Snow painting is a fun outdoor winter art activity that kids of all ages will enjoy. Aside from a yard full of snow, the only supplies you need to paint the snow are some tempera paints and paint brushes.
I’m sure you’ve heard of others painting the snow with spray bottles and food colouring. Maybe you’ve even seen our indoor activity where we’ve coloured the snow with liquid watercolours.
We’ve tried painting the snow with squirt bottles before, but but soggy mitts and frozen fingers aren’t a great combo, and maybe I’ve just been skimpy with the food colouring, but we have to pump the trigger a bazillion times to get a decent amount of colour onto the snow.
So today I decided to try something new! We actually painted the snow with real paint!
Check it out! What a fun way for kids to get creative in the snow on a sunny winter day!
When I got the idea for the kids to paint the snow, I had no idea how, or even IF, it would work.
I was thrilled when it was an instant success, and I’m so excited to share it with you. Are you ready to really and truly paint the snow?
How to paint the snow:
For this snow painting activity, you’ll just need two things – paint and paint brushes.
I used tempera paint powder to mix up 5 colours of paint. You could use tempera liquid paints, or any kind of paint really. I chose our tempera paints because they’re washable; I didn’t want any staining on the snow-pants and winter coats.
I drew 3 rectangles in the snow to serve as canvases for the hooligans, and called the kids over. Alternatively, you could make frames for your snow art by laying 4 twigs in the snow.
You can probably imagine how excited they were to get started. Meanwhile, I was crossing my fingers, hoping for half-decent results.
Oh my goodness!
This was SUCH a cool activity! The snow was soft but kind of crunchy on top, and it absorbed the paint beautifully! I really hadn’t imagined that this would be so awesome.
I tried my hand at some snow painting, and was surprised by how light of a touch was needed to keep the paint on the surface of the snow.
The kids had already mastered the technique, and they moved all around the yard and garden adding splashes of colour wherever they went.
They experimented with splatter painting the snow,
and they painted the bootprints that we’d made while walking around the yard.
They formed snowballs, and painted those snowballs different colours. 
They also found a small mound of snow in the yard, and they collaborated to create a “candy mountain”, painting the snow in all different colours.
Our snow painting activity kept the kids entertained and having fun for over an hour.
It was a wonderful way to get creative in the snow, and I suspect that painting the snow will become a regular winter activity around here!
I hope you get a chance to do this with your kids this winter! Check out the links below for more ways to have fun with the snow this winter.
Fun Outdoor Winter Activities for Kids:
Snowy “Diamond Dig” – a snow sensory bin
Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.
