Fourth of July Crafts and Activities for Summer

Do you need a fun activity to keep the kids occupied during summer break, or a game for your next BBQ? Learn about science with milk fireworks, create a dazzling sensory bottle, and decorate everything from your table to your flip flops in the theme of Americana. 

Patriotic snack bags:

Decorate plain resealable plastic bags as an activity, or fill with yummy snacks to hand out as favors at your summer bash. 

Supplies:

• Quart or snack-sized resealable plastic bags
• Duct tape in patriotic designs and/or colors
• Scissors
• Plastic cutting board

Directions:

Lay your plastic bag flat on a plastic surface like a cutting board. Tear off a strip of duct tape, slightly longer than the width of the bag. Starting at the top of the bag, line up the lengthwise edge of a strip of tape with the lower edge of the zipper closure. Smooth the tape horizontally onto the bag. Repeat with additional strips of tape until the bag is covered. Trim the extra tape so that the edges of tape are flush with the edge of the bag. Flip the bag over and repeat on the other side. 

Fireworks in Milk Science Activity

Supplies:

• Milk ( 1% or greater, the more fat the better)
• Liquid food colors
• Liquid dish soap
• Q-Tips
• Plate or shallow dish, such as a casserole dish or cake pan

Directions:

• Pour about one half inch of milk into your dish. Add four drops of each food color (next to each other, not on top of each other)  into the center of the milk. Now, the fun begins! Dip a Q-tip into the dish liquid, then let the kids gently touch the tip of the detergent-soaked Q-tip to the food color. Watch the colors disperse,making firework-like patterns, and repeat by touching the Q-tip to different areas of the milk. 
• Explanation: Milk is composed of fat and water. The dish liquid is made up of two molecules; one is hydrophobic (hates water) and one is hydrophilic (loves water). So when the dish detergent hits the milk, one molecule chases the fat in the milk and one molecule attaches to the water in milk, causing the movement of the colors. After a few minutes, the molecules will stop moving. Then you can pour out your colored milk and try again!

Balloon Bop

Kids love to hit balloons back and forth. You can make your own game from inexpensive materials.

Supplies: 

• 2 paper plates (red, white, and blue if possible)
• Duct tape
• 2 paint sticks, or one wooden yard stick, cut in half
• Balloons

Directions:

• Tape a paint stick onto the back of the paper plate. You want the end of the stick to be attached at the midpoint of the plate. Repeat with the other plate.
• Blow up balloons.
• To play: Toss a balloon in the air and let the kids hit the balloon back and forth, holding the stick of the balloon bopper like a tennis racket. 

Painted cut offs:

This is a fun project to do with cut-off jeans or denim shorts.

Supplies:

• Denim shorts
• Paintbrush
• Fabric paint
• Stencil of stars or American flag, and foam stencil brush (if desired).

 Directions:

• It’s a good idea to sketch out what you would like to paint on the shorts on scratch paper before getting started.
• Pre wash the shorts if needed. Lay newspaper on your work surface and put the shorts on the newspaper. Paint your design onto the shorts. Try stripes, polka dots, or even stars! 

These activities are fun for the Fourth of July holiday, or anytime this summer–because red, white and blue never goes out of style!

Tiffany Doerr Guerzon

www.TDGuerzon.com