Happy Canada Day! There were bright lights and noise yesterday evening as the nation celebrated Canada Day. As celebrations were underway, my family witnessed many fireworks bursting to life. After, there were lots of discussions about fireworks and this morning the discussions continued. My 4-year-old was fascinated by them and so today we decided to recall our memory of the event in an activity of blowing paint to mimic fireworks.
  

Things You Will Need: 

-paint diluted with water so that it’s easier to move around 

-canvas or paper 

-a straw for blowing the paint
 

Set-Up: 

You will need to premix several colours of paint and water in squeeze bottles or other containers. This activity can be messy so set-up an area for painting then have your paints nearby, a straw and a canvas/sheet of paper.
 

Engaging with Your Child: 

Start a conversation with your child that will encourage him/her to recall their experiences about fireworks, “Do you remember the fireworks we saw last night? What colours did you see in the sky?” Give your child sometime to response and continue the conversation. Next, introduce the activity, “Today, we are going to make a painting of fireworks and you can pick colours that you want your firework painting.” Demonstrate how to pour a bit of paint onto the canvas and then use the straw to blow out and move the paint. Continue to converse about fireworks, “There was a burst of blue and then yellow too. Let’s add yellow paint now.” This is a very open-ended art experience and each painting will be unique. Let your child experiment with blowing through the straw and enjoy the process with him/her.