July 4th Fireworks: Kids' Berry Art Activity

Get the fireworks started before the Fourth of July with an explosive kids’ art activity! I’ve said this before, but I’m not a fan of using food for art (unless you get to eat it afterwards). But, at the same time food-based art is a safer way to create for young children who are very much into putting everything in their mouths. To pacify my own get up on a soapbox self, I like to do a swap up in which I donate a canned or boxed item to the food bank box at my grocery store in exchange for wasting (in this case a handful of blueberries). It’s also a good lesson or my son on helping others.

I knew that I wanted to use red and blue berries to create patriotic art, but wasn’t entirely sure how. After starring at the berries on some white paper, my 12-year-old son (who is apparently already bored of his summer vacation) started squishing them. So, now we have exploding berry firework art. The result: An abstract almost watercolor-like Jackson Pollock-esque artwork! As a bonus, you (and your child) can certainly get some aggression out while exploding the berries onto paper.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·         Blueberries

·         Red berries – I used strawberry tops, but you could also use raspberries.

·         White paper

Here’s What You’ll Do:

1.      Pick and prep your work area. These are bright berries that are exploding – so, don’t have your child do this project over your white area rug or next to your white walls. I used I piece of thick foam core board underneath the paper to protect the table, but you could also use a garbage bag or inexpensive vinyl table cloth. The berry juice may travel through the air, so you’ll need to protect the area from right under your child’s paper to a few feet away on all sides.

2.      Set a berry, or two, onto the center of the white paper.

3.      Pound the berries. Have your child make a fist. She can then squish the berries and make her own Fourth of July firework art.

 

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