Kids love to play games especially at recess. Some school playgrounds don’t have any trees and are quite boring. Since recess time at school is often spent outside on a playground, it’s definitely more fun if school playground areas have colorful painted games on the asphalt.
I hadn’t ever painted playground markings before. So when I was asked to do so, I got curious.
How do you paint on asphalt?
The first thing to learn was, what sort of paint to use when painting cement, or a blacktop.
The Principal of the school and I both did research to find a fast drying, water base paint, that also came in bright colors.
We also wanted to ensure that the paint would not be slippery when it got wet. We decided to use a striping paint. The kind of paint that is used to paint stripes on roads, is made for painting on asphalt.
Next we had to decide what sort of playground activities would be most fun for the children.
We had already decided on a fitness trail, but wanted to add another activity that would also inspire interactive play.
Would a painted snake maze on a playground be fun for kids?
I think it would. My niece loves playing her snake video game, and she is six. So when I had the idea to paint a creative snake maze instead of a traditional schoolyard maze, I thought the principal and kids would like my idea. I was right. The principal liked my idea so I got ready to paint.
Here’s how to paint a playground with colorful snakes.
I made the initial sketch with chalk using cardboard cutouts to get the snake widths consistent.
Then I painted a green colored snake.
Since each snake was to have different colors and patterns, I methodically painted one color of the pattern, in at a time.
After the large snakes were finished I added small snakes to fill in empty spots.
All snakes are painted. Now we need instructions!
Written instructions will let kids know how to play the A-MAZE-ing Snakes Game. So I hand-painted instructions right onto the playground.
Here are the game rules:
Dare 1 – Get to the other side by walking on top of a snake.
or
Dare 2 – Get to the other side without stepping on any snakes.
It’s good to have instructions and… kids have great imaginations. I bet they think up other fun ways to interact with the colorful snake paintings!
Here’s one last picture of the finished snake maze.
Could painted playground games enhance your schoolyard?
If you are in the Los Angeles area, I could paint a snake pit, or some other creative markings, for you.
Give me a call. 818-994-1441 Ask for Colette
You may be interested in getting more painting ideas for a school.
Here are a few pertinent links:
- View a fitness trail painted on asphalt.
- View inspirational quotes painted in a school bathroom.