DIY Washable Window Paint Activity

It’s washable window paint activity time! Grab your washable kids’ paint, my not-so-secret ingredient, and invite your littles to paint your windows. This one is quick to prep, 110% engaging, and so easy to clean up that you’ll want to do it again tomorrow.

Two children stand on a striped outdoor rug in front of a large glass sliding door covered in thick, colorful paint strokes. One child in a red sweatshirt paints the lower middle area of the window with an orange-handled brush, while another child in a blue sweatshirt paints nearby with a pink-handled brush. The glass is filled with layered blue, pink, purple, green, and orange paint in swirls, loops, and drips. A white paint tray with several bright paint colors and brushes sits on the rug below the window. This washable window paint activity photo shows the window mostly filled with bold paint marks from top to bottom.

Washable window paint activity for bright glass art

I wish I could have bottled up the kids’ excitement when I told them that we were going to paint the windows.

Eeee-lectric.

They had the time of their lives, and I loved keeping this on my window for about a week. Whenever I walked into my home, I saw the enormous splash of colors of my back window and it melted my heart into a puddle.

Making the paint? Easy

Clean up? Easy.

But the best part is how fun and memorable it is.

✨ Check out our ultimate collection of the best process art projects for kids!

A full view of the glass sliding door shows the painted window from farther back with no children in the frame. The glass is covered in thick, colorful paint strokes in blue, pink, purple, green, yellow, and orange from the top to the bottom of the window. Near the top of the glass is a large flower shape outlined in orange with a yellow center, surrounded by scattered blue and green dots and drips. At the bottom of the image, a striped rug is visible with a white paint tray holding paint and a red-handled brush resting across it.

Washable window paint activity kids can wash off

This is a super fun option for preschool process art because the focus is on experimenting, not perfection.

Kids can layer colors, stamp shapes, swirl with brushes, and paint above their heads without worrying about running out of paper.

Even if you’ve painted a thousand times before, this project feels fresh, new, and exciting.

Plus, there’s no final product to keep which has value in and of itself.

Just do a quick test spot first (more on that below), then let the glass become your gallery.

☀️ Outdoor art is one of our specialties! Try some of these activities while you’re outside:

Three side-by-side photos show the supplies arranged on a black metal outdoor table. The left image shows a hand holding a green bottle of Crayola washable paint over a white paint palette tray with paint colors in several wells. The middle image shows a hand holding a bottle of Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day dish soap in front of the same table setup. The right image shows the white speckled paint palette tray filled with bright paint colors including blue, yellow, orange, green, pink, purple, and dark blue, with paintbrushes resting along the edge. This washable window paint activity image collage shows paint, dish soap, brushes, and palette setup.

Materials needed

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Washable kids’ paint
Dish soap
Small bowls for paint – we used a muffin tin
Paintbrushes – we used these exact fluffy brushes
Hose
Optional: foam brushes, sponges, cotton swabs, window squeegee (the next time we do it we are using a squeegee!)

Two side-by-side photos show children gathered around a black metal outdoor table mixing paint in a white speckled paint palette tray. Multiple children’s hands hold red-handled paintbrushes dipped into paint wells filled with bright blue, yellow, orange, green, pink, purple, and blue paint. Bottles of paint and a bottle of dish soap are placed around the tray. In the background, there is a grassy yard, a stone border, and potted plants near bushes.

How to set up a washable window paint activity

Add washable kids’ paint into bowls and add a generous squirt of dish soap.
Test your window + a small area around your window first with your paint + soap mix to check for staining. (Obviously I did not test beforehand because I like to live la vida loca, and I had no staining issues. It felt low-risk to me.)
Paint directly onto the window using brushes, sponges, or whatever tools you grabbed.
For bolder color, add another layer once the first one starts to set.
Cleanup option A (right away): spray with water.
Cleanup option B (after it dries): spray with water, let it sit a minute, then rinse.

Two children crouch and kneel in front of a large glass door while painting the lower portion of the window with bright colors. The child in a blue sweatshirt paints the center-lower area with a red-handled brush, and the child in a red sweatshirt paints from a palette tray placed on a striped rug. Thick paint strokes in orange, green, blue, purple, and pink cover the glass, with visible drips running downward. The white tray below holds multiple paint colors and several brushes. This washable window paint activity photo shows the lower half of the window being filled with layered paint strokes.

Pane and simple: Why soap helps

Here’s the not-so-secret secret: dish soap helps the paint release from the glass. It makes the mixture spread more smoothly while you’re painting, and it also helps the paint wash away more easily during cleanup.

Without the dish soap, washable paint can still work, but it may feel a little draggy on the window and can dry with more stubborn spots. Adding soap gives the paint mixture a slicker texture, which makes brushing, swirling, and dabbing feel easier.

Think of it like giving the paint a tiny “slip ’n slide” so it doesn’t cling forever. That little bit of soap can make a big difference when it’s time to rinse or wipe everything off—especially if you let the paint dry first and want cleanup to be quick.

A split image shows two photos next to each other. In the left photo, three children stand in front of a glass door painting colorful swirls and shapes on the window, with one child in a pink sweatshirt reaching higher on the glass and another child in a red sweatshirt turning toward the camera. In the right photo, the glass door is shown with the painting finished, covered in layered blue, pink, purple, green, yellow, and orange paint, with a large orange-and-yellow flower shape near the top and blue and green dots around it. The striped rug and white paint tray with brushes are visible at the bottom. This washable window paint activity collage shows both the painting process and the completed painted window.

Ideas that make it feel like epic art

The easiest trick is thinking big.

Windows naturally make everything look bold and bright, so even simple shapes can feel extra dramatic once the sunlight hits them.

Here are some fun ideas you can use to make the finished window look exciting, colorful, and fabulous:

Go giant on purpose: Encourage oversized shapes that stretch across the glass. Think giant flowers, huge hearts, extra-long rainbows, or a sun that takes up a whole corner. Big shapes instantly make it feel like epic art.
Pick one fun theme before you start: A theme makes window painting super fun. Try rainbow storm, under-the-sea bubbles, garden party, outer space, or silly monsters.
Add tiny details with cotton swabs: Dots, dashes, stars, flower centers, raindrops, and little patterns can all be added with cotton swabs. It’s an easy way to make the painting look extra fancy without needing special tools.
Repeat shapes for a mural look: One rainbow is cute. Five rainbows across the whole window? Pick my jaw up off of the ground. Repeating the same shape (ex: hearts, stars, flowers, circles, clouds) creates a big mural effect that looks stunning!
Let the sunlight be part of the art” Paint where the light comes through and check it from different angles. Some colors look brighter or more transparent in the sun, which makes the window feel extra magical. It’s like the light is helping with the masterpiece.