Learning
WinterPreschoolers30 Comments
Try coloring snow in the yard as a fun winter art activity for kids!
Winter in Iowa means chilly temperatures and snow. Lots of snow.
One day, Henry and I took a look outside the window and I asked him, “Isn’t it pretty?”
Henry’s response: “No. It needs color to be pretty.”
While I love white fluffy snow, I also like a bright splash of color. And that’s my inspiration for our latest activity: coloring snow!
DIY Coloring Snow Winter Activity for Kids
And so we went right ahead and added some color to all our snow!
Can you just add food coloring to color snow? You sure can!
To try coloring snow, you’ll need:
- Spray bottle(s)
- Water
- Food coloring in whatever colors you’d like
- Other tools: syringes, scoops, eyedroppers, a turkey baster, etc.
We did red and green since this was a pre-Christmas activity.
To mix the colored water, add a few drops of food coloring (any color!) to your container(s) of water.
Try squirt bottles, eyedroppers, turkey basters, water guns, or buckets. Honestly, whatever you have on hand is just fine.
After you’ve added the food coloring to your container, then slowly add the water. Adjust the color by adding more food coloring or more water.
Ultimately, you want a nice strong color so it shows up on the snow.
If you don’t want to use up all your food coloring, you could also try adding dry tempera paint, liquid or dry watercolors, kool-aid, or other paints to water.
We also like to make these ice cube paint popsicles!
Make Big Snowy Colored Art in the Yard
I put red-colored water into a bucket and the green water into a spray bottle.
Once everything was ready, I set the spray bottle and bucket in the yard, along with a bin of tools. We used a turkey baster, a scoop, and a dropper.
Henry worked on coloring the snow all over the yard! I loved watching him drip and spray the “snow paint” everywhere!
I joined in the fun, writing “Ho Ho Ho” in the snow. We were getting ready for Christmas, after all!
I think next time we do this we’ll mix it up a bit. I’m already thinking of these ideas:
- Color Mixing: try adding different colors together to make a new color
- Writing: make letters, words, name, numbers, shapes
- Scavenger Hunts: try finding different objects in the yard, marking each spot with the snow paint mixture
- Create Big Art: work on coloring the snow with all different colors of paint to make designs, scenes and more
Just be careful of cold fingers if they’re getting wet.
If it was super cold, I would have probably stuck to just the spray bottle so his fingers wouldn’t get wet.
But since it was a nice day and the sun was shining, I let him dip in the water and have a good time.
Once we get snow again, we’ll definitely be adding color to it some more! We’ll have to get creative with how we do it if it’s too cold!
Everyone Loves Coloring Snow!
Snow painting is nothing new I created. In fact, I grabbed my inspiration for the activity and the recipe from these posts:
What’s your family’s favorite snowy day activity? Share your ideas with us!
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Britt Susan Moore says
i want to do this with my school kids but am worried parents will get upset about stained clothes. Is there something i can use that wont stain?
Tabitha Lightfoot says
Hi Britt! To avoid staining of clothes and hands, I would suggest just putting the food coloring and water in a spray bottle. You can try mixing washable paint with the water!
Lynka says
Won’t the food colouring stain clothes and hands ?
Tabitha Lightfoot says
Hi Lynka! To avoid staining of clothes and hands, I would suggest just putting the food coloring and water in a spray bottle.
t says
Great
Ollie Maundo says
How is 32 degrees a warm day?!????????????????????????????????????????????????⛄️❄️????❄️⛄️❄️????
Nick Cihlar says
Oh, thank you for sharing this. My nephew and I would love to use this as we will get to be innovative with the snow. Dream big, ask God Creator for help, and never give up. You might want to someday make a new product or provide a service for people.
Linda says
We tried this last winter and my kids loved it! Unfortunately we haven’t had any snow yet this year but when we do we’ll definitely paint it again. Popping over from the #outdoorplayparty.
Tina says
I wonder if it mixes the colours too? Great way to teach secondary colours. I think I might do this with my class!
Brittney says
I've been waiting to do this activity, but we've only had one small snow so far. I plan on doing a little "color mixing" lesson when we do this!
Brittney
http://www.moms-heart.blogspot.com
Having Fun says
That looks really neat. Fun activity.
Charlotte: says
Can't wait till it snows here! We have been using chalks on the wet pavement here – the colours become really bright and turn to paint!
Jackie H. says
Fun! I'm with everyone else, though, no snow yet. It wish it could just snow for a day or two and then go back to this spring like January! I'll pin all of your snowy ideas for when the snow hits, though.
Lindsay says
I can't wait to have snow to do this…living in Buffalo you would think we would have some!!
JDaniel4's Mom says
This looks wonderful! All I need is some snow!
LeeanneA says
We are still waiting for some snow to play in – it's hard to believe this is Canada eh!