FABULOUS FIREWORKS

The sight and sounds of fireworks on a summer night are the inspiration for this project! To make a fireworks project, a student squeezes a small amount of brightly colored paint onto a sheet of black construction paper. Next, he holds a straw over the center of the paint and blows through the straw toward the paint until a desired effect is achieved. Then he adds a different color of paint to the center of the resulting firework and blows toward the paint to create a multicolor effect; or he places two colors of paint next to each other and blows through the straw to create a blended effect. After he makes several fireworks in this manner, he sprinkles glitter over the wet paint and shakes off the excess glitter. When the paint is dry, he uses a white colored pencil to write several words that describe the sounds of fireworks.

STUNNING STAR

For this patriotic craft, cut out a large supply of small red, white, and blue construction paper squares. Also cut out a supply of aluminum foil squares and prepare several large star templates. To make a star, a student traces a template onto a sheet of construction paper and then cuts out the tracing. Next, he glues construction paper and foil squares on the star to make a design, overlapping the squares to ensure that the entire star is covered. After the glue is dry, he trims off the excess paper and foil. If desired, he covers the back of the star with squares to make a two-sided star.