**🎨 Soak That Sponge! A Colorful Relay Inspired by Mouse Paint 🌈**

What happens when you mix the classic children’s book Mouse Paint with sponges, colored water, and a group of energetic kids? You get a colorful, laugh-filled relay race that teaches teamwork, patience, and a little color theory—plus a whole lot of wet fun! This summer at camp, we brought one of my favorite children’s books to life—Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh. But instead of tiny mice dancing in puddles of color, we had a group of energetic kids, sponges, and water buckets… and let me tell you—it was pure, messy, squeal-filled magic!

If you’re looking for a playful, hands-on activity that teaches teamwork, gets kids moving, and sneaks in a little color theory, let me share how we turned storytime into an unforgettable relay race. (Spoiler: there was chanting. And splashing. So much splashing.)

📖 Getting Centered With Mouse Paint

Before the fun began, we gathered under the shade for a quick read-aloud of Mouse Paint. It was the perfect way to slow down, listen, and get the kids thinking about what happens when colors mix. The story is all about three white mice who find jars of red, yellow, and blue paint—and before long, they’re stomping their little paws into new colors

💛 A Personal Note

This book holds a special place in my heart. My mother-in-law, a wonderful art teacher, always told me Mouse Paint was her favorite book to use with her students. She would say, “It’s so versatile—it gets kids into the spirit of creating.”

When she retired, she passed down ALL of her art supplies to me—boxes and boxes filled with brushes, paints, books, markers and treasures from her years of teaching. She’s been a true inspiration to Crafty World Entertainment and to the way I approach art with kids. Though she’s no longer with us, I felt her presence in this project, cheering us on as the kids explored color in such a joyful, hands-on way.

We asked:
✨ What happens when yellow meets blue?
✨ Can we mix our own colors too?
✨ Are you ready to find out… with a race?

Cue excited squeals.

🪣 Setting Up the Relay

Here’s how we set the stage for our Mouse Paint-inspired water relay:

Supplies:
✔ Kids’ bath tub dye tabs (we used red, blue, and yellow)
✔ 4 medium-sized tubs or buckets
✔ 2 sponges (one for each team)
✔ Extra gallon jugs of water
✔ A ping pong ball for each tub (we wanted it to float out when the tub overflowed—more on that later!)

We colored the water like this:
🟡 One bucket yellow
🔵 One bucket blue
🔴 Two buckets red (placed at the finish line—these were the “mystery” tubs that would change color).

Then we split into Team Yellow and Team Blue and explained:
“The goal isn’t to be the fastest—it’s to work together and fill up your red tub until it OVERFLOWS.”

🚨 The Rules (and the Reality)

Each team lined up with their sponge. Here’s how it worked:

Soak your sponge in your team’s colored water (yellow or blue).
Race to your red tub at the other end and squeeze every last drop into it.
Run back and PASS (not throw) the sponge to the next teammate.
Repeat until your red tub spills over!

Of course, the kids instantly wanted to sprint like it was a track meet. We had to remind them:
💡 “It’s not about speed. It’s about teamwork. A good soak and squeeze will win the game!”

They came up with a chant all on their own:
🎶 “SOAK THAT SPONGE! SOAK THAT SPONGE!”

🌈 The Colorful Twist

Here’s where the magic happened. Slowly, we saw:

Team Yellow’s red tub fading to ORANGE
Team Blue’s red tub shifting into a deep PURPLE

The kids were mesmerized. “It’s turning ORANGE!!” one camper yelled mid-squeeze. Halfway through, I tossed in an extra yellow tab for Team Yellow and a blue one for Team Blue to keep the color mixing vibrant.

The plan was for the ping pong ball to float out when the tub overflowed… but the tubs I used had a little rim that trapped the balls. Oops! Instead, we watched streams of colored water trickle down as the tubs overfilled. Not quite as dramatic, but still a clear WIN.

Time to finish: about 35–45 minutes, depending on the age group. Use extra jugs to keep yellow and blue water full!

🎉 Why This Game Was a Hit

This wasn’t just a race. It was:
🌟 A teamwork challenge
🌟 A science lesson (hello, color mixing!)
🌟 A wet, giggly workout on a hot summer day

The best part? It’s SO easy to adapt:
💧 Make it shorter with smaller tubs.
🏡 Try it at a block party or birthday bash.
👶 Use giant sponges and shallow bins for younger kids.

.✨ Stay Crafty Tip

Next time, I’ll bring wide, rimless containers so the ping pong balls can float out in a glorious victory splash. Or maybe even try this with eco-friendly powdered paint for bigger bursts of color!

🥼 The After Party: Hands-On Color Mixing

After the big relay was over (and our tubs were gloriously overflowing), I didn’t want the fun to stop there. So I brought out:
💧 water droppers
🫙 small clear cups for each student
🟣🟠the 4 tubs of leftover colored water from the race, small jars and bottle caps for some hands on color mixing fun!

The kids became little scientists, carefully filling their cups, dropping in colors, and experimenting. They loved seeing how a few drops of yellow could lighten purple, or how orange water looked when mixed with blue.

This simple hands-on water play turned into a quiet, mesmerizing moment after all the racing and cheering. It was a chance for them to slow down and explore color mixing at their own pace.

🌟 Try This Extension Activity: Color Lab Water Play

Keep the creativity flowing after your relay race with this easy, hands-on color mixing station.

🧪 What You’ll Need:

Small clear cups or jars (one per child)
Water droppers or pipettes
Leftover colored water from the relay (or mix fresh batches in red, yellow, and blue)
Empty Paint Pallets

🎨 Set-Up:

Place the colored water in the center—orange, purple, blue, yellow, and even red if you have time to make it.
Give each child a water dropper and a clear cup.
Invite them to mix and explore. Challenge them to:

Create new colors.
Make a “rainbow” in their cup.
Lighten or darken colors by adding more or less of each.

💡 Stay Crafty Tip: Short on time (or tubs of water)? Liquid watercolors or food coloring work perfectly too.

📸 Check Out the Action

Scroll through to see all the colorful moments—from tubs mid-change to kids racing with dripping sponges, chanting “SOAK THAT SPONGE!” at the top of their lungs. And don’t miss the bonus footage of our little “Color Lab” at the end—tiny hands, big discoveries, and lots of rainbow magic.

💌 Your Turn!

Would you try this colorful relay (and mini color lab) with your campers, students, or neighborhood crew? I’d love to hear how you’d make it your own! Share your creations and tag us @CraftyWorldEntertainment so we can cheer you on.

Let’s keep soaking, mixing, and making memories.
Stay crafty,
🌈 Miranda

🎨 Soak That Sponge! A Colorful Relay Inspired by Mouse Paint 🌈