Painting with rain is a fun and easy way to create art using the power of mother nature. Toddlers and preschoolers are going to love these 10 Rain Painting ideas. They definitely make the best rainy day activity.
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Weather Art for Kids
Learning about the weather is so much fun for kids. After all, it impacts how and where they play that day. The next time you’re teaching your class about the weather, try a few of these fun weather art projects.
- Pasta Sun Art for Kids
- Rainbow Lightning
- Rain Stick Craft
- Thunderstorm Art Project
- Umbrella Paper Plate Craft
- …
For more ideas, see 20 Weather Art Ideas for Kids
Painting with Rain
1. Rainbow Lightning
I’ll be honest, I came across this idea by accident and I am so happy that I did. When I was exploring different ideas that involved painting with rain, I came up with this beautiful art project.
If you don’t want to wait for the next rainy day to watch as the rainbow fractures into lightning pattern, then grab a spray bottle and help it along.
2. Drip Painting
Save this process art idea for some rainy weather. But be prepared, because it takes a long time. As the rain drips through the coffee filters it’ll leave colorful raindrops on the watercolor paper.
Learn how to do drip painting the next time the weather turns wet.
3. Leaking Rainbow Sand
If you are looking for easy ways to entertain the kids the next time the weather report says it’s going to rain, then this kids art idea is for you.
Homemade rainbow sand leaks its color when it gets wet. Which is wonderful if you want to try some process art with your toddlers and preschoolers.
Spread the rainbow sand on the page and then leave it out in the rain. As the sand gets wet the colors will seep out and run all over the page. Just make sure to put pebbles at the top and bottom of the page, to make sure it doesn’t blow away in the wind.
For more ideas, check out these 3 ways to create art using rainbow sand.
4. Rain Painting with Washable Markers.
Washable markers are a great way to create art using the rain. Draw any picture you like using the bright colors and leave it in the rain to see what happens.
If you don’t want to wait for the actual rain to start, you can always use a spray bottle instead.
Photo: Rhythms of Play
5. Chalk Rain Painting.
There are so many different ways to make rain painting for kids. Sometimes all you need is some regular chalk to make a rainy day piece of art.
6. Exploring with Watercolors
Leaving watercolor paints in heavy rain creates some wonderfully interesting effects. For the best results, take your picture outside while it’s still wet. Then see what happens when the drops of rain fall on the picture.
Photo: Nurture Store
7. Watercolor Pencils
The next time you look through some open windows and see rain clouds gathering overhead, grab your watercolor pencils. This is such a fun and easy art project for toddlers and preschoolers. They will get so excited seeing how the rain changes their watercolor pencil drawings.
You also don’t necessarily need to do these on a flat surface either. Try using masking tape to attach them to an exterior wall. What will happen? Will the colors drip down with gravity?
Photo: What Do We Do All Day
8. Rain Paint
Using rain to make paint is one of the best homemade paint recipes that I’ve come across. After all, you don’t always need to let the rain change the picture, sometimes you just want it to create the paint for you. This fun rain activity is a wonderful idea if you’re interested in process art for kids.
Photo: Learn Play Imagine
9. Rain Painting with Powdered Tempera Paint.
Using tempera paint has a similar effect to rainbow sand when painting with rain. Sprinkle some powdered tempera onto the page and let it sit in the rain. The color will spread and create some lovely patterns.
Photo: Housing a Forest
10. Mud Painting
This is a fun idea to try the next time you’re hit with pouring rains. Gather up the mud and use it to paint your sidewalk.
If you’re a fan of going out in all weather then you don’t even need to wait for the rain to stop to try this idea. If you’ve got some light rain, you can always wear your rain jackets, grab the paint brushes, and head outside anyway.
Photo: Rain or Shine Mamma
Are you going to try any of these Rain Painting ideas with your kids?
Don’t forget to pin the idea for later.