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Paper tube (toilet, paper towel, or film) Construction paper or decorative wallpaper/gift wrap pipe cleaner glue glitter stars Cover toilet tissue tube or paper towel tube with construction paper. Cut circle to cover top and bottom. Push pipe cleaner down into the top and secure with tape or glue. Glue glitter on tip of pipe cleaner. Glue stars on to side to tube.  Each child will need 2 paper plates. Color designs on the bottom of each plate using red and blue markers. When finished, put plates together with the designs facing out and staple 3/4 of plates together. Drop in a handful of red beans in the opening of the paper plates and finish stapling till sealed. Staple 6" red and blue streamers all around the paper plates; alternating, red, blue, red, blue,....and so on. black construction paper light colored chalk Each child will have a piece of black paper to represent the night sky. They will use the chalk to draw fireworks as they see them. Take white paper, glue 7 strips of red paper, and a blue rectangle to it. For the stars the children can use stickers. My class did it when we were studying the U.S. and they loved it. We also made a felt board the same way (we only used 13 stars though, like the original flag, they would be placed in a circle). With both of these flags you could have the children count the # of stars and stripes, it's also good for color recognition and shape identification Give each child large sheet of black construction paper. Pour bright colors of paint, each one in its own shallow dish. (I always add a bit of dish detergent for easy clean up!) Have children use plastic mesh dish scrubbers to dip in paint and gently press onto paper for "fireworks". Let them choose a variety of colors or use red, white, and blue. Put on some patriotic music during this craft! Fourth of July wind socks out of 11" x 17" blue construction paper, white stars, and 18" strips of red & white crepe paper. Roll the blue construction paper into a tube. Have the children glue white star shapes on the blue tube and glue the red and white crepe paper on the inside of the tube, alternating the colors. Attach fish wire and hang from the ceiling. It looks like the American Flag. To make a flag, attach one blue and one white construction paper star to a red paper-half. Next glue one red, one white, and one blue crepe-paper streamer (each approximately two feet long) beneath and near the center of the paper-plate rim. For a handle, glue one end of a craft stick to the back of the project as shown. Hooray for red, white, and blue! For each of your children, cut a hole in the middle of a large paper plate. Let the children decorate the rims of their paper plates with stars and stripes or with a blast of colors for fireworks. As they finish, help them slip their personally designed visors over their heads. Cut star shapes and stripes out of red, white, and blue felt. Place the stars and stripes in front of a flannelboard. Begin by playing a simple matching game. Put one of the stars on the flannelboard. Have one of your children place a matching colored star below it. Then place a star and a stripe on the flannelboard. Ask another child to place matching shapes below those. continue placing more stars and stripes on the flannelboard, making patterns with them as you do. Help the children discover the patterns as they put on the matching shapes. Blue construction paper Red and white construction paper cut into 1" strips Silver star stickers Glue Set out all of the materials and let the kids create. Flour Salt Water Red and blue food coloring Empty mustard squeeze bottles Cardboard 1. Mix equal parts of flour, salt, and water to make the puffy paint. 2. Divide mixture into three different bowls and color one bowl of mixture blue, one bowl red, and leave the last one white. 3. Fill the mustard bottles with the mixture (one color per squeeze bottle). 4. Let the children squeeze the different colors onto the cardboard. 5. Allow the children's artwork to dry. When it is dry, the design will be raised and will sparkle! Empty baby food jars with lids 9 cups rock salt Red and blue food coloring ½ cup rubbing alcohol AN ADULT MUST DO THIS PART!! 1. To make the colored rock salt: Measure 3 cups of rock salt to be blue, 3 cups to be white, and 3 cups to be red, and place each in three separate bowls. 2. Combine ¼ cup of rubbing alcohol with ½ a bottle or more of red food coloring (you want the colors to be bright). Do the same for the blue food coloring. 3. Mix the red alcohol mixture into one of the bowls of rock salt. Mix well and let sit for about 1 minute. Drain the excess alcohol mixture off of the rock salt. (WARNING: This will smell pretty yucky!) Spread the colored rock salt on cookie sheets and set outside in the sun to dry (this will take only an hour or so). Repeat the same procedure for the blue food coloring. 4. Do nothing with the remaining rock salt because you want it to stay white. ACTIVITY FOR THE CHILDREN 1. Once the different colors of salt are dry, place them on a table with spoons and baby food jars. 2. Guide the children to spoon the colored rock salt into their jars. 3. Seal the children's creation with the lid. TOGETHERNESS FLAG Red, white and blue paint Paintbrush Paint Trays Sheet of paper 2'x3' 1. On the large sheet of paper, draw lines for stripes and paint a blue square in the upper left corner. 2. Have the children fill in the bottom stripe by dipping their hands in the red paint and pressing them end to end within the lines of the stripe. Using the white paint, have them make a white stripe just above it the same way. 3. Continue until you have all 13 stripes filled with hand prints. 4. Have the children dip their fingertips in paint and make the "stars" in the blue square. (For decorative use only) a.. Bowl or something similar for your form b.. Strips of newspaper torn 1" X 6" approx. c.. Craft glue thinned half & half with water d.. A sheet of plastic wrap to totally cover the form e.. White paint f.. Water based varnish g.. 1" foam brush h.. Napkins or gift wrap with a flag motif Cover the outside of your bowl (form) with plastic wrap bringing it over the lip to the inside of the bowl (form). Begin dipping the strips of newspaper into the half & half mix of glue and water. Remove the excess and place the strips over the form crossing and overlapping the strips. Continue in this manner until you have four to six layers of strips completely covering the outside of the form. Place a square of plastic wrap on the bottom and use a weight to flatten the bottom slightly. Let it set overnight to dry. Remove the weight and peel off plastic wrap from the bottom of the form. Remove the plastic wrap from the inside and gently lift off your paper mache bowl. Carefully peel the plastic wrap from the center of your bowl and allow to continue drying. When your paper mache container is completely dry paint the entire inside with a base coat of white paint using your foam brush. Allow to dry and repeat painting the outside with the base coat. After it dries repeat base coating the entire inside and outside of the bowl with a second coat. Apply the water based varnish to a small area at a time and use torn pieces of the flag motif paper to completely cover the inside and the outside of the bowl. You can use large pieces of the napkin to show the motif or tear in smaller pieces to give it a red/white/blue look. Allow to dry thoroughly and apply two thin coats of water based varnish on the inside and outside to seal the container completely. a.. 1 felt square (approx. 9" X 12") b.. 4 15" pieces of blue grosgrain ribbon c.. 3 15" pieces of white grosgrain ribbon d.. 8 white star buttons e.. 6 blue star buttons f.. Fabric glue g.. Scissors Cut 14 slits in the felt leaving a half inch border on each side and divide the remaining 12 slits evenly across the width of your felt piece. Your slits will be cut parallel to the short side. Beginning with the first blue ribbon go over the first bar, under the second, over the third and continue weaving across. The final will be over the outside border. Push the ribbon up against the top opening and place a small drop of glue under each end to anchor it to the border. The second row, use the first white ribbon and weave under the first bar, over the second space, under and continue across ending under the final border. Snug this ribbon up against the blue making sure you don't leave a space or wrinkle in either ribbon. Place a small drop of glue to anchor each end. Continue with the next three blue and two white ribbons so you have woven the entire slide area of your mat. Cut each of your ribbons either on an angle or a V cut to prevent raveling on the ends. Glue or sew the white star buttons on the blue ribbon and the blue stars on the white ribbon at each end as decorations. This mat can be used as a place mat, in place of a doily or as a decorative wall hanging. Option: You can use felt yardage cut to your specifications to make a table runner. a.. 2 sticks, one half as long as the other b.. Red and blue tissue paper c.. Wax paper d.. White craft glue e.. String f.. Iron (adult help) g.. Scissors Cut the blue tissue paper in a rectangle approximately 4" X 6" and a square approximately 4" square. Repeat with the red tissue paper. Place the squares on the wax paper side by side with the red away from you and the blue closest to you. Overlap them slightly in the center and use a small amount of glue to hold them in place. Place the rectangles, the blue furthest away from you so it slightly overlaps the red square and then place the red rectangle so it slightly overlaps the blue square and the blue rectangle. Again use a very small amount of glue to hold them in place. Place a second sheet of wax paper over the top. Get your adult helper to iron the entire paper so the wax paper will adhere to the tissue paper on both sides. Take your two sticks and cross the shorter one on top of the long one about 3" from one end. The short stick should be centered on the long one. Using your string and adult helper wrap the string around the two sticks in a figure 8. Take a second piece of string and center it on the top of the long stick and glue it in place. Bring one piece to the outside edge of the short stick and glue it in place there. The second leg is glued to the other end of the short stick and the string is brought to the long end of the long stick and both pieces are glued in place. This will make the frame for your kite. Place the sticks over your wax paper prepared tissue paper. Cut around the stick and string frame leaving at least an inch and a half on all sides. Beginning at the top start folding and gluing your prepared paper over the string all the way around. Allow it to dry. Tie a string from the top of the long stick to the bottom of the long stick and a second one from one end of the short stick to the other end of the short stick. Now tie your lead string catching both of those cross strings. Add a little glue to the knot to be sure it doesn't come undone. Allow it to dry thoroughly and it is ready to fly. Note: If these kites are made in small sizes they can be flown indoors using electric fans as the wind source. This would require adult help. You may gently peel off the outside paper before base coating, otherwise it may take more than one coat. If this is a group project you may find it easier using Krylon white base coat spray and have the canisters prepared before the crafting session. a.. Tall Pringles canister b.. 5" square of white cardboard or felt c.. White cotton balls or stuffing d.. 10" piece of red ribbon e.. Paint in flesh, red, white and blue f.. 2 craft sticks g.. 6 gold sequins, buttons or stickers for buttons h.. Paint brush i.. Craft glue j.. Scissors k.. Thin strips of masking tape l.. Black Sharpie marker Paint the entire Pringles canister with a base coat of white and allow to dry. Cut a felt circle approximately 5" in diameter. Carefully cut a 3" diameter circle out of the center reserving the center circle. With masking tape mask vertical stripes around the top 1" of the canister spacing them evenly for the hat. Paint the blank spaces between the masking tape strips red. Remove the tape carefully and allow to dry. Repeat the masking tape strips from the bottom up about 4". Again paint the spaces red. Remove the masking tape carefully and allow to dry. This will form the striped trousers. Paint flesh in a 2" wide stripe around the canister beginning below the hat portion for the face. and paint the remaining area blue for the jacket. Looking at the picture you can bring the jacket down onto the top of the trousers in two points at the center front if you like or paint it straight across. Paint the two craft sticks blue with a small area of flesh color for his hands. Paint the eyes and the mouth in place. With your Sharpie pen draw a line down the center of the jacket and the trousers to make it look like the jacket front and the two legs of the trousers. You can also draw a line to form his collar at the top of the jacket area. Paint a small red tie and glue the buttons in place. Glue the craft sticks to each side to form his arms and with your Sharpie pen draw two ovals to look like the tips of his shoes at the bottom of the trouser legs. Glue cotton stuffing or cotton balls top make his hair, mustache, beard and eyebrows. Remove the lid of the canister. Gently pull the 5" felt circle with the hole in the center down from the top of the canister to rest against the hair to form the hat brim and glue it in place. Glue the 10" piece of ribbon around the canister just above the hat brim as his hat band. Glue the reserved circle of felt to the top of the plastic lid and replace the plastic lid. Add a drop of red or blue food coloring to a baseball sized pile of shaving cream. Mix this with a paint brush. Have the children be very careful, and use smocks because the food coloring will stain their clothing and hands. Have the children paint the shaving cream on a white piece of paper. Supply the children with blue, red and white paper. Have the children make a flag by tearing the paper and gluing it onto another piece of paper. Variation I: Let the children use silver star stickers for the stars. watered down non-toxic paint paper pipettes straws Supply each child with a straw and a piece of paper. Allow the children to use the pipette (or medicine dropper NOT GLASS) to place a small amount of paint onto a piece of paper. They may use as many colors as they wish. Then, have them use the straw to blow the paint around their picture. In a pie tin, place 3 to 5 teaspoon sized portions of red and blue colored tempera paint evenly spaced about the area. Inflate a small balloon to a size which will easily fit in the palm of your child's hand. Show your child how to "dip" the balloon in the paint and press firmly onto a piece of paper. Let your child mix the colors, or use one color at a time. This is messy, but the results are wonderful. Supply the children with a bowl with bubble mix in it and a straw with a hole near the top to prevent children from sucking the soap up. Have the children blow into the straw while it is in the bowl creating bubbles. Then, have the child place a drop of red or blue food coloring on the top of the bubbles and quickly press a piece of paper on the top of the bubbles to create bubble prints. Black Construction Paper Bottled Cheap White Glue Sparkles Let kids create firework patterns with glue and then take a variety of glitter and sprinkle on to make a grand display. You can also take glitter and as each person finishes with a particular color they can shake off to the next kid to eliminate waste. |
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