Independence Day

June 29th-July 4th, 2013

There were so many great ideas for Independence Day projects that I had a hard time deciding which to do! Since Seth isn't really into anything too artsy, I picked some that were simple and interesting.

First, we tried puffy paint fireworks: 

Despite what it looks like, he really enjoyed this!

Our fireworks after getting 'puffed' in the microwave.

I definitely like the black paper better, even if it did leave black puddles in the microwave.

We found some red, white, and blue marshmallows at the store and decided they would make a great math manipulative. First we sorted by color, then counted, then 'graphed' them. This was Seth's first time graphing and I was amazed at how quickly he understood the concept.

(Yes, he ate them all shortly after this was taken)

This one was a lot of fun and didn't end up being NEARLY the mess I was expecting! I bought sponges from the dollar store, cut them into (passable) star shapes, and pulled out the acrylic paint. 

I put a cutting board inside each shirt to prevent the paint from seeping through to the back and then let the kids go to town. And by that I mean I carefully restricted access to the paint and sponges, but still let them do whatever they wanted on their shirts:

I think they turned out pretty cute!

Normally at this point I would iron them with a paper towel on top of the paint, then wash and dry them inside out. But I ran out of time, so they just got to wear them after the paint dried. 

Two cute kids!

Our last project was kind of a sneaky one on my part--I wanted to see how Seth's scissor skills were progressing, so I found a great flag project that he would have to cute and glue.

Much to my surprise, there was no complaining about the cutting. I did have to help him hold his scissors correctly (and fix the position once or twice mid-cutting), but he did it all himself!

Happy 4th of July!