Interactive crafts are so fun! Your child is going to love making and playing with this spinning firework craft. This craft is perfect for the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve. Craft is geared for ages 3 and up to help with fine motor skills, creativity, and inclusion of holiday fun.
Supplies:
Spinning Firework Craft Template
Toilet paper roll tube
Glue
Brad (warning this is small and could be a choking hazard)
Children can color their craft, using their imagination and favorite things to color with to design a firework. After coloring, we added glitter glue to the round “exploding” piece, but this is optional. Children love using glitter glue and it gives the craft a fun sparkle as it spins.
Next, glue the striped rectangle to your empty toilet paper roll tube. We used white glue, but a glue stick also works.
Now it is time to attach the circular “explosion” part of the craft. Adults can use a pencil or pen to poke a hole through the toilet paper roll tube. Stick the brad through the center of the circle paper, and then through the hole you just made in the toilet paper roll tube. Attach the brad’s arms to the inside of the tube–this will let the craft spin.
Once the craft is assembled, gently turn the circular piece and watch as your firework spins around.
Flounders are kind of funny looking fish because you can see both of their eyes at the same time while they are sideways; it makes them look smushed. My son saw a flounder at the aquarium and was intrigued by this weird looking fish. So when I suggested we do a fish art project, he wanted to make a paper plate flounder craft.
Supplies Needed:
– 1 paper plate
-scissors
-stapler (optional)
-glue stick
-tissue paper squares (about 1 inch x 1 inch)
– large googly eyes
-(optional glitter glue)
How To:
-To make your fish, have your child cut out a triangle from the paper plate. This makes it look like the fish’s mouth is open. My son loves being able to use scissors, so he liked this craft.
-Staple the triangle to the back of fish to make a tail. You can always glue the tail on, but then you have to wait for it to dry.
-Now it’s time to decorate the fish! Using the glue stick, glue tissue squares all over the plate to make the fish’s scales.
-Finish your fish by adding googly eyes.
My son thought it needed some sparkle, so he added blue glitter-glue polka dots to his fish.
My son and I love flamingos! I recently posted a list of our favorite flamingo books for preschoolers — 8 Great Flamingo Stories — and we made this fun flamingo tissue paper craft to go with our stories. I had all of the supplies on hand, so this was a quick for me to pull together and lots of fun to make!
I cut pink tissue paper into 30 1-inch x 1-inch squares for this project. You may need less if your child does not scrunch them up as tightly as we did. If you want, you can cut out 20 and see if you need more as your child glues them on.
Print out the free flamingo coloring sheet. Grab your markers or crayons and color in the flamingo. Color in the whole body just in case you there are gaps in the tissue paper that you can see through.
Once everything is colored, begin scrunching up your tissue paper squares and gluing them onto the flamingo’s body. The tissue paper gives the project a fun feathers effect!
The flamingo looked pretty cute with its tissue paper feathers, but it needed some sparkle. We had left over jewel stickers so we added a few around the flamingo. The stickers were just what we needed are we are so happy with how the flamingo tissue paper craft turned out!
The changing of the seasons is always an exciting time! Let’s read some summer stories and find out what happens in the summertime (at least in North America). Here are 7 books for you and your preschooler to read together.
Henkes asks readers to open themselves up to nature’s summer song. It is a song of wind blowing through tall grass; the hum of air conditioners and fans; and the clicking and clacking of sprinklers. Summer’s song is made up of birds chirping, and rain and thunder from summer storms, as well the buzzing and humming from bugs. The summer song isn’t just something you hear — it is also something you see. The lovely illustrations by Laura Dronzek feature iconic summer scenes of children laying in the tall grass, playing at the beach, and exploring ponds. The song is also something you feel outside on a hot day, lounging in the shade, or cooling off in a pool. This book is a great introduction to the joys of summer and good conversation starter with preschoolers about their favorite parts of summer!
This story takes place in an urban setting and features a young girl looking for a way to beat the heat! It is too hot to play on the swings and slide, but the sand box feels nice and cool and making chalk art on the sidewalk in the shade of a tree is lots of fun. And nothing beats a popsicle on a hot day! The photographic collage style of illustrations captures the girl’s enthusiasm and joy of enjoying a summer day.
This book is an ode to the carefree summer days of childhood! It’s a time for bike riding, lemonade drinking, and pushing back bedtime. It is also a time to celebrate the Fourth of July, eat lots of ice cream, play in the sprinklers, and go camping. There is so much fun to be had in the summer!
Mouse and Minka investigate a Fourth of July picnic. What are these yummy foods and yellow drink, wonders Mouse? Preschoolers will love telling Mouse about watermelon, lemonade, and sandwiches! Mouse and Minka explore a little past the picnic blanket. They discover a kite and fireflies! This short, but sweet story ends with Fourth of July fireworks lighting up the sky. Hooray for summer!
School is out and time it is time to explore outside! Follow along with these 2 children and see what lovely summertime colors they discover outside. This might even inspire your little one to go on a color adventure too! The fantastic pictures and rhyming text are just what preschools want in their stories!
This short story, with simple text, is great for young children who can’t sit still for long stories. Preschoolers will love the rhymes and the bright pictures. It features lots of iconic summer images and activities, such as sunshine, trips to the lake, summer thunder storms, playing in the shade, lemonade, ice cream, and fireflies. This is great starting point for preschoolers to start thinking about summertime and what changes warm weather brings.
In these short stories, Amanda and her friends and family look for ways to keep cool on a hot day. How is a young pig supposed to cool down on a very hot day? She tries cold water, lemonade, and an ice pop, but nothing is doing the trick. She seeks advice from her dad, who is tending to the garden outside. Dad knows just what to do. He sprays Amanda with the hose! Now she feels so much better. On hot days, it is nice to sit in the shade and relax. Amanda invites her friend over and they under an apple tree, drinking lemonade and enjoying each other’s company. Everyone likes lemonade on hot days. Amanda and her friend decide to sell lemonade at a lemonade stand. They had lots of fun making and selling lemonade! When it is really hot, it can be hard to fall asleep. Dad tells Amanda a story that takes place in the snow. He includes polar bears, cold treats, ice, and lots of snow, which helps Amanda take her mind off of the heat. A nice cool breeze starts to blow and Amanda is able to go to bed.
Thank you for reading summer stories with us! Check your local library for these and great books to read together. To help cover the costs of this site, I joined Amazon’s Affiliate program and I provided affiliate links to the books I listed. If you buy an item through one of my links, I may receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for support. Happy reading!
Preschoolers want to join in on the Fourth of July celebrations too! Parades, picnics, and fireworks are so much fun for everyone! Here are 8 Fourth of July books to help get your child excited about the holiday, learn about some of the traditions, and what the holiday means.
Shameless Plug!
The American Flag by me!
Learn all about the American Flag in my first ever picture book! Did you know that the American flag has changed over the years? Learn about the history of the flag, and why it is an important symbol to Americans. Share this true story about how the United States flag evolved into the flag we know and love today, and its patriotic past with your little one!
My son really enjoyed this cute little Fourth of July story! The adorable illustrations feature mice doing lots of traditional Fourth of July activities — a patriotic parade, picnic, sack race, and of course fireworks! The rhyming text makes this especially fun for preschoolers and overall a really fun way to introduce Fourth of July celebrations.
It’s summertime in Bear Country and the Berenstain Bears are getting ready to celebrate the Fourth of July. The cubs get a simple overview of why we celebrate Independence Day on July 4th. Finally it is time for the Fourth of July parade! The cubs rode their red, white, and blue-decorated bikes, the veteran bears marched in their uniforms, bands played, and floats cruised down the street. Following the patriotic parade, the town celebrates with fireworks and the Bear family gives a special thanks to God for the freedoms they enjoy.
This book is all about the American Flag. It gives a simple overview of what the flag stands for, the reason for the stars and stripes, the colors of the flag, and nicknames for it. You’ll find a short and easy to understand history of the flag in this book. Included is the Pledge of Allegiance, and what it means to make this pledge. This book is a nice overview for learning about the America Flag with text written at a great level for children to understand.
Mouse and Minka investigate a Fourth of July picnic. What are these yummy foods and yellow drink, wonders Mouse? Preschoolers will love telling Mouse about watermelon, lemonade, and sandwiches! Mouse and Minka explore a little past the picnic blanket. They discover a kite and fireflies! This short, but sweet story ends with Fourth of July fireworks lighting up the sky. Hooray for summer!
Oh my goodness, this is such a cute board book! It has short, rhyming text that is really a love poem between a parent and child. It includes lots of Fourth of July celebratory symbols such as fireworks, the American flag, hot dogs, and pie. The bright colored pictures and the die cuts make this book really visually appealing to young children.
An enthusiastic young boy is so excited that it is the Fourth of July! He loves parades, picnics, pies and watching the fireworks with his family. Set in a country, idyllic setting, complete with a train draped in red, white, and blue bunting, this book is loving ode to enjoying a beautiful holiday with one’s family.
It’s the Fourth of July and young Chinese American girl wants to go out and celebrate, but is stuck at her family’s general store, which is open on the holiday. Her family makes lots of fresh Chinese food to sell even though she tries to explain that Americans don’t eat Chinese food in the Fourth of July. However people begin pouring into the store at dinner time for Chinese food. The girl learns that America is a melting pot and that there is no right or wrong food to eat on the Fourth of July. After the rush, it is time to close the store. The family goes up to the roof to watch the fireworks show and eat their apple pie!
McDuff, a little white dog, and his family are headed out for a Fourth of July picnic. Once at the picnic spot, McDuff takes guard of the picnic basket. Despite his watchfulness, sneaky bugs steal the food right out of the picnic basket! Oh no! Now what will they eat? It’s McDuff to the rescue! The little dog makes a new friend who kindly shares his picnic. Preschoolers will enjoy the family’s and McDuff’s silly antics during the drive to and from the picnic, as McDuff somehow always gets the front seat!
Thank you for reading these Fourth of July books with us! Check your local library for these and great books to read together. To help cover the costs of this site, I joined Amazon’s Affiliate program and I provided affiliate links to the books I listed. If you buy an item through one of my links, I may receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for support. Happy reading!
Flamingos are amazing birds! My son loves them so much and always wants to read about these beautiful pink birds. We had a great time learning about flamingos in these 8 great flamingo books!
In this cute story, Lola, a young gray flamingo refuses to try shrimp. But shrimp are good for you, and delicious, and will turn your feathers pink, and that’s what flamingos eat, her parents say. Nonetheless, Lola believes that she won’t like the shrimp, so when her parents are distracted, Lola sneaks away and eats an assortment of fruits. Lola changes colors with each new food she tries turning a whole bunch of different colors! Finally, Lola agrees to try a shrimp and it turns out that shrimp are super yummy! Now Lola eats all of her shrimp and her feathers are a lovely pink color.
A young flamingo named Mingo, gets separated from his parents and crash lands into a farm. Oh no, Mingo has forgotten who he is! The farm animals take Mingo in and promise to let him stay as long as needs. when Mingo suddenly remembers that he is a flamingo and needs to fly and rejoin his flock, his new friends come up with a clever idea to get the injured flamingo home!
In this wordless picture book, Flora, a young girl, puts on her pink swim suit, her flippers, and a diving cap. She silently tries to copy the flamingo’s graceful movements. After a few struggles with the movements, the flamingo takes Flora by the hand and leads her through a beautiful dance that ends with great leap into the water. Preschoolers will enjoy lifting the flaps scattered throughout the book and looking at the lovely illustrations.
Pinky, a flamingo at the zoo, sees a girl dressed in pink touring the zoo with her class, and he decides to join in the fun. The girl and her classmates spot Pinky trying to blend in with the other animals. Readers will have fun spotting Pinky too! This books is tons of fun to read; both children and adults will enjoy the humor.
Pinky the zoo flamingo is back in another story. This time he is helping Penny celebrate her birthday! Penny has a tropical themed birthday and Pinky fits right in with the décor. Young readers will love spotting Pinky trying to blend in with the stuff at the party supply stores, at the miniature golf course, and at home with the birthday decorations.
Frankie the flamingo enjoys shrimp, but wants to try some new foods too. She becomes a “foodie.” Her eating adventures turns her feathers into different colors! Soon her friends want to join in on the fun and they make different tomato dishes to eat. The friends strut into the Pink Flamingo restaurant with their redish-magenta feathers and create quite the stir. Now all of the flamingos want to try new foods! My son loved the list at the end on how to be a “foodie” and he was inspired to try foods 🙂
Sylvie is a great story about being yourself! After looking at the colors all around her, young Sylvie asks why flamingos are pink. Her mother tells her that flamingos’ feathers are pink because of their diet. Sylvie decides to eat different foods and she turns different colors. At first it is pretty fun to change colors, but Sylvie learns that it is best to be herself. In addition to the book’s positive message, adults and children will enjoy the cute illustrations and humor.
This is a cute rhyming story about all of the things you need to know if you want a pet flamingo. For example, did you know that pet flamingo’s favorite meal is breakfast or that they love to bake? Also, they love to visit the library and check out lots of books! Pet flamingos seem like a lot of work. They want to dance ballet and need you to make them a tutu and they hate to clean up after themselves. And just like children, they want a kiss good night! We checked this out from our library and found out that this book is bilingual and has the text printed in both English and Spanish.
9.Bonus Nonfiction Book: I Wish I Were a Flamingo (Ranger Rick series)– learn all about flamingos in this book. Filled with awesome pictures of real flamingos, children will learn about where flamingos live, their nests, and what makes them pink! My son was so surprised to learn that flamingos aren’t born with pink feathers.
Disclaimer:
Thank you for reading flamingo books with us! Check your local library for these and great flamingo books to read together. To help cover the costs of this site, I joined Amazon’s Affiliate program and I provided affiliate links to the books I listed. If you buy an item through one of my links, I may receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for support. Happy reading!
Get creative with your paintbrushes and try cotton balls with a clothespin for painting a picture of an ice cream cone. Pinch a cotton ball in the clothespin and then dip it in paint to make a fun paintbrush! Cotton ball ice cream painting was a lot of fun! My son enjoyed using the cotton balls as a paintbrush and it remined him of his dot pens.
paper (preferably card stock or construction paper)
How To:
Painting the Cone
First, pinch a cotton ball in your clothespin. I knew we were going to use 3 different paint colors, so I had my son use 3 cotton ball clothespin brushes. If you only have 1 clothespin, it is easy to change out the cotton balls.
Pick a paint color for your ice cream cone. Pour a little paint on a paper plate. Pinch a cotton ball in a clothespin to use as a paintbrush. Gently dip the cotton ball into the paint and then stamp it onto the paper in a triangle-shape to make the cone. If your child is having trouble with this step, lightly draw a triangle shape for them to fill in with paint.
Next pick a color for your first scoop of ice cream. My son chose blue, which is also the color of the ice cream he usually picks! I poured a little blue paint onto the paper plate and he stamped his cotton ball into the paint and then onto the paper. He made his first scoop pretty big and we didn’t have much room for the second scoop.
For his second scoop, my kiddo chose purple paint. He had to squeeze his second scoop onto the top of the first scoop and quickly ran out of room on the paper. His cotton ball ice cream painting still turned out cute, even if his second scoop wasn’t very tall.
OPTIONAL: I think it would be fun to add fingerprint “sprinkles” onto your ice cream cone.
For more ice cream fun, check out my ICE CREAM post! It contains cute book recommendations and ice cream recipe so that you and your preschooler can make ice cream together at home.
Whether you live near the ocean or not, you can enjoy beach-theme books and activities with your little one at home. Check your library for beach-theme books!
Beach-theme books and activities
We made it to the beach! And of course, we had to bring some of our favorite beach-themed books with us 🙂 Books, waves, sandcastles, and lots of splashing made for a great time!
Enjoy some of our favorite beach-theme books and activities with us!
Beach-Theme Books—
Duck and Goose Go to the Beach
Duck and Goose are some of our favorite picture book characters! My son has loved them for years (and I’ve loved them even longer!). We’ve been reading Duck and Goose stories since he was a baby. Their books come in a board book format that was perfect for when my kiddo was in the grabby stage, and now that he’s older, we read the picture books. We have actually brought Duck and Goose go theBeachand the stuffed animals to the beach with us a few times now 🙂 In this book, the two friends set off on an adventure and find themselves at the beach! But do they actually the sand, sun, and waves? Read it and find out 🙂
How to Catch a Mermaid
My son LOVES Adam Wallace’s How to Catch a Mermaid!It’s a fun book about 2 kids and dog who hatch all sorts of plans to catch a mermaid because who wouldn’t want to have a mermaid friend, right!?! Spoiler, the kids get themselves trapped instead and the mermaid saves the day! This book has rhyming text and bold, bright pictures that compliment the fun story. This has been one of my son’s favorites for a over a year now and we hope you like it as much as we do!
The Sandcastle that Lola Built
The Sandcastle that Lola Builtby Megan Maynor– based on the “House that Jack Built” story, this is a cute book about a little girl’s beach day. In this great example of teamwork, Lola and her new friends work together to make a sandcastle for mermaids. Fantastic pictures and rhyming text make this book a winner!
After reading this, we had to make our own sandcastle 🙂 And just like in the book, the tide washed away our castle too!
Inky’s Amazing Escape
Inky’s Amazing Escapeby Sy Montgomery — my kiddo loves this book! It is a true story about an octopus named Inky, who escapes from an aquarium in Australia and makes its way back to the ocean. We learned a lot about octopuses from this non-fiction picture book, and we were fascinated by Inky’s journey. My son was so excited when he learned that Inky liked playing Legos just like he does! Out of all of the books written about Inky, this one is our favorite. Sy Montgomery is a gifted storyteller and we were absolutely fascinated by this amazing octopus. I check out lots of library books for my son and I to read together, but this is one book that we felt that we needed to own. We truly love this story and read it over-and-over again.
Over in the Ocean
My son got Over in the Ocean: in a Coral Reeffor his birthday recently and it is AWESOME! It has fantastic pictures that were formed from clay by artist Jeanette Canyon that perfectly compliment Marianne Berkes’ sing-songy text. You and your little one will want to study these pictures over-and-over again to get all of the details incorporated onto each page. This book introduces a variety of cool sea creatures. It also lends itself well to movement activities that preschoolers will love to do. At the end, there is a seek-and-find activity to search for all of the sea creatures from the book, as well as a sneak-peek into the clay creations. We had so much fun reading this at the beach!
Beach Day!
Candace Ransom writes great beginning-reader books. The text is simple, but not boring and the pictures capture the joy of the kids’ adventures. In Beach Day!the family heads out to enjoy the beach together. The book captures the fun, excitement, and joy of family outing at the seashore. The kids gather seashells, build a sand castle, and see some neat sea creatures. As you read this one with your little one, you just can’t help but get caught up in the fun! Be prepared to read this multiple times 🙂
The Snail and the Whale
Another one of our favorite authors is Julia Donaldson; her books are perfect for preschoolers and kindergartners! For our beach-theme stories, my son and I read A Snail and a Whale. A snail yearns to explore in this rhyming book. However, snail finds that its explorations are hindered by its size. When whale offers to help snail take a journey, it is a dream come true. Snail enjoys adventuring with the large whale. Uh-oh, whale gets stuck and it is up to the small snail to help its new friend. This story goes to show that no matter how small you are, you can still help others.
Beach-Theme Activities —
To go along with our beach stories, my son had fun doing a beach and an ocean-themed I Spy challenges and an ocean-themed Find The Differences worksheet.
SPOUTING WHALE: this turned out super cute and my kiddo really enjoyed making this.
Spouting Whale
Supplies needed are white and blue construction paper, pencil, scissors, blue tissue paper ( 1″ x 1″ squares), glue stick, white school glue, and googly eyes.
1. I drew a whale shape on the blue paper and cut it out.
2. My son used a glue stick to glue the whale onto the white paper. Next he rubbed the glue stick all over the bottom of the paper and glued on the blue tissue paper squares to make the ocean water.
3. Together, we wadded up the blue tissue paper squares to make the water spout.
4. Using the white school glue, I added glue dots in the pattern of the whale’s water spout and then my son added the wadded the tissue.
5. To complete his craft he added the googly eyes.
TOILET PAPER ROLL OCTOPUS:
My son loves Inky’s story so much that we decided to make an octopus craft.
Inky the Octopus
Supplies needed are an empty toilet paper roll, washable paint, paintbrush, kid safety scissors, googly eyes, and a marker.
-First we painted the toilet paper roll red. (use whatever color you want). Then we let it dry.
-After it dried, my son made cuts in the bottom of the toilet paper roll to make 8 legs. He gently pulled each leg up so that they legs splayed out and his octopus could stand.
-Then he attached the googly eyes and drew a mouth, and our cute little octopus was ready to explore our house!
Hope you enjoyed our beach-theme books and activities!
To help cover the costs of this site, I joined Amazon’s Affiliate Program. I get a small percentage of the sale if you buy a book through one of my links. Thanks for your support! Happy reading 🙂
These Independence Day Shakers are fun to make and even more fun to shake about! Best part, supplies are minimal. All you need are 2 empty toilet paper tubes, washable paint (we went with the red, white, and blue theme), paintbrush, and dried pinto beans.
My son painted one toilet paper tube blue and the other one red. Then we let them dry.
Next he used white paint to add dots to the blue tube (these were his stars), and he painted white stripes on the red tube. He’s been learning about our national and state symbols, so this was a great way to reinforce the American flag colors and patterns.
After the white paint dried, I pinched one end of the toilet paper tube closed and stapled it shut. Then my son added the beans. Once he was satisfied with the sound the beans made, I stapled the end of the toilet paper tube shut. IMPORTANT — you cannot close both ends the same way. One end has to be pinched together vertically and the other end has to pinched together horizontally. This makes your tube look like its slightly twisting. Closing the ends this way is what makes the sound 🙂
Now that you’ve made your Independence Day Shakers, it’s time to shake them all about!
Looking for more craft ideas? Check out my SUMMER CRAFTS page!
The Fourth of July is almost here! We watched an awesome fireworks display last night and we are looking forward to more festivities to come in the following week 🙂
We put up some red, white, and blue star decorations yesterday, and my son and I decided to make a star craft to go with our decorations.
July 4th Q-Tip Stars
This craft is great for helping preschoolers with their fine-motor skills, pattern sequencing, and color recognition.
Supplies needed are Q-Tips, white paper, black washable marker, washable paint in red, white, and blue, and a star shape to trace (I used a cookie cutter). I also used a paper plate for our paint pallet and baby wipes for getting paint off of fingers quickly.
To make your own 4th of July Q-Tip Star Craft:
trace star shapes on your white paper.
pour a little of each paint color onto your pallet. Set out a Q-Tip for each color of paint.
talk to your child about patterns and following a sequence (great early math skills), and then pick a pattern for your stars. We did 1-1-1, 2-2-2, and 3-3.
start making your Q-Tip dot patterns on your stars.
after your have decorated your stars, let your project dry before showing if off!
