This was a fun craft that lasted for days of fun! It was a great way to learn colors of the rainbow and jump into Spring! Plus is tripled in fun as a homemade paint recipe, science experiment, and a card craft for family!
It all started on a gloomy Saturday morning! We just needed an uplift for being cooped up another day inside.
I needed to mix it up and I saw how much fun my toddler son, J, was having at the sink! Water play is the best! I know it can be messy, but with a little plan and direction, there are ways to keep it where it doesn’t get too crazy.
So, we thought of bubble painting! Yes! My toddler and my preschoolers all love bubbles. I remembered an episode from “Noodle and Doodle” (I love that show) where they did bubble painting and wanted to do it again!
P.S. Hi! I’m Tracy, a teacher made mom to twin girls plus one boy! We love to find ways to learn, have fun, and be inspired. Whether it be a kids craft, a photo, or a prayer…I’m choosing to find joy and make the most of motherhood! Will you join us?
Materials for Easy Rainbow Heart Painting with Bubbles:
food coloring (I tried to get one color for each part of the rainbow)
water
plastic bowls for each color, plus one with clear water
dish soap
straws
tape
thick white paper
Optional:
pen
scissors
Instructions for Easy Rainbow Heart Painting with Bubbles:
I prepped by getting out 5 plastic bowls.
For each bowl:
First, we added 1/2 cup water. It was a great teaching moment to use the measuring cup to practice numbers!
Then, we added 2 or 3 drops of food coloring.
Then stirred in 1 Tb. of dish soap.
Then we stirred the soap and the colored water together.
M loved this part!
We repeated this for each color.
Tip: I tried to put the colors in order around them to reinforce the colors of the rainbow.
Next we got 3-4 straws and taped them together to make our own bubble wand!
Tip: You can either have each color dedicated to a bubble wand. Since I have more than one child, I saw it was easier to give each child their own bubble wand and set out a clean bowl of water for them to wash of their bubble wand, so they didn’t mix the colors.
Next, I set out a piece of paper for each child. I used heavy weight mixed paper from Target (I am not an affiliate but I like this paper) because the thick paper allowed more paint to soak and spread on the paper.
H loves using all colors of the rainbow, so this was super fun for her!
Tip: Since I had a group of kids and only one set of colors for the bowl, they climbed up one at a time at first so I could teach them how to use it before they blew it all over:) When you want kids to do an activity one at a time, it helps me to set up a chair at the water proof counter where they can stand next to me so I can help them and they can come one at a time.
Once my preschoolers, H and M, were able to blow their bubbles more independently, I was able to help my 2 year old, J.
Then, they dipped their bubble wands in each of the colors and blew bubbles on their paper!
Tip: Remind them to blow out not suck in! My toddler, J, ended up learning the hard way and tasted soap:(
Next, they smashed down the bubbles!
Tip: You can have them use different fun tools to smash their bubbles, like plastic spatulas, spoons, or playdough rollers.
They loved adding all different colors of the rainbow!
Finally, let it dry!
You can keep it as a beautiful rainbow painting.
Tip: When your kids finish a fun painting or a picture they create, you can say “tell me about it” if you don’t know what it is…this way they will practice describing their ideas and feel good about their creation, instead of us guessing and them feeling like their picture must not be good since we can’t tell what it is. You can find more tips like this in the book, “The Artful Parent” (I am not an affiliate, I just love her book). Plus she has a beautiful bubble painting snakes activity at her site “The Artful Parent” as well right here.
OR:
You can make it into a rainbow heart card for family or friends!
Draw a heart, cut it out.
You can tape the heart onto the other paper and blow paint bubbles all around it.
You can lift it up and see that you made a beautiful heart frame. You can glue or tape a picture onto the middle of the bubble painted heart frame and hang it up or write a nice message on it as a card.
Or the small heart you remove can be made into a card of its own! We used these as birthday cards for Grandpa!
You also make a rainbow heart card frame that you can write a nice message on or add a picture in the middle of the heart! We made this for papa when he had his surgery.
Tip: You can reuse the bubble paint. We stuck it in the fridge and pull it out all week.
Or you can freeze it and either create ice paint or make it into a rainbow water fun activity!
Add more Learning Fun:
Math: How many bubbles can you smash? What shapes can you create with different bubbles coming together?
Reading: Writing a nice card and reading the words with mommy.
Social Skills: You can have a little art museum display and have them walk around the art and learn to compliment each other’s art.
Science: You can research or try- What happens when we put the paint in the freezer? Is this a heterogeneous mixture or a homogeneous mixture? What weather makes a rainbow?
Faith: What are some ways we can show people we love them? What colors did God create in our world? Do you see how the world is so much more beautiful when we include all of the colors and all different people in our world?
Let us know if you enjoy the Easy Rainbow Heart Painting!
What are your favorite rainbow activities to try with your kids?
Enjoy!
Tracy
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