This fun activity will introduce your children drawing their own fireworks! It is best suited for younger children in smaller groups.

Follow our simple step-by-step guide to have a go at this activity today:

What you will need:

• Shallow tray or box lid (A4 paper box lids are perfect!)
• Rice – enough to cover the tray (or trays, depending on how many children in your group) up to about 1cm depth
• Coloured/glitter card (you can find some here). Any colour or pattern combination will work!
• Black food colouring
• Glue

Preparing the activity:

1. Before pouring into the tray, mix the rice with the food colouring to dye it as dark as possible – don’t be afraid to use a lot!
2. Once the desired colour, blot the rice with a towel or kitchen roll to soak up the excess food colouring and spread out on a tray or surface to dry completely.
3. Using the glue, cover the base of the tray or box lid with the glitter card. Feel free to use different colours or patterns on the same tray for more variety. Leave to dry.
4. Once the rice and trays are completely dry, pour the rice into each tray to about 0.5cm-1cm depth.

Doing the activity:

Show the children how to draw firework shapes (simple asterisks) in the black rice to reveal the colours underneath, helping them explore their creativity with their own images. Encourage them to explore how the rice feels in their hands (but keep an eye out for any rice making its way towards little mouths!).

At the end of the activity, why not take a photo of your Early Years’ creations to send home to their parents?

Tracking the activity:

8-20 months

Physical Development: Moving and Handling: “Enjoys the sensory experience of making marks in damp sand, paste or paint.”

Expressive arts and design: Exploring and using media and materials: “Explores and experiments with a range of media through sensory exploration, and using whole body.; Notices and is interested in the effects of making movements which leave marks.”

16-26 months

Physical Development: Moving and Handling: “Makes connections between their movement and the marks they make.”

Expressive arts and design: Exploring and using media and materials: “Explores and experiments with a range of media through sensory exploration, and using whole body.; Notices and is interested in the effects of making movements which leave marks.”

22-36 months

Physical Development: Moving and Handling: “Imitates drawing simple shapes such as circles and lines.; May be beginning to show preference for dominant hand.”

Expressive arts and design: “Experiments with blocks, colours and marks.”