We did balloon prints: This was done by having partially inflated balloons and dipping them in a thick paint then printing with them on paper. Bubble prints: We filled small containers with bubble solution coloured with food colouring. The children each had their own straw and blew bubbles in the container. Then a piece of paper was put on top to make a print . This was done a few times on the paper. Balloon People: This was done by an adult blowing up a balloon and the child drawing on it and using collage materials and glue to make the balloon into a person. We blew bubbles with little bubble blowers and also used bubble wands. We had a story about a balloon. We had easel painting on balloon shaped paper. We had colouring in of different types of balloon pictures. The last thing we had out for the children was a set of balloon puzzles for the children to do. * How about Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm?? Unfortunately, I don't know the authors name. It's a great book, my children really LOVE it! *How about "Balloonia"? It's about the land where balloons go when kids let them loose. Cute. Cooperative Game-keep balloon in the air (count how many taps) Movement-pretend to be a balloon-inflating and popping, inflating and flying around after when air is let out, etc. Water Table-put balloons in, some filled with air and some with water-children can explore differences Balance Scale-provide children with balloons filled with different materials for comparing weights Gross Motor-Hang balloon from ceiling and hit with hand or foam bat Fiction Book-Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm (Jerdine Nolan, ill. by Mark Buehner) Nonfiction Book-My Balloon (Kay Davies and Wendy Oldfield, photos by Fiona Pragoff) My Red Balloon I had a little red balloon, (Make a small circle) But then I blew and blew ( Blow hard into circle after each blew continue growth of circle) Till it became all big and fat And grew and grew and grew. I tossed it up into the air (Tossing up motions) And never let it drop I bounced it on the ground, until (Bouncing motions) It suddenly went POP! (Hold out hands in surprise clap loudly on pop!) Balloons This is the way we blow up our balloons, Blow, blow, blow. This is the way we break our balloons, Oh!, Oh!, Oh! My Balloon Here I have a new balloon Help me while I blow: Small at first, then bigger Watch it grow and grow. Do you think it is big enough? Maybe I should stop; For if I give another blow, My balloon will surely POP! Reminder-popped balloons look interesting to young children but are DANGEROUS-dispose of out of their reach to prevent choking! *Balloons tune: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" Flying high, pretty big balloon, Big balloon, please come back soon. Up above the house and trees, Take me with you if you please. Flying high, pretty big balloon, Big balloon, please come back soon. * Put a balloon on a chair and let the children take turns trying to break it by sitting on it. * Toss a balloon in the air and have the children try to keep it from falling to the floor. * Harvey Potter is a farmer who doesn't grow tomatoes, beans and okra like normal farmers. Harvey Potter grows balloons.....in a magical kind of way!!!!!! The story is told from a little girl's point of view. She learns all about how Harvey Potter grows his balloons and uses her own balloon farming methods as she grows older. My kids love it!!! As a matter of fact, whenever a child wears overalls to school, we comment that they look just like Harvey Potter!! What fun!! Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm is written by Jerdine Nolen ISBN 0688078877 *"Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm"I got the book (and audio tape) from a Scholastic book club. The story, taking place in the summer of 1959, is told by a woman about when she was a young girl and had a neighbor Harvey Potter who grew balloons on a farm-"there were real actual balloons growing out of the plain ole ground!". A grouchy neighbor calls the government about the odd situation and men show up with white hats, coats, and gloves to investigate; Harvey Potter gets government approval to grow his balloons. The girl who tells the story spies on Harvey Potter at night to find out how he grows the balloons (it involves a dance with a conjure stick). Later, Potter grows the girl an enormous balloon which she rides like a hot air balloon to explore the world. In the end, she is shown as a grown woman farming her own balloons. Balloon activities Jet balloons While blowing up balloons, let a few of them go before tying them closed and watch them fly around the room. Have the children try to guess why this happens. What makes the balloons go? How far will they go before they stop? How can you make them go again? Magic balloons Blow up several balloons. Let the children rub the balloons on their clothes or their hair and place them on a wall. Have the children try guessing what causes the balloons to stay up (static electricity). Singing balloon 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 Lotto Make a balloon lotto game by dividing a piece of heavy white paper into six sections and drawing a different colored balloon in each square. cut matching c0l0red squares out of construction paper. To play the game, have the children take turns placing the construction paper squares on top of the matching colored balloons. Balloon fish Partially blow up ten small balloons. Place them in a dishpan full of water. Set the pan on the floor and let the children take turns fishing for balloon fish with a wire food strainer. Help each child count his or her catch before putting the fish back in the pan. Balloon Art Finger print balloons Glue Five bottle caps (open ends up) in a semicircle n 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 drew line down from their fingerprints, turning them into balloons with strings. Printing with balloons Pour three or four different colors of tempera paint into separate aluminum pie tins. Partially blow up a small balloon that matches each paint color. Then have the children dip the balloons into the matching colored paints and press them on sheets of white construction paper to create balloon prints. Balloon Puppets For each child blow up a balloon until it is about the size of a large cantaloupe. Tie several strands of curled ribbon around the knot to represent hair and attach a loop of ribbon large enough to slip over the child's hand. Then let the children make faces on their balloons by sticking on gummed reinforcement circles. When they have finished, let them wear their balloon puppets on their wrists. Balloon Large Motor activities Balloon Jump Blow up balloons and tie them with long strings. Then hang the balloons from the ceiling at a height that will tempt the children to stretch, jump and bat the balloons around. Popping balloons Let the children help you pretend to blow up balloons and fill the room with them. Then have them pretend to tape sharp pins on their knees and elbows so that they can "pop" the balloons. Encourage them to reach their knees and elbows way up high and way down low until all of the balloons have popped. 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 child 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. Creative Movement fun Let the children watch you blow up a balloon and then slowly deflate it. Have them pretend that they are limp balloons, expanding as they breathe air in and whistling as they let air out. Let the children spin and dash around like balloons that have been inflated and released. Or let them pretend to be inflated balloons floating lazily about the room while gently bumping into things. Balloons songs and fingerplays Bounce the balloons ( 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 song (Sung to: "Ten Little Indians) One little, two little, three little balloons, four little, five little, six little balloons. Seven little, eight little nine little balloons, floating up so high. Red balloons (Sung to: "Frere Jacques") Red balloons, red balloons, Floating up, Floating up. Never let them touch the ground, Never let them touch the ground. Keep them up. Keep them up. (Repeat, letting the children suggest other balloon colors) Balloon Treats Write each child's name on a balloon and tie it to the back of his or her chair before snacktime. For balloon snacks, serve such foods as round crackers, carrot slices, banana slices, orange slices, egg slices or cucumber slices.