The Fourth is July is my mom’s favorite holiday. It is the anniversary of my parents’ first date. Their first date happened because my mom wanted to ride on my dad’s motorcycle. Knowing my mother my whole life, I would never have guessed that to be the case. And yet here they are, 53 years later, still going strong.
So, anyway, my mom always loved to go to our town’s Independence Day parade. Truth be told, my brother and I were frequently in the parade with sports teams or the marching band, but it was the start of an amazing day. After the parade, we would go to the carnival that took over the Sand Lake park every year. The population of Sand Lake, my hometown, is less than a graduating class of the high school my children attended. But they sure know how to do a celebration. Elephant ears and rides and games and contests – we had it all. Followed by a really spectacular fireworks display – better than some I have seen in metropolitan areas near my current home.
The Fourth of July is not my favorite holiday – I find it hot and sticky and really don’t enjoy eating outside – but I do enjoy a good parade and fireworks display to this day. So, I thought we could make a child-friendly version of fireworks this week to be ready to celebrate. And, of course, I have a half-off game for you. Firework Frenzy is the perfect way to work on the vocalic IRE sound and pairs perfectly with this week’s craft.
Supply List
- Cardboard tube
- Balloon (can be any color, but I like red/white/blue for this craft)
- Red, white, and blue paper
- Small red, white, and blue pom poms
- Scissors
- Tape
- Stapler
Step-by-Step Directions
The first step for this craft is to tie the balloon like you have just filled it with air. Then you cut the top of the balloon off – you can see in the photo I cut about half an inch off mine. After that, you wrap the balloon around the bottom of your cardboard tube so there is some slack to pull the knotted end down. To finish this step, you tape all the way around to hold it in place when you pull down.
Now it is time to cut the paper that will decorate your tube. You can really make the background any of the three colors – I just like a blue background. You can also decorate the blue paper before wrapping it around the tube. I enjoy simplicity, so I did not do that. I did use my cardboard tube to measure how wide I needed to cut my paper to cover it completely. Then I cute it across the short way.
Next you will cut strips of your other two colors of paper. I make mine about a quarter inch thick, but you can go thicker if you so desire. You could also just draw on stripes without cutting and attaching more paper. It’s your project after all.
It is now time to attach your paper to your tube. I like to use staples for a lot of this – but my stapler doesn’t reach the bottom of my tube with the balloon attached, so I have to use tape on that end. You could decide that tape is way easier and go with just that. You could also go completely rogue and use glue or hot glue. I’m not going to judge. I start by attaching the widest paper that will completely cover your tube with my staples and tape. Then I just wrap it around the tube and secure the second end in the same way.
The strips are then attached with either staples or tape – it just depends on where they go and your preferred method of attachment. I attached my white with staples because it was close to the top and my red with tape because it was towards the bottom.
All that is left now is adding some colorful pom poms.
That’s all there is to it – now you have your very own cardboard tube firework! Ready for endless reloading and firing. Well, not endless, eventually the balloon might need replaced. 😉
As I say every week, my goal with this blog is to make sure that people leave each of my posts feeling equipped to practice articulation or phonics with their learner. So, I always have a game from my Teachers Pay Teachers store (Autumn Emigh Creative Communication Solutions) on special sale for you. This week, it is a game called “Firework Frenzy.” The product includes instructions with a link to a digital Google Slides game. You also receive printable game cards in color and black and white. The digital and printable versions of the game contain the same 8 vocalic IRE sound words for your learner to practice. Get it until July 26th for half price – just $1.00!
Just click on the photo above or HERE to get your copy today! And be sure to fill out the form below to get on my email list. Not only are my email subscribers the first to know when each of my blog posts goes live, they also get information about products, events, and summits each week. I’ll always do my best to make it worthwhile for you to stick around, but it is super easy to unsubscribe if you ever wish to.
That’s it for this week. I hope you have a chance to catch some real fireworks this week. I will be back next week with a Cardboard Tube and Egg Cup Train craft and a Track Race game.
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