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Painting Fireworks

Fireworks painting activity - great new year's or other celebrations activity.

Painting Fireworks is a super easy and fun New Year’s Day Celebration activity – Creating Fireworks with Paint!

Using some of the left over cardboard rolls from the Christmas gift wrap, we created different length ‘firework’ fans for printing with paint. The print pattern created by the cardboard roll fans mimics that of fireworks brilliantly and children can create as many different size and coloured fireworks as they like.

What you will need?

Invitation to paint fireworks - new year's activity

You will need coloured paint (we have only chosen 4 colours), large sheets of paper and cardboard tubes.

Cut the cardboard tubes into different lengths as shown in the photo, to create different size firework prints.

Please note:

Do not place the cardboard tubs into the paint until you are ready to use them because after a while the cardboard strips become soft and will break off after they have been in the wet paint for some time.

New Year's, Celebration or Fireworks story books for Kids.  The Night Before New Year's by Natasha Wing

The Fireworks Painting was inspired by reading the story The Night Before New Year’s written by Natasha Wing and illustrated by Amy Wummer. This is a fun story that you can read to children as an introduction to the theme activity.

Let’s Play

Making fireworks with paint and cardboard rolls.  Great new year's celebration activity

Some Ideas:

  • When printing the fireworks onto the paper, we used a ‘bounce and twist’ motion as we transferred the paint and fireworks pattern onto the paper.
  • Start printing with the largest fireworks cardboard fan first and print over the top with the next size down to the smallest.
  • Create a fireworks using the smallest cardboard fan first overlapping the paint with the next biggest until the largest.
  • Create single coloured fireworks with no overlapping with several colours.
  • Talk about the different sizes, which one is the largest fireworks and which one is the smallest?
  • Watch videos or read stories that show fireworks.
Fireworks celebration painting with glitter.

Add a small amount of glitter to the wet paint to finish off the ‘fireworks’ effect!

Let’s Learn

Fireworks celebration activity - painting fireworks with paint and cardboard rolls.

Learning Opportunities

  • Imagination and Creativity
  • Fine Motor Development
  • Hand-Eye Coordination and Control
  • Cause and Effect
  • Colour recognition and creating new colours.
  • Language development – New vocabulary such as fireworks, New Year’s Day, etc.

Click here for more PAINTING activities & play ideas

Click here for more CELEBRATION & FIREWORKS activities & play ideas

Available in our online shop:

Please click on the product names to view full product details.

Printable Dot-to-Dot Alphabet Letter Charts

Printable Dot-to-Dot Number Rhyme Charts

Printable Dot-to-dot alphabet letter charts - laminate for dry erase board and reusable writing tool

17 thoughts on “Painting Fireworks”

  1. Christiane Hausted

    We found that wrapping a strip (or two) of duct tape around the cardboard tube before cutting into strips helped them hold up a bit longer.

  2. Looks amazing. I’m staying with my friends children for a few hours tomorrow and this will be a perfect activity for us to do together. They write thsnk you notes to grandparents and friends for holiday gifts, so I’m planning on pre-folding cardstock do they can decorate the outside of the card. They will LOVE their creations.

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Hi and welcome to Learning 4 Kids!

Hi and welcome to Learning 4 Kids!

My name is Janice and I am an Early Childhood Teacher in Australia.

I have a strong passion and love for teaching and creating meaningful learning experiences for my students. What I love most is watching children discover in those amazing light bulb moments. I hope Learning4kids brings you some useful ideas.

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