Fun Bouncy Ball Painting for St. Patrick’s Day

There’s something so interesting about bouncy balls and the way they haphazardly bounce down a hallway! Now, imagine if those bouncy balls were covered in paint. What an incredibly cool design they would make! For obvious reasons, I’m not suggesting that you bounce paint covered balls through your house, but I am suggesting that you try this St. Patrick’s Day Bouncy Ball Painting Process Art for Preschoolers activity!

text says [st. patrick's day bouncy ball painting preschool art activities] two images of st. patrick's day process art. one image of bouncy ball rolling through green and yellow paint second image of completed bouncy ball painting

Recommended Grade Level:

Materials for the St. Patrick’s Day Bouncy Ball Process Art Activity

  • Shallow Tray or Baking Pan
  • Paper
  • Yellow and Green Paint
  • Gold Glitter
  • Bouncy Balls

Your child will love creating art by twisting, turning, and shaking the pan to make the bouncy balls roll across the paper!

The minimal materials, simple directions, and fact that the art project is contained in a cake pan make this the perfect early childhood art project.

What Is Process Art?

Process focused art is a type of art where children are given the freedom to create whatever they would like.

The emphasis is placed on the process of creating the art project, and not on the end result of the project.

The focus of process art is allowing children to be creative. They are given full range to explore and create whatever they would like with the art materials provided to them.

How Process Art Experiences Support Preschoolers:

  • Sometimes when young children participate in product art projects (projects that are supposed to look a certain way at the end) they get so caught up in the final project that they don’t enjoy the process of creating. By providing them with process art experiences, they may be more relaxed when working on their art project.
  • Toddlers and preschoolers are able to strengthen their fine motor skills as they use a wide range of art supplies that could include glue, scissors, watercolor paint, stamps, and even bouncy balls to create their art.
  • Since there are no rules or instructions to follow, children get to practice decision making and problem solving skills as they participate in process art projects.
  • Creativity and self-expression are promoted during process art!

How To Do This Process Based Art Activity For Kids:

yellow and green tubs fo ginger paint with gold glitter and a yellow bouncy ball.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

Step 1: Put the cake pan onto a flat surface and place the paper inside.

Step 2: Squeeze a few quarter size dabs of paint onto the paper. Repeat with each color of paint.

Step 3:For some added sparkle, add glitter or confetti to each dab of paint.

yellow and green paint on a paper in a tray.

Step 4: Place the bouncy ball on top of the paper. Carefully lift the pan and tilt it from side to side, rolling the balls through the paint and creating a fun design!

st. patricks day bouncy ball painting process art for preschoolers wide 3

Step 5: Continue to tilt the pan sideways, forward and backwards, or in a circular motion until the desired paint effect is achieved! Add more paint and glitter as needed.

managing messy play art and crafts for kids

Manage the Mess!

Get tips, tricks, and tools to make messy play and art easy to manage.

yellow and green mixed paint on paper from bouncy ball painting.

Step 6: If you are going to display the artwork, you will want to use less paint and set it aside to dry when finished.

If you are not planning on keeping the finished process art activity, you can throw away the paper when you are finished and add in new paper and paint as needed.

Other Ideas For This St. Patrick’s Day Process Art Project:

  • Swap out the yellow and green paint depending on the holiday or season to make this a project for process oriented art for preschoolers that can be done year round.
  • For a different effect for this bouncy ball art project, dip the ball into paint instead of putting the paint directly onto the paper.
  • Have your child write their name or draw a picture onto the white paper before they add the paper into the pan.
  • Provide other utensils such as paint brushes or sponges for your child to move around the paint and bouncy ball with.
  • Add multiple bouncy balls into the cake pan to create more lines and patterns.

More Bouncy Ball Art You’ll Love:

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