A Wonderful Book (Series) & Flower Painted Fireworks Art!
After reading Natasha Wing’s “The Night Before the Fourth of July” we decided to make some fireworks…out of FLOWERS! We used a variety of different flowers. Also, because this was a first for us; we played around with different ways to create designs. I’m excited to share what we learned, so let’s get started…
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Summary of “The Night Before the Fourth of July”
“The Night Before the Fourth of July” is one of the books in a lovely series of “The Night Before…” books written by Natasha Wing. This one is illustrated by Amy Wummer. There is one for just about every holiday, and we love them all. They are all written in the melodic nature of the original “The Night Before Christmas” by Clement Clarke Moore; which, fun fact (I just learned from google) 😉 was called “A Visit from St. Nicolas”.
A cheerful depiction of holidays and the traditions that usually go with them, they are a great read for kids of all ages. Definitely recommended.
How We Made Flower Painted Fireworks Art…
We tend to keep the activities as simple as possible around here. We’re not interested in complicated or costly. We are also all about fostering independence. For this activity we gathered some flowers. I’d rather say from a garden, but I keep it real around here…they actually were bought at the grocery store. 😮
Anyway, there were a few different kinds; best described as spikey and floppy (can you tell I’m not a gardener? lol). We trimmed the stems to be about 4-6 inches long and comfortable to hold. We used red, white, and blue paint in bowls and some black paper to depict the night sky; along with some glitter for the light up effect of the fireworks. Note: keep in mind allergies might be a factor. We realized this was a concern and used gloves; but using fake flowers is an option too. 🙂
My sister and niece were visiting so it was interesting to see how all four of us approached the same task so differently. I thought we could dip and stamp but quickly realized that wasn’t the look I was going for. My niece gently hovered the flower over the paper and pressed on the petals only which made a very cool effect. I watched my sister rolling her flower around letting the petals make tracks on the paper. My daughter dipped and stamped but with such intensity the paint splattered like fireworks. Lastly, we threw some silver glitter on to give it that light catching shine. Needless to say, it was fun trying each other’s ideas and seeing what worked best for our own.
I love that about art, how everyone can be given the same directions and it all ends up so unique, which is why I always title the summary of our experience as “How we made…”. I want you to remember to make the activities you find on this blog your own, let creativity fly and please feel free to share your experiences with me. Josie@parentingnotperfection.com
Wait?!? Am I Supposed To Be Making One Too?
I highly recommend getting hands on and doing art projects with your child. If you’d rather not, thats okay too, but please do not correct anything they do. If you want the art to look a certain way – make your own.
Especially if your child is little, its okay if it doesn’t turn out the way you imagined. Maybe its what they imagined. Also, its a process. They are learning. They will learn more through trial and error than if you correct them or do it for them. All they will learn if you “help” is that they didn’t do a good enough job on their own or they can’t do it; not exactly the message you want to give your kid. Am I right?!?
Believe me, I know it can be really challenging to let them make “mistakes”. Try doing the project along side them. It will allow you to focus on your own work, give them appropriate modeling of how to use the materials, and show them that you like art too! A lot of what I talk about in “What about the Sensory Mess?” applies to Art projects as well, you might wanna check it out! I love how each fireworks scene has its own identity. I would suggest Flower Painted Fireworks Art if you’re looking for a simple and inviting art activity to connect with your child.
Materials We Used
- “The Night Before the Fourth of July” by Natasha Wing (from the library or buy it here)
- Black paper Red, white & blue paint
- Bowls to hold the paint
- Flowers
- Glitter
- Tray or newspaper to protect the work surface (*optional)
Click HERE for Free Printable copy (Email Subscribers Only)
How to Make Flower Painted Fireworks?
- Lay the black paper on the table.
- Trim the stem of your flower so that its comfortable to hold.
- Squeeze each paint color into a bowl.
- Dip the flower into the paint.
- Explore different ways to create fireworks on your paper with the paint dipped flower.
- Try stamping it, rolling it, gently letting the petals sweep the paper, etc…
There is no wrong way to do this. - When you are satisfied with your work and while the paint is still wet, shake some glitter on.
- Violà ! You did it! 🙂
Click HERE for Free Printable copy (Email Subscribers Only)
Wait, There’s More…
I believe you can easily strengthen communication skills and foster independence all while playing and connecting with your child. To help you do this; I’ve created a FREE printable for each activity called, “Communicating & Connecting”.
It will give you a list of suggestions I’ve found very helpful as a Mom & as a special education teacher; to help you build lifelong skills. Please don’t feel obligated to do everything on the list (but if you do, you’re a rockstar 😉 ).
As a Thank You for subscribing; this is a special FREEBIE for our Email Subscribers Only. 🙂 Click here if you’ve already subscribed. Otherwise, Sign Up below to get the password & access to our entire FREE Printables Library today! 😉
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