Fun Bouncy Ball Painting for St. Patrick’s Day

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:

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.

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!

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.

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:

• Space Themed Bouncy Ball Art
• 4th of July Bouncy Ball Art
• Color Mixing Bouncy Ball Art

Want More Fun St. Patrick’s Day Crafts?

How About Even More St. Patrick’s Day Activities?

• St. Patrick’s Day Sensory Bottle
• St. Patrick’s Day Counting Activities
• St. Patrick’s Day Fine Motor Color Matching Printable
• Rainbow Color Scavenger Hunt
• St. Patrick’s Day Roll and Count Game
• St. Patrick’s Day Books for Kids