Three Fast and Fun Fourth of July projects

Somehow the Fourth of July kind of snuck up on me this year; it just doesn't feel like we should be that far into summer. I realized on the weekend it truly was this week, brainstormed a few projects I thought we'd all enjoy, and got out our few Fourth of July decorations.

My original hope for this post was to title it "Four Fast and Fun Fourth of July Projects." Only, it didn't work out that way. And although I was tempted to fit in one more project tonight, I didn't attempt it. I promised myself when I started this blog I would keep it real to our family. And the reality is that this week my oldest is having a hard week. He's frustrated with our most recent family change; his last day at daycare was Friday and he transitions to preschool in the fall. Despite the fact he had been part time at his daycare for months, he's missing his friends, teachers, and place. Much of our week is focusing on reaffirming that although these changes are happening, good things will come from them and spending a lot of time trying to partake in other types of favorite activities.

We did manage to fit in a little Fourth of July project time, and a lot of fun talk about the parade. So, a little later than I had planned, here are "Three Fast and Fun Fourth of July Projects."

1) Contact and Tissue Paper Flag Collage
Materials: Clear contact paper, tissue paper, star punch

The Project: I cut two pieces of contact paper into rectangles and the red and white tissue paper into long strips. I also cut a small square of blue. I laid out one rectangle of the contact paper so the sticky side was facing up. Big Brother added the strips and blue paper onto the paper while looking at a small flag as a model. He used the star punch to create some small stars which he placed on top of the blue. When he was done I peeled off the other piece of contact paper and added it on top of the work he's been doing, sticky side down. I trimmed any overhanging tissue paper off.

It looks great hanging in our window!

2) Splat Painted Fireworks

Materials: pantyhose/tights, rice, washable paint, black paper, glitter and glitter glue (optional)

The Project: I saw this idea a while ago over at Toddler Approved and knew it looked like fun. We decided to try it as "fireworks painting." First I cut the legs off an old pair of black tights and filled each leg with about a half cup of rice. I then knotted the top. We now had a bouncy "splat painter." I put paint into small containers, which Big Brother would dip his painter into. He then would "splat," or bounce, the painter onto the paper. We added some glitter glue to a few of the paint colors and then sprinkled some glitter on at the end so it was more sparkly. We did it on both brown paper and black paper. We really liked how it looked on the black paper!

3) Parade Treat Bag

Materials: white paper bag, glitter glue, red & blue markers, foam sparkly stickers

The Project: Every year our family watches a local parade on the front lawn of my husband's aunt and uncle's house. We love seeing familiar faces, old friends, the floats, community vehicles, and the BBQ which follows. We also all love collecting the candy. (My husband and I freely admit to raiding the candy stash Big Brother collects.) Instead of the typical bucket this year, I thought Big Brother would enjoy creating a treat bag. It was definitely a quick,easy project, and one he could do independently while I made dinner. 

The bag shows "a rocket ship on a fire truck." 

I've still got a few fun things planned for the morning, but the rest of my ideas can wait until next year. We'll have plenty of ways to enjoy the day with all our other wonderful traditions. Have a fabulous Fourth of July!!