Fingerprint Balloons: Glue five bottle caps (open ends up) in a semi-circle on a piece of heavy cardboard and fill each cap with a different color of tempera paint. Have each child in turn dip all five fingers of one hand into the paint in the bottle caps and then press them on a sheet of white construction paper to make prints. When the paint has dried, let the children draw lines down from their fingerprints, turning them into balloons with strings.
Singing Balloons: Blow up a balloon and demonstrate how it "sings" by stretching the opening as you let out the air. Ask the children to tell you whether the air is coming out quickly or slowly. Experiment with different rates of escaping air. Let the children feel the air escaping by placing their hands over the balloon opening.
Balloon in the Air: Stand in a group with the children and tap up a balloon. (Use two or three balloons for a large group.) Have the children closest to where the balloon starts to come down tap it up again with his or her hand. The object of the game is to see how long the group can keep the balloon in the air.
Bounce the Ballons (Sung to: "The Mulberry Bush")
This is the way we
Bounce the balloons,
Bounce the balloons,
Bounce the balloons.
This is the way we
Bounce the balloons,
Gently in the air.
Balloon Crackers: For balloon snacks, serve round crackers.