Art Attack Day ideas for OSHC
91 DIY activities for Art Attack Day at before and after school care or vacation care. Pick and mix, or build a balanced day in one click.
3D Chalk Illusions
Children draw optical illusions on the ground with chalk, such as holes or steps, and photograph them from the right angle.
Craft Day · Clay and Pottery Day · Art Attack Day +1Air-Dry Clay Creations
Children model pinch pots, animals and small sculptures from air-dry clay that dries overnight.
Rock Band Day · Music Festival Day · Art Attack Day +1Album Cover Design
Children invent a band name and album title, then design an eye-catching album cover, exploring graphic design and lettering.
World Animal Day · Budding Artists · Art Attack Day +3Animal Portrait Gallery
Children draw or paint a close-up portrait of an animal from a photo, focusing on eyes, fur, feathers or scales, then hang them as a gallery with a caption about the animal.
Balloon Day · Budding Artists · Art Attack Day +2Balloon Stamp Painting
Younger children dip small balloons in paint and stamp them onto paper to make bubbly circle patterns.
Big Kids Club · Long Projects Day · Art Attack Day +2Big Shared Artwork
Older children choose a theme and plan a large shared artwork, working on it across the term. Gives them real ownership and a finished piece to display.
World Art Day · Budding Artists · Art Attack Day +2Blind Contour Portraits
Partners draw each other's faces without looking at the paper, producing wonderfully wobbly portraits and plenty of laughs.
Budding Artists · Bubbles Day · Art Attack Day +1Blown Bubble Painting
Children blow coloured bubbles onto paper to create soft, round patterns, a gentle process art experience.
Recycle Day · Sustainable Superstars · Earth Day +3Bottle Top Mosaic
Children sort collected bottle tops by colour and glue them onto a board to make bright mosaic pictures, turning plastic waste into art.
Graffiti and Street Art · Art Attack Day · Budding Artists +1Bubble Letter Name Tags
Children design their name in bold bubble or block letters, adding shading, outlines and colour in a street-art style.
St Patrick's Day · Art Attack Day · Fruit and Veggie DayCapsicum Shamrock Printing
Younger children stamp cut capsicum halves into green paint to make shamrock-shaped prints.
International Dot Day · Chalk Festival · Graffiti and Street Art +2Chalk Dot Playground Trail
Children decorate the playground with giant chalk dots, linking them into a winding trail with challenges such as hop, spin or balance at each dot.
Graffiti and Street Art · Chalk Festival · Art Attack Day +3Chalk Street Art
Children work together on large chalk murals across the playground, turning the ground into a giant canvas.
Clay and Pottery Day · Animal Theme · Craft Day +2Clay Animal Sculptures
Children sculpt animals from clay, practising shaping, joining and adding texture.
NAIDOC Week · Reconciliation Week · Art Attack Day +1Collaborative NAIDOC Mural
Children design and paint a group mural responding to the year's NAIDOC theme, after learning what the theme means.
Holi · Rainbow Day · Science Day +2Colour Mixing Science
Children predict and test what new colours appear when primary colours are mixed.
Bubbles Day · Budding Artists · Art Attack Day +2Coloured Bubble Prints
Children blow coloured bubbles and press paper onto them to capture bubbly prints, combining science and art.
Desert Day · Beach Day · Craft Day +1Coloured Sand Art
Children create colourful pictures by sprinkling coloured sand over glue designs.
Day of the Dead · Art Attack Day · World Art Day +1Colourful Calavera Folk Art
Children decorate a sugar-skull-style calavera with bright flowers, hearts and patterns, exploring a celebrated Mexican folk art form that is joyful and colourful rather than scary.
Corn Day · Down on the Farm · Art Attack Day +1Corn Cob Painting
Children roll dried corn cobs in paint to create textured patterns.
Before School Calm Start · Budding Artists · Art Attack Day +1Daily Drawing Prompt
A fresh drawing prompt on the whiteboard each day gives early arrivals a calm, creative way to settle in.
International Dance Day · Messy Play Day · Art Attack Day +2Dancing Feet Paint Art
Children step in washable paint and dance across a long roll of paper outdoors, creating a colourful record of their moves.
Emoji Day · Inventors Day · Art Attack DayDesign a New Emoji
Children invent an emoji that does not exist yet and pitch it to the group, explaining when people would use it.
Challenge Day · Art Attack Day · Budding Artists +2Detailed Painting Challenge
Children slow down and focus on a detailed painting using fine brushes, building patience and careful technique.
World Music Day · Art Attack Day · Mindfulness Day +2Draw What You Hear
Children listen to contrasting music and let their pencils and pastels move with the sound, creating abstract artworks that show rhythm and mood.
World Art Day · Teamwork Day · Games Day +2Draw-It Relay Race
Teams sprint to a shared easel, add one part of a picture called out by the leader, then race back so the next teammate can continue.
Art Attack Day · Budding Artists · Learn to Day +2Educator-Led Drawing Lesson
An educator with art skills runs a relaxed step-by-step drawing or painting lesson, sharing their talent and teaching new techniques.
Ramadan and Eid · Art Attack Day · Pi Day +2Eight-Point Star Pattern Art
Children use simple shapes to create eight-point star patterns like those found in Islamic art and architecture, then colour them into a mosaic-style display.
Harmony Day · Culture Celebration Day · Friendship Day +3Everyone Belongs Mural
Children add pictures, words and symbols about themselves and their backgrounds to a shared mural celebrating everyone in the group.
Hanukkah · Paper Crafts Day · Art Attack Day +1Festival of Lights Suncatchers
Children make glowing window suncatchers in blue, white and gold shaped like dreidels, candles and stars, exploring how light shines through colour as they learn why Hanukkah is called the Festival of Lights.
Budding Artists · Tiny Things Day · Detective Day +2Fingerprint Characters
Children press fingerprints onto paper and turn them into tiny characters and animals with fine-line markers.
Messy Play Day · Art Attack Day · Water Play Day +2Frozen Paint Cubes
Children paint with frozen cubes of paint that melt into bright, smooth colours as they glide across paper.
French Day · Art Through the Ages · Art Attack Day +3Garden Dab Painting Outdoors
Children paint outside with short dabs and dots of colour, the way French painters of the 1870s captured light on gardens, ponds and flowers.
Chalk Festival · Art Attack Day · Graffiti and Street Art +2Giant Chalk Murals
Children work together to create large chalk artworks across the playground, transforming the space with colour.
Tie Dye Day · Art Through the Ages · Craft Day +1Glue Batik Fabric Art
Children draw designs on fabric with glue, paint over them, then wash out the glue to reveal a batik-style pattern without hot wax.
Animal Theme · Under the Sea · World Oceans Day +3Group Ocean Wall Mural
Children create sea animal artworks that are collected into one large underwater mural, giving everyone a part in a shared display.
Holi · Rainbow Day · Culture Celebration Day +1Holi Handprint Banner
Children create a bright group banner with colourful handprints to celebrate the festival of colours.
Nature Play Day · Science Week · Raw Art Day +3Homemade Natural Paints
Children make paints from kitchen ingredients like turmeric, beetroot and herbs, then test the colours on paper.
Book Week · Art Attack Day · Budding Artists +1Illustrator Technique Stations
Children rotate through art stations that each recreate a technique picture book illustrators use, such as collage, watercolour wash, cross-hatching and printmaking.
Art Attack Day · Café Day · Cooking Day +3Juice Mocktail Bar
Children mix fruit juices, sparkling water and chopped fruit into colourful mocktails, practising measuring and creating their own recipes.
Kindness Day · Rock and Gem Day · Art Attack Day +2Kindness Rocks
Children paint kind messages and pictures on rocks to place around the school for others to find.
Gardening Day · Autumn Leaves · Clay and Pottery Day +2Leaf Clay Impressions
Children press leaves into rolled clay to make textured tiles that show off the patterns of veins and edges.
International Dot Day · Art Attack Day · Budding Artists +2Make Your Mark Dot Art
Children start with a single dot and turn it into a bold, signed artwork of their own, celebrating the idea that everyone can make their mark.
Rainbow Day · Messy Play Day · Art Attack Day +2Messy Rainbow Painting
Younger children mix colours on large paper with hands and sponges. Big sensory art outdoors.
Tiny Things Day · Art Attack Day · Budding ArtistsMicro Art Challenge
Children paint tiny artworks on mini canvases, small stones or card squares using fine brushes and a steady hand.
Messy Play Day · Nature Play Day · Raw Art Day +2Mud Painting
Children mix mud to different thicknesses and use brushes, sticks and fingers to create earthy paintings outdoors.
Nature Play Day · Raw Art Day · Art Attack Day +1Nature Paintbrushes
Children bind leaves, grasses and twigs onto sticks to make paintbrushes, then test the marks each one makes.
Africa Day · Art Attack Day · World Art Day +2Ndebele-Inspired Geometric Painting
Children paint bold, outlined geometric designs inspired by the house paintings of Ndebele women in South Africa, an art form known for bright colours and strong black lines.
Art Through the Ages · Time Travellers Day · Dinosaur Day +2Ochre-Style Cave Painting
Children paint animals and patterns on scrunched brown paper with earthy colours, exploring how early people around the world recorded life in pictures.
Opposites Day · Backwards Day · Art Attack Day +1Opposite Hand Art
Children draw using their non-dominant hand and compare the results. A funny, low-pressure art challenge.
Art Attack Day · Messy Play Day · Raw Art Day +3Outdoor Splatter Painting
Children flick, drip and splatter paint onto a large sheet outdoors, enjoying big, free movement and bold abstract results.
Art Attack Day · Big Kids Club · Café Day +2Paint and Juice Session
Older children enjoy a relaxed canvas painting session with juice or mocktails, combining creativity with a social, café-style atmosphere.
Art Through the Ages · Art Attack Day · Budding Artists +1Paint Like a Famous Artist
Older children look at the styles of well-known artists, such as dots, swirls or bold shapes, and create their own artwork in that style.
NAIDOC Week · Reconciliation Week · Rock and Gem Day +1Painted Pattern Stones
Children paint patterns on river stones using their own designs, after learning about First Nations art with local guidance.
Recycle Day · Art Attack Day · Budding Artists +2Paper Bag Painting
Children paint big, bold artworks on opened-out paper shopping bags, which make sturdy, free paper for large-scale painting.
Crazy Hair Day · Craft Day · Art Attack Day +1Paper Plate Hair Portraits
Children draw a face on a paper plate and give it wild hair from yarn and pipe cleaners.
Craft Day · Long Projects Day · Recycle Day +2Papier-Mâché Bowls and Masks
Children layer newspaper and glue over balloons to make bowls or masks, then paint them once dry over the following day.
Nowruz · Art Attack Day · Culture Celebration Day +1Patterned Nowruz Eggs
Children decorate hard-boiled eggs or card eggs with bright patterns inspired by Persian tiles and the paisley-like boteh design, ready for a haft-sin display.
Nowruz · Art Attack Day · World Art Day +2Persian Tile Mosaic Art
Children create symmetrical mosaic designs from paper squares inspired by the blue and turquoise tiles of Persian buildings, a calm art activity full of pattern and colour.
Photography Day · Art Attack Day · Craft Day +1Photo Collage
Children print and arrange photos they've taken into a collage with captions. Celebrates their view of the world.
Block World Day · Gaming Day · Coding Unplugged +3Pixel Art on Grid Paper
Children colour squares on grid paper to create pixel pictures of animals, objects or characters of their own design.
Craft Day · Budding Artists · Art Attack DayPlaster Figurine Painting
Children paint plaster figurines with acrylic paint, adding fine details, then take home a finished keepsake.
World Poetry Day · Chalk Festival · Art Attack DayPoetry Chalk Walk
Children write short poems and illustrated lines in chalk along a path, turning the playground into an outdoor poetry trail for families to read at pick-up.
World Art Day · Art Attack Day · Show and Tell Day +2Pop-Up Gallery Opening
Children curate their own artworks into a pop-up gallery, writing artist labels and acting as guides at an opening for families.
Under the Sea · World Oceans Day · Art Attack Day +1Porthole Sea Scenes
Children paint an underwater scene in the centre of a paper plate, then frame it with foil to look like a ship's porthole.
Gardening Day · Craft Day · Mother's Day +2Pot Painting
Children decorate terracotta pots with acrylic paint to use for planting or as gifts.
Rock and Gem Day · Kindness Day · Art Attack Day +2Rock Painting
Children paint smooth rocks with patterns, faces or kind messages to keep, display or hide around the garden.
Art Attack Day · Budding Artists · Messy Play Day +1Rolling Marble Painting
Younger children roll paint-coated marbles around a tray lined with paper to create colourful, unpredictable patterns.
Maker Day · Craft Day · Loose Parts Day +2Rotating Maker Stations
Children move freely between painting, clay and loose-parts stations, choosing how to create and testing ideas across different materials.
Art Attack Day · Budding Artists · Rainbow Day +2Salad Spinner Spin Art
Children drop paint onto paper circles inside a salad spinner and spin it to create swirling, colourful patterns.
Around the World Day · New Year's Party · Science Day +2Salt Crystal Fireworks
Children draw fireworks with glue, cover them in salt and drip watercolour on top to watch the colours spread.
Robot Day · Inventors Day · Maker Day +2Scribble Bots
Older children build a wobbly drawing machine from a cup, a small motor and markers, then watch it scribble patterns across paper.
Wheels Day · Graffiti and Street Art · Art Attack DaySkateboard Deck Design
Children design their own skateboard deck artwork on a paper template, exploring street art styles and colour.
Mabo Day · Reconciliation Week · Torres Strait Islander Culture +1Special Place Drawings
Children draw a place that is deeply important to them and talk about connection to place, learning that the Meriam people's connection to their land on Mer is ongoing and recognised in law.
Science and Space · Space Explorers · Art Attack Day +1Sponge Galaxy Painting
Children sponge dark paints onto paper and flick white paint for stars, creating swirling galaxy artworks.
Water Play Day · Art Attack Day · Colour Fun Run +2Squirter Splash Painting
Children squirt watered-down paint at large sheets of paper using water pistols or spray bottles, creating bold splash art.
Musical Theatre Day · Art Attack Day · Dramatic Play Day +1Stage Backdrop Painting
Children work together to paint large backdrops that set the scene for a show or performance.
Graffiti and Street Art · Art Attack Day · Budding Artists +1Stencil Spray Art
Children cut stencils and spray watered-down paint through them to create street-art style pictures.
Art Attack Day · Budding Artists · Mother's Day +2Step-by-Step Canvas Painting
Children follow guided step-by-step instructions to paint a simple scene on canvas, learning layering and brush techniques.
Art Attack Day · Budding Artists · Halloween +2Straw Blow Painting
Children blow drops of watery paint across paper through straws to create branching trees or wild monster shapes.
Bug Day · Spring Fair · Art Attack Day +2Symmetry Butterfly Painting
Children paint one half of a butterfly, fold the paper and press to reveal matching wings, discovering symmetry in a fun, surprising way.
Fashion Design Day · Art Attack Day · Tie Dye DayT-Shirt Design Studio
Children sketch a design and transfer it onto a plain t-shirt with fabric markers to wear home.
Pacific Islands Day · Art Attack Day · Culture Celebration Day +2Tapa Cloth Pattern Art
Children learn that bark cloth is made in several Pacific nations, called ngatu in Tonga, siapo in Samoa and masi in Fiji, then create their own geometric designs on crumpled brown paper.
Budding Artists · Art Attack Day · Mother's Day +2Tape Resist Painting
Children stick masking tape onto paper, paint over it, then peel the tape away to reveal crisp white shapes.
Pirate Day · Treasure Hunters Day · Art Attack Day +1Tea-Stained Treasure Maps
Children age paper with cold tea, crumple and tear the edges, then draw an island with an X. Art and storytelling combined.
Book Week · Art Attack Day · Craft DayTheme Response Display Wall
Each child creates a piece of art or writing in response to this year's Book Week theme, and together the pieces become one big collaborative display.
Around the World Day · New Year's Party · Diwali +2Toilet Roll Firework Prints
Children cut the ends of toilet rolls into fringes and stamp them in paint to make bursting firework pictures.
Glow Party · Neon Day · Art Attack Day +2UV Glow Painting
Children paint pictures with fluorescent paint and watch them glow under a black light.
Fruit and Veggie Day · Art Attack Day · Budding Artists +1Veggie Stamp Printing
Children dip cut vegetables into paint and stamp prints, exploring the patterns inside each one.
Art Attack Day · Budding Artists · Graffiti and Street Art +3Whole-Group Collaborative Mural
Everyone adds their own section to a large mural on a shared theme, creating one artwork that reflects the whole group.
Yarn Day · Art Attack Day · Messy Play Day +1Yarn Painting
Children dip yarn in paint and drag, drop or pull it across paper to create swirling patterns.