Paint The Yard

For this activity, you will be “pretend painting” the yard or playground. It is lots of fun for the children to watch any wooden or brick playground equipment get wet: it can seem to turn color when wet, and then as the water dries, the regular color returns. If you have big house-paint size brushes the children really feel like they are painters!

Materials:

  • Buckets/pails filled with water.
  • Paint brushes of different sizes, from tiny to house painting size. A variety is good, but children usually gravitate towards the biggest brushes.
  • Outside play area that is safe. A play area with a lot of playground equipment is best.

Preparation:

  • paintbrushYour children will get very wet doing this activity. Put them in bathing suits first; it’s a great activity for a hot day!
  • Place buckets filled with water around the outdoor area, at strategic locations near playground equipment.
  • Tell the children that their “job” is to paint every available surface (you may need a “no painting on people” rule). Encourage themto “paint every surface!”

Getting started:
If you’ve never done this activity before, children often find it hard to imagine what to do. They also may not initially understand that it’s really okay to “paint” on your house because it’s really water, not paint. You may have to demonstrate. But once they understand the concept (and also realize that it’s okay if they get wet in the process) they have a blast!