Make a 4th of July Fireworks Painting - using a Fly swatter!

The other day my son and I made a trip to the Dollar Store. Being that the 4th of July was right around the corner, I was keeping my eyes open for craft materials for a fireworks painting. I am happy to say that I hit the jackpot!

Materials used for fireworks painting

I found these unusual fly swatters with flowers affixed to one side of them, a "can strainer", and also inexpensive black poster board, and voila! An idea was born for the Fireworks painting.


Full list of materials we used: 

• Black Poster Board (to represent the sky) (50 cents - Dollar Store)
• 2 Fly swatters with ornamental plastic flowers on them ($1 each- Dollar Store)
• Can Strainer ($1 Dollar Store)
• Tempera Paint (Colorations, from Discount School Supply)
• Bronze "Activity" Paint (Colorations, from Discount School Supply)
• Meat packing trays to hold paint
• stencil brush
• glitter
• sequins stars

I spread blue and red paint onto trays. My son pressed the fly swatter (flower-side down) into the paint and proceeded to swat away onto the black paper. WOW! I was impressed with how the splattered paint looked a lot like fireworks!

Soon he mastered double-fisted swat action! He was having fun!

Originally, I had just planned on him using 2 colors, but he insisted on me adding more (which, I must admit, made for a much more exciting picture in the end)! He then added green fireworks...

 
...and yellow fireworks to the painting. It all came together looking like the an explosion of color against a night sky.

After he was done using the fly swatters, I had him use the can strainer as a stencil to paint a different looking firework to the mix. With a stencil brush, he "stippled", or tapped bronze paint through the holes and onto the paper.

This was the result.

He placed the new fireworks all over the page where he saw fit. 

And then — to add even more pizazz — he sprinkled on glitter...

...and metallic stars to make it glow. 

I love how the painting looks abstract...

...but yet still looks like the beautiful lit-up sky of a 4th of July night.



Thanks for coming by and checking this out. Remember to "like" me on my Facebook Page if you want to stay informed of more kid craft ideas I post or find around the blogosphere! Have a fun holiday! Stay safe!

Patriotic Ice Cube Painting and Kids Co-op Linky Party

Yesterday my son and I made a trip to the Dollar Store and found star shaped ice cube trays for, of course, only A BUCK! What a score!

When we came home, I filled each star with red, white, or blue tempera paint, and stuck a dibble stick in each. Then I placed the tray carefully in the freezer.

Today we pulled the iced paint cubes out of the freezer, and took them out of the tray.

We (both!) had fun playing around with them , moving them around on a piece of paper and watching the marks that they left as they warmed up. Of course as time passed the iced paint melted more readily and more distinct marks were made.

Because I didn't dilute the paint with water (which I usually do when I freeze paint) I found the texture was creamy and moved smoothly on the paper.

This is a fun activity that I think children of all ages would enjoy!

Happy 4th of July everybody!

Thanks for coming by and checking this out. Remember to "like" me on my Facebook Page if you want to stay informed of more kid craft ideas I post or find around the blogosphere! Have a wonderful day! 

Now for our weekly link-up! This week Mama's Little Muse is linking up our Glittery Fireworks Craft post, our Seahorse post, as well as our Patriotic Ice Cube Painting Post.

Dramatic Fireworks Display Craft: a Fourth of July Activity

Here is a super fun 4th of July craft to do with the kids. YES it requires the dreaded glitter, BUT the end-result is SO well worth it!

Materials needed:

• black construction paper
• glitter in all different colors
• Elmer’s glue thinned down with water and mixed well.
• container for thinned down glue
• water
• a spoon
• a straw
• a tray for paper
• optional: Folded piece of paper (for clean-up)

1. Take a spoonful of thinned-down glue and place blob on construction paper.

2. Have child blow air through the straw onto the glue. Encourage the child to blow the glue blob in all different directions. This part can be a little challenging. I had my son actually touch the straw to the glue to make it easier. Also tip the tray so that "gravity" helps the glue go in the direction you want it to go. Rotate the tray and the direction of the air being blown. I think a lazy susan would be helpful for this, but we didn't have one around.

3. Have child pour glitter (one color) onto the glue.

Adult job- For easy clean-up pour loose glitter onto folded paper and pour back into the container.

Repeat steps 1 to 3 with different colors of glitter. Don't worry about the new glue being blown onto the other glitter shapes. It ends up being interesting that way. 

 

Have a safe and enjoyable 4th of July!

Thanks for coming by and checking this out. Remember to "like" me on my Facebook Page if you want to stay informed of more kid craft ideas I post or find around the blogosphere! 

Have fun!

Summer Bucket List and Kid's Co-op Linky Party

So now since it is summer, I figured I'd better get a post out on our "Summer Bucket List". It is actually kind of gratifying to get it out so late because that means I get to cross a few things off that have already been completed! And that just feels cool! I want to just say a word about the idea of a bucket list. A very inspirational co-worker turned me on to the idea of making a life bucket list for myself. She is pretty young — a mere 30 — and she made hers years ago. She has gone bungee jumping, she has jumped out of an airplane, she has traveled around the world, she gone on kayaking & rock-climbing adventures, she is in a dance tribe, she has been a "Rodeo Queen", and she has run a marathon. She is continuing to add to and check off things on her list as she goes through her life. These are all ideas that were born out of her head and that she wrote down and pursued them with dedication and passion. Her life already sounds so incredibly rich with experiences and I am inspired by her. What wonderful memories she has created for herself.
As a result of hearing my friend's stories, I, for months, have been compiling my own personal bucket list. It was about a month ago however, I discovered that some of my fellow bloggers had put together Summer Bucket Lists of their own for their family, and I thought HOW PERFECT! Of course I would have to compile my own specifically geared toward my little family for the summer.
When creating the list I was particularly inspired by a guest post that Danielle from 52 Brand New wrote for Imagination Soup...... where she emphasized how important it is to expose your children to lots and lots of varied experiences in life. It fosters their growth, and evolution as individuals. Here is her wonderful article  here.


Here goes the Summer Bucket List for my son and me:

1. Help my son plant his very own garden
2. Plant a butterfly garden
3. Raise butterflies from caterpillars
4. Go swimming in a natural setting
5. Sleep in a tent in the backyard
6. Help my son set up a lemonade stand
7. Make mango ice cream
8. Make Fourth of July popsicles (the Magic Onions)
9. Go on a picnic
10. Visit the beach
11. See Fireworks
12. Take my son fishing for the 1st time
13. Bike on the bike path many times!
14. Start a Plant I.D. book
15. Pick a bouquet of flowers and give it to someone
16. Gather river rocks and make pet rocks
17. Go for an extended camping trip
18. Start potato plants from cutting the eyes off and planting them
19. Root a avocado pit and plant
20. Make a cherry pie from harvest of cherry tree
21. Go stargazing
22. Read the Flat Stanley Series with my son
23. Make a tee shirt using freezer paper templates
24. Make a shell mobile
25. Paint seashells
26. Make a sundial
27. Visit waterfalls
28. See a movie in the park
29. Go to the County Fair
30. See an outdoor concert
31. Go strawberry picking
32. Make strawberry jam
33. Go blueberry picking
34. Make blueberry pancakes
35. Grill up shish kebabs
36. Make caprese with fresh tomatoes from the garden
37. Dance at the local Farmer's market's dance stage
38. Make a picture using vegetable stamps
39. Go to a baseball game
40. Make a stepping stone
41. Make solar prints
42. Make a sand casting
43. Go to an outdoor summer concert 
44. Build an Ice Sculpture 
45. Submit son's artwork to Mayor's Art show 
46. Make an ocean in a bottle 
47. Let my son take a bath with glow sticks!

You should check out the bucket lists too put out by other bloggers. Creative Family Fun, 52 Brand New, Iowa's Farmer's Wife, Quirky Mama, Digital Reflections. Famiglia&Seoul,& Creekside Learning.  If you have a list of your own or an idea that you would share, please be sure to add it to the comments!

I will be happy if we are able to cross off 75% of this list. I am sure as the days go on, I will think up more ideas, and add to it. I'm going put this on its own page on my blog for my own reference. I hope you were able to find inspiration also.

Thanks for coming by and checking this out. Remember to "like" me on my Facebook Page if you want to stay informed of more kid craft ideas I post or find around the blogosphere! Have a wonderful day!

Make an Ocean in a Bottle & Kid's Co-op Link up Party

I personally love this craft! I made this with my son about 2 years ago, and thought that we would revisit it. The materials are easy to gather, and the bottle takes minutes to put together.

 First we gathered up the materials:

• Oil (I like to keep on hand the cheapest oil I can find at the store specifically for crafts like this, or playdough, etc)
• An empty plastic bottle with cap
• Blue Watercolor (ours is from Discount School Supply), food dye would work fine too
• Glitter
• Other objects that represent the ocean (sand, shells, a shark)
• Funnel
• Liquid measuring cup (only because it is easy to pour from, we didn't use it for measuring)

First, I had my son pour water into the bottle to about the half-way mark, and then I had him put in the watercolor.

 Then I had him add the glitter.

We squeezed the rubber floaty shark in, and then poured some oil in. Next time I will remember not to use ocean creatures that float, and use instead the solid plastic ones that sink to the bottom — that way the sea creatures stay in the ocean part.

Before the oil reached the top, we put the sand and the shells in. 

We then poured oil as high up as it could go to the top and capped it, turning it as tightly as I could. Last time I think I put special glue inside the cap to make sure it stayed sealed. I didn't do that this time, as I felt secure that I screwed the top tight enough that it wouldn't come loose.

Voila! My son had fun putting it up to the light and watching the waves tumble back and forth. Such a gratifying easy craft that I highly recommend!

Things Bode learned:

• Oil and water don't mix
• Oil is actually lighter in weight than water and floats to the top.
• The watercolor mixes with the water and not with the oil, because it is water-based.

Thanks for coming by and checking this out. Remember to "like" me on my Facebook Page if you want to stay informed of more kid craft ideas I post or find around the blogosphere! Now onto the Link-up Party! Have a wonderful day!

Designing a Garden from pictures; and a gardening blog hop!

One of my favorite crafts to do with preschoolers this time of year is to have them design, on paper, their own garden plots. Children from 2 years up to 6 years of age enjoy this activity. The materials used are easily accessible — just construction paper, scissors, glue and pictures of garden plants are all that are needed. It is a great way to recycle garden catalogs (I use them for my Rainbow Collage images also, see the post here).

This craft is beneficial to children in that:

• it is an opportunity to practice and develop cutting skills
• it is an opportunity to practice and develop gluing skills
• it is an opportunity to categorize plant foods and to differentiate between fruits and vegetables

In addition, if the child will be planting in their own garden plot it will help them to have a clearer vision of what they would like to plant.

I did this project one-on-one with my son at home, as this year, he has his own "real" garden plot to fill. We had fun discussing what fruits, veggies, and flowers he would like in his garden. Of course the collage is more of an exercise to get him thinking about it, and design and choices are not set in stone!

First I had my son cut out all of the pictures of plants that he would like in his garden.  He is four years old, and I found that he at times needed help stabilizing the flimsy catalog paper, as well as reminders that the thumb on the cutting hand should be above the rest of his fingers. Younger children may require hand-over-hand positioning and cutting and verbal cues (open, close, open, close) as well as help in stabilizing the paper.

I then had my son apply glue to the paper. I told him that the brown paper represents the soil in his garden bed.

He then placed the pictures where he wants them. Easy "pea"sy!
Many of the plants that he glued on the paper we did in fact plant in his garden (corn, teddy bear sunflowers, and sugar snap peas).
A few days after he completed this collage we went to the nursery, and he had many of the plants that he viewed fresh in his mind. I believe this activity helped to mentally prepare him for the next step. I will be posting soon on how planting the seeds turned out!

Have fun and happy gardening!

If you like what you have seen on this blog and you want to stay informed of future posts I would love if you "liked" Mama's Little Muse Facebook Page here.

Check out the Gardening Blog Hop down below: the co-hosts are
www.momto2poshlildivas.com
http://www.kitchencounterchronicle.com
www.theeducatorsspinonit.blogspot.com
http://www.duckduckoctopus.com
http://livingmontessorinow.com
http://www.rainydaymum.co.uk
http://readysetread2me.blogspot.com
http://playfullearners.co.uk
http://craftymomsshare.blogspot.com/
http://glitteringmuffins.com

Book made out of one sheet of paper and scissors

I am a Member of the Weekly Kid's Co-op. I feel so fortunate to have found an incredible group of friendly, creative bloggers. If you have a fun kid friendly activity that you would like to link up to our Weekly Party, see below for details. Also be sure to scroll down to the bottom of this post to see what other bloggers have come up with. The following is my blog post that I am linking up:

I think it is important to set up environments for our children which invite them to engage in creative play in a natural organic way. That being said, I do let my son watch TV and play video games, but only a very limited amount per week. He does plead for them at times, and it has reached a degree where my patience wears thin. Instead of being the bad guy all the time, saying "No, no, no!" I realize that it is my responsibility as a parent to offer him alternatives that will engage him.

Partly inspired by Screen-Free Week which happened a couple of weeks ago, and also my feelings surrounding my son's media obsession, I came up with the following idea: I set out on his drawing table all of his markers he enjoys drawing with. In addition I set out a large blank book for him to draw in. He loves drawing pictures and making up stories to go along with them. Often he has me write down words to accompany his pictures. However, in the past his pictures were on single sheets of paper, never in multiple sheets in book form! He would love this!

My hunch was right, when he saw the blank book and the markers he wanted to dive right in. And dove right in he did! He worked on the book in one sitting for about an hour, and that is huge! We also took it with us to places he otherwise might get bored and restless, so that the time would be enjoyable to him.  With each completed page, I was sure to write in my neatest handwriting in bold black ink the story he recited to me. I made sure that he signed his work, as any author or artist would be sure to do; and, of course, I had him give the book a title.

I was lucky because I scored gargantuan (I mean GARGANTUAN) sheets of quality paper from our local material exchange store called M.E.C.C.A. (check it out here) for a song. I'm talking $5 per inch of stack! That's a deal if I've ever seen one! Thanks M.E.C.C.A. The paper makes for a great book, but you can use any size rectangular sheet (I have even made itty bitty books with 8.5 X 11" sized paper!) Here are the directions:

Thanks so much for stopping by! If you like what you see here on my blog and want to keep abreast of more posts in the future, as well as links to other fun ideas that I have found around the internet, I would love it if you liked my Facebook Page here.

Have fun!