July 4th Art Project for Toddlers

July 4 toddler kid preschool art activity

Fourth of July “Glitterworks” Project

Have your kids create fireworks inspired artwork with this fun hands-on art project.

Materials:
Cylindrical container with a lid (the big oatmeal containers work great)
Color paper (such as construction paper)
Red, and/or blue paint (preferably non-toxic tempera paint for kids)
Glitter glue (regular craft glitter may be used)
Beads and/or spiky rubber balls (that you don’t mind getting dirty with paint)

Steps:
Roll paper to fit inside the canister
Put about 1 or 2 spoonfuls of beads into a cup
Add red paint (only enough to coat the beads)
Let your toddler mix the beads with a stirrer to evenly coat the beads
If you are using glitter glue, you can add it to the beads at this point and mix again
Pour beads into canister
If you are using regular glitter, let your toddler scoop one teaspoon of glitter directly into the oatmeal container
For fun thrown in a spiky ball
Put the lid on the container
Let your toddler shake it (the fun part)
Open and voila!

If you want to use two colors, repeat the process with blue paint.

It may be easier to set up two sets of cups and canisters. This way you can just transfer the paper from one container to the other.

Do you have older kids?
If your child is a tween, you can add to this project. Let the “glitterworks” dry (my kid just gave this project a new name. I like it; going back to the top to add it to the title). After words they can paint a silhouette of a cityscape at the bottom of their artwork.