bubbles. Interesting, isn’t it?
Try this for some time until you get the hang of it, and then switch to blowing bubbles in the color-filled cup.
Before you start painting, experiment on an extra sheet of paper and adjust the color output as per your liking.
Once you’re done, start the actual painting process by blowing bubbles in the cup. Pick the white paper and place it on top of the bubbles. Turn the paper around to see a beautiful bubble imprint!
Be swift during the process because bubbles tend to pop real quick. Don’t worry if you don’t get it right the first time; keep practicing. You will get there!
Make sure you don’t touch the rim of the cup while taking the imprint, or else you will get a circle surrounding the bubbles. Gently place the paper carefully over the bubbles and lift it before it touches the rim.
Do the same with other colors too! (In case you’re using multiple colors.) Take bubble imprints strategically over the paper so it looks like a bunch of hydrangea flowers.
Next, use a pencil to draw leaves and a pot to go with your hydrangea flowers.
Squeeze out dark green, light green, yellow, and brown colors on a mixing plate.
Take a fine brush to paint the leaves. Use a combination of greens and yellow to give depth to the painting.
Small kids can also paste green paper cutouts for the leaves instead of painting them.
Then take a flat brush, dip it in brown paint, and fill the pot with color.
Now, add details to the pot by highlighting some areas with the color’s darker shade.
And voila! With just a few steps and lots of messy play, your bubble painting will be ready in no time.
These are just examples of how to make a bubble painting.
For toddlers and preschoolers, bubble painting can be limited to merely taking prints on paper. For kindergarteners and first graders, simple drawings are more suitable. And finally, older kids can make more intricate paintings using this technique and come up with their own classic masterpieces.
After your painting is dry, frame your artwork and see how lovely it will look hanging on a wall or standing on a table.
Why should kids try bubble painting?
Besides being so much fun, the bubble painting technique benefits kids in many ways. Here are some of the positives of doing bubble painting:
1. Bubble painting, like manipulatives, helps kids develop fine motor skills and serves as a hand-eye coordination activity.
2. It provides sensory stimulation in the same way as that offered by a DIY sensory bin.
3. It supports scientific exploration. Kids can be taught about surface tension, the behavior of liquids, color mixing, and so on.
4. It encourages them to experiment and explore their creativity.
5. It gives them an artistic outlet to express themselves freely.
6. It is a calming activity that promotes relaxation by means of bubbles.
7. It raises their confidence and self-esteem as kids get an appreciation for their unique works of art.
Wrapping up,
Bubble painting sure is messy! But because kids love messy play, they wouldn’t mind all the splashing and spilling happening around while they create their unique bubble designs. Yes, we know, all that mess would mean more work for you, but don’t let some extra cleanup stop your kids from having a really good time.
After all, learning through art and play is one of the best ways to engage kids, satiate their curious minds, and boost their overall development. So, parents! When do you plan to have a bubble painting day for your kids? We hope it’s sometime soon!
Priyanka Sonkushre
I am Priyanka Sonkushre, a writer and blogger. I am the person behind “One Loving Mama,” a mom blog. Equipped with a Bachelor’s degree along with an MBA, my healthcare background helps me deeply understand learning difficulties. I know how challenging it can be for parents to find the right resources to help their children excel in life. So, here I am to blend my healthcare expertise with my parenting experience to create valuable and helpful resources for parents and teachers supporting children with learning differences. If you wish, you can follow me onFacebookandLinkedIn.
