Hot Air Balloon
Preschool · 3–5A hot air balloon floating high in the sky. Color the big balloon, its stripes, and the basket. It is a dreamy way to talk about flying, wind, and seeing the world from above. Print it on A4 or US Letter, or color it online with tap-to-fill.
Stripes to fill
A hot air balloon is the best striped page in this category — a large rounded envelope divided into vertical panels, with a small basket hanging beneath. Each stripe is a bounded region with a neighbour on both sides, so filling them one at a time is real edge practice, and the result looks impressive with no skill required.
The basket is tiny compared with the balloon, and that proportion is accurate. Pointing it out — all that fabric to lift a basket that small — is the beginning of understanding what the balloon is actually doing.
Hot air rises
The whole thing works because warm air is lighter than cold air, which is one of the few pieces of physics you can demonstrate in a kitchen: hold a hand above a radiator and feel the warmth going up rather than sideways. It is a satisfying explanation and children remember it.
Frequently asked questions
- How does a hot air balloon work?
- A burner heats the air inside the envelope, and warm air is lighter than the cool air around it, so the balloon floats upward. Feeling the heat rise above a radiator demonstrates the same thing.
- How do I use the stripes?
- Ask for a repeating sequence of colours around the balloon. It produces a striking result and is genuine pattern practice at the same time.