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Have a BLAST with this fun outdoor activity for kids! My boys loved Painting with Water Guns while aiming at a target. It’s the perfect summertime entertainment!

Boy painting with a water gun

Water guns are a BIG DEAL around here. Keith has purchased more Super Soakers for the boys than I can count, and he’s always one of the first to get in on the action when the weather heats up. With four of them out there, water gun fights can turn into serious battles!

That said, my two younger boys do not like to be squirted with water (go figure)! They’d much rather aim at a target, a fence, a building…anything other than getting sprayed in the face. As you can imagine, many of their water gun sessions ended in tears this summer.

Have a BLAST with this fun outdoor activity for kids! My boys loved Painting with Water Guns while aiming at a target. It's truly the perfect summertime entertainment!

As a mom trying to solve a problem, I decided to use the water guns in a more organized and constructive manner. By providing a target for the kids to shoot, I could avoid direct shots at each other’s faces. WIN!

But as I was running through the scenario in my head, I realized that it would be hard to determine which of the 3 boys actually hit the Bullseye if each gun was loaded with transparent water. That’s when the idea came to me: let’s load the guns with 3 different colors of washable paint! This worked like magic and it was SO MUCH FUN (even to watch).

We used these guns that I picked up from the dollar store because I knew that they would be easier to fill (and shoot) than a traditional water gun with a tiny little hole. Instead, these guns use plastic water (or soda) bottles that screw onto the bottom. You shoot the stream by pumping the gun, rather than squirting with a tiny little trigger. They are ideal for the younger crowd (i.e., two-year-old Spencer)!

Have a BLAST with this fun outdoor activity for kids! My boys loved Painting with Water Guns while aiming at a target. It's truly the perfect summertime entertainment!

I used three different colors of washable tempera paint;

Have a BLAST with this fun outdoor activity for kids! My boys loved Painting with Water Guns while aiming at a target. It's truly the perfect summertime entertainment!

and just squirted each bottle of paint into an empty plastic water bottle. I then filled the plastic bottle the rest of the way with water. I wanted to dilute the paint so that it would easily flow through the guns.

Have a BLAST with this fun outdoor activity for kids! My boys loved Painting with Water Guns while aiming at a target. It's truly the perfect summertime entertainment!

Finally, we needed a target! As you can see, mine was definitely not fancy. I just used a black permanent marker to draw rings on a sturdy piece of white foam core board. The foam core board worked well because it stayed upright, rather than getting soggy from the paint like a piece of poster board or paper might.

Have a BLAST with this fun outdoor activity for kids! My boys loved Painting with Water Guns while aiming at a target. It's truly the perfect summertime entertainment!

They were so excited for this game,

Have a BLAST with this fun outdoor activity for kids! My boys loved Painting with Water Guns while aiming at a target. It's truly the perfect summertime entertainment!

and it worked even better than I expected.

Have a BLAST with this fun outdoor activity for kids! My boys loved Painting with Water Guns while aiming at a target. It's truly the perfect summertime entertainment!

And this Mamma was HAPPY because they could ALL join in the fun — even the toddler!

Have a BLAST with this fun outdoor activity for kids! My boys loved Painting with Water Guns while aiming at a target. It's truly the perfect summertime entertainment!

In fact, here’s a funny video that we took when Spence first gave it a try (you can hear his brothers encouraging him)…

If you’re as desperate as I am to entertain your little ones during these last few weeks of summer vacation, I highly suggest pulling together a round of Painting with Water Guns! This was definitely one of the more popular activities in recent memory!

Have a BLAST with this fun outdoor activity for kids! My boys loved Painting with Water Guns while aiming at a target. It's truly the perfect summertime entertainment!

Have fun (and wear old clothes…just in case)!

blair

Hey, I’m Blair!

Welcome to my farmhouse kitchen in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Inspired by local traditions and seasonal fare, you’ll find plenty of easy, comforting recipes that bring your family together around the table. It’s down-home, country-style cooking!

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    1. Hey, Katie! Your boys will LOVE this!!! And I bet T could already do it, even though he’s young.

      I bought the guns at Five Below (which is kind of like the dollar store). I also linked to them on Amazon in the post so you can order them if that’s easier. xoxo

  1. OMG!! those are the best times ever! Love it. I remember playing paintball in high school. although at a real range those darts HURT! haha

    1. Yep…I was always too chicken to play real paintball, but that’s exactly what this reminds me of. I just made sure that my boys weren’t aiming at each other! 🙂

  2. Water Relay Races ~ Water Party Games like water bucket transfer relay, water gun relay, put on a wet suit relay, water balloon fight and shaving cream fight. AW-esome! Set up a shoot and splash target practice in the backyard. Perfect summer activity for kids!