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Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Straw-Blown Painted Fireworks


I asked my oldest son, “What do we celebrate on the fourth of July?”

“President’s Day?” he answered unsure.

“Uh-oh,” I thought. My son didn’t have the context behind why we celebrate Independence Day. I took some time to explain to him that on July 4, 1776, the U.S. adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring its freedom from Great Britain.

“Oooooohhhh,” he said. I could almost hear it click.

Now I had him write down how he would celebrate Independence Day this year (apparently, we’re not just going to a parade and watching fireworks, we’re playing Wii!). When he was done writing, we got out our set of watercolor paints.


He dabbed some drops on the paper and with a drinking straw, blew air across the paint, pushing it out from the center droplet to make a fireworks shape. 

Download a PDF of the writing paper I made here.

I remember doing this little art project as a girl and how much I enjoyed it. My son liked it too.

3 comments:

  1. I've seen straw blowing art before but I never thought to use it for fireworks. Looks just like them!!! Great idea

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  2. Straw blowing art was one of my favorites as a kid too! The fireworks turned out so colorful and vibrant, I love them! I love how you added a writing promt to the activity too. My boys would have definitely added in playing the wii too. :)

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  3. The fireworks turned out great! I'm glad that you took the time to teach him the meaning behind 4th of July. Thank you for sharing at Saturday Show and Tell! I hope you'll be back this week.
    -Mackenzie
    http://www.cheeriosandlattes.com

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