This balloon art inspired by Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight Moon is perfect for preschool. Not only does it inspire creativity based on the colorful illustrations of Goodnight Moon, but it also provides fine motor and cutting practice too!
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The Preschool Book Club is back this week with creative activities for kids inspired by the popular children’s book, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown! Every other week we’ll be sharing some fun activities for kids based on the book of the week. (Be sure to check out all my activities for kids inspired by children’s books!)
Preschool Balloon Art Inspired by Goodnight Moon
Goodnight Moon has always been a classic favorite in our home. We read it to Lucy more times than I can remember when she was younger and still read it to Theo (age 3) often. With the calming and rhythmic text and the pictures illustrating the nighttime routine of a little bunny, it’s the perfect book to read before bed!
Theo is always mesmerized by the pictures in the story. He loves discussing what the little bunny is doing and, even as a baby, always noticed that red balloon! Because we just love the illustrations in Goodnight Moon, we decided to create our own Goodnight Moon art project!
We knew our artwork would center around a red balloon and thought the stripes as a background would be perfect because of all the stripes in the story. (You’ll find stripes on the little bunny’s jammies and on the curtains throughout the book- perfect for exploring patterns!)
Balloon Art on Striped Background
Materials for Goodnight Moon Art Project
- White paper (We used 12 inch x 18 inch construction paper.)
- Tempera paint and brush (This is our favorite tempera paint!)
- Red construction paper
- Scissors
- Black yarn
- Liquid glue
- White oil pastel or crayon (optional)
Directions for Goodnight Moon Art Project
1. Decide which color stripes you’d like to use for your background. (You can use the illustrations in the book for inspiration!) Use your tempera paint and brush to paint strips across your white paper. If your child is working on patterning, this is great practice!
Theo wanted to use blue because he love’s those little bunny’s jammies! And he was very adamant that he would not paint stripes. He wanted a background that was completely blue!
2. Cut out a red balloon from your red construction paper.
- This is the perfect opportunity to practice cutting skills for little ones that are ready. I used a pencil to draw a balloon shape onto a piece of red paper. Theo then used his scissors to cut it out. (You can see his finished artwork at the end of the post.)
- Optional: Use your white oil pastel or white crayon to draw a little white square shape on the balloon.
- Cut out a little piece of red paper to represent the knot in the bottom of the balloon.
- Glue the red paper knot onto the balloon.
3. Glue the balloon onto your striped background.
4. Cut a piece of black yarn to represent the string of the balloon and glue it onto your paper.
Hang it up and enjoy!
Tips
Allow your child their own creative freedom. As I mentioned before, Theo wanted a solid blue background rather than stripes. He was so proud of his finished project!
Try different colored stripes for the background. In this one we used green and yellow stripes inspired by one of the illustrations in the book. I think a whole display of these paintings with various stripes combinations and solid backgrounds created by a group of students would look so wonderful up on a classroom wall!
More Goodnight Moon Activities
Be sure to check out all the creative Goodnight Moon activities created by the other members of The Preschool Book Club!
Goodnight Moon Lavender Playdough from Homegrown Friends
Goodnight Moon Scavenger Hunt from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails
Memory Game Inspired by Goodnight Moon from Sugar Aunts
Goodnight Moon I Spy Bottle from Mama Papa Bubba