Fly swatter painting is a messy and fun action art activity where you use a fly swatter to make colorful, abstract designs.
We love action art activities, where kids get to pair moving their bodies with making art. We recently tried a new to us action art project: fly swatter painting!
Instead of using a paintbrush, you use fly swatters to make all kinds of patterns on the paper. Each splat and swipe makes a different design, so your paper ends up covered in wild, abstract patterns.
The kids had a blast swatting and watching the paint splatter and spread. It’s messy, exciting, and full of creative energy—just the kind of art we love!
Here’s how we did it!
How to Do Fly Swatter Painting for Kids
MATERIALS
- Fly swatters (we found ours at the dollar store)
- Paint (we used IKEA’s MALA paint)
- Roll of paper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Prep your materials
We rolled out a large piece of easel paper onto the table and taped it down. This project is messy so it’s a good one to do outside.
There are two ways to do this: you can squirt a bunch of dots of paint all over the paper or pour paint into paper plates for dipping the fly swatters in.
We opted for the first option but want to try the second next!
- Swat the paint
Let your kids have at it! They’ll have a blast swatting and splatting the paint over and over again!
- Repeat!
Keep adding paint and swatting to fill the paper with colorful designs. Or roll out another piece of paper and start again!
This is one of those great projects where you can reuse the finished product. Our fly swatter painting will work perfectly as wrapping paper!
We hope you try this fun action art project and get a little messy this summer!
More Action Art for Kids
- The Best Action Art Painting Activities for Kids
- How to Paint with Cars: Easy Action Art for Kids
- How to Do Marble Painting
- How to Do Splatter Painting
- How to Do Splat Painting
- How to Do Drip Painting for Kids
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