Simple Summer Schemes: Bubble Painting

Ready for a fun, simple activity?  Me too!

And really, this doesn't have to be confined to summertime, but something about bubbles makes me think of warm, sunny days.  Here we go!

You'll need:

Bubble solution

food coloring

bubble wands

bowls

paper

old sheets

 

1.  Pour a small amount of bubble solution into several bowls.  We used less than 1/4 cup, and it was just right to be deep enough for dipping. 

2.  Add 4 drops of food coloring to each bowl of bubble solution, and stir.  I thought 4 drops was overkill, but when we used less (like, 2 drops), it didn't show up brightly enough when the fun began.

3.  Cover your work area with an old sheet because colored bubbles are about to be scattered far and wide.  Unless you're a true summer-embracer and wish to head outdoors, which would be perfect, you'll want to protect the table or floor you're working on.  It was too windy for us this day, so...

4.  We stayed indoors to make our art.  Have your kids blow bubbles directly at a sheet of paper -- thicker is better because the solution gets rather drippy when little ones are involved. 

5.  But the drips add character to the splotches of circular, popped bubble imprints left behind.

6.  We had tons of fun with this super simple activity!  The girls laughed and squealed each time a bubble popped on their paper, and pretended they were famous artists with crazy, mixed-up paintbrushes.

7.  And the bubbles did fly -- part of the fun was watching the colored orbs float around the table and trying to aim them directly at the paper, which is easier done with gentle puffs of air.  (Something my three year old isn't really capable of, by the way...)

8.  Don't forget to wear splatter-proof clothing.  As for the splattered faces, there's just no covering up that kind of splashed-on color.  Thankfully, it washed off easily.

9.  But not before I seriously considered leaving the primary-colored freckles right where they lay.  Such cuteness that day -- both in speckled, happy, creative kids, and in their bubbled masterpieces.

What do you think?  Have you done bubble painting before?  Any tips?  And what do YOU have planned to keep the little ones busy this summer?