USA, Hooray!

We had a pretty low-key week here at Seedlings summer camp.  Our theme was 4th of July and at the preschool level, when you ask children about Independence Day, they generally associate it with one singular (and totally awesome) thing...FIREWORKS!  So, we spent our week finding creative ways to make fireworks - and a stellar American flag!

Balloon fireworks are quite possibly one of my favorite projects.  I do it every year.  The children love it, I love it and they always come out gorgeous!

If you are brave and not completely glitter-phobic like I am, go ahead and sprinkle some of the shiny stuff on there after your balloon printing, it'll be great!

Ok, so maybe I'm not COMPLETELY glitter-phobic.  My older kiddos made glue and glitter fireworks this week and I must say, they came out so, so pretty.  I might have to change my mind about glitter...maybe.

I had a special request to finger paint this week, so we used some red, white and blue paints for our pictures.  We've got a theme going on here, ya know!?

My toddlers created some paper plate 4th of July wreaths for the occasion.  When doing this project with the little guys, I suggest using a more inner section of the plate, rather than the slanted outer portion which makes gluing difficult for little hands.

I challenged my Pre-K class with a group project, a giant American flag.  I painted the red, white and blue sections on a large piece of cardboard and then they were tasked with filling in each section with the appropriate colors by cutting apart magazines.

 

I loved this project.  We practiced cutting, gluing, teamwork, responsibility with classroom tools, conversation, problem-solving, and so much more and we ended up with a truly amazing flag!

Fabulous!!

And no 4th of July week would be complete without Fireworks in a Bag!  For a complete explanation of how to do this project, visit last year's post here.

I will add that using very high quality bags makes a huge difference in the POP!  So get the good bags!

POP!!

Happy 4th of July!