Painting the Fourth of July Fireworks

Five little firecrackers getting ready to zoom...

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...

... BOOM!

The Fourth of July... also known as Independence Day... is only a few weeks away.  On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, separating the 13 colonies from England.  Since then, the Fourth of July has been considered 'America's birthday' and people all over the United States continue to celebrate America's birthday with parades, picnics, and... everybody's favorite... fireworks!  Are you looking for a simple craft to help with your Fourth of July celebrations?  Try this simple painting activity with your children at home or school.  Enjoy!

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Painting Fireworks

Get ready to get messy!  This is a fun... yet messy... way for your students and children to paint fireworks in the night sky.  They will use a variety of colors and brushes while they paint.  This is a process-art activity, meaning your students' paintings may not look like actual fireworks... but your students will have fun painting them and their paintings will definitely look like explosions of color!

You Will Need:

• washable tempera paint  (We used red, white, and blue paint.)
• black construction paper or cardstock  (This represents the night sky.)
• a variety of painting tools... storebought or homemade, traditional or quirky  (We used a pen with a string ball on it and a nubby dryer ball that we found at a local dollar store.)
• arts smocks and newspaper (Because this art project will be messy!)

Directions:

1. Cover your work surface with newspaper.
2. Pour a moderate amount of paint onto the paper plates.
3. Set the stage for the art activity by reviewing what fireworks are and what they look like.
4. Put smocks on the students.
5. Hand them the paints and paintbrushes and let them have at it.
6. Assist and clean up as needed.

Don't forget... children in the preschool to kindergarten age range are still enjoying the process of making art and aren't necessarily interested in what their final product looks like.  If their final products don't look like fireworks, it's 100% OK.  

Here are photos of two of my favorite paintings, both taken while the paint was still wet:

These fireworks on cardstock were created with a combination of the nubby dryer ball and the string pen.  You can imagine fireworks in the sky when you look at this one.

These fireworks on construction paper were created when the child completely forgot about fireworks and threw himself into mixing colors and dabbing and smearing paint with the string pen.  Isn't it great?

Did you enjoy reading about these Fourth of July paintings? If so, check out these blog posts about more preschool craft ideas:

• Math + Craft: Mermaid Math: Counting, Colors, and Patterns
• Collection: Back to School Red Apple Crafts for Kids
• Book + Craft: Will You Always Be Here? by Nadine Damo
• Book + Craft: Broccoli Rob and the Garden Singers by John S. Armstrong
• Craft: How to Make Cinnamon Scented Christmas Ornaments Christmas Craft
• Book + Craft: Zester the Zebra and His Missing Stripes by Christen Conrad