Painting fork fireworks

What you’ll need:

• Old forks or brushes
• Non-toxic, washable paints
• Black paper or card
• Newspaper/an old cloth
• Aprons
• Paper plates
• Optional: glitter

Benefits: 

Both painting and using cutlery help young children strengthen their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, building strength in their fingers, wrists, and arms. 

The experience:

Set up your art area by covering the table and any nearby furniture with a newspaper or an old cloth, also ensuring you and your child are wearing an apron.  

Squeeze out some non-toxic, washable paints of various colours onto a paper plate and grab some old forks. 

Demonstrate to your child how to drop a blob of paint onto the paper. Using the fork, dip into the paint and pull the paint outwards to create firework streaks across the black card. 

Encourage them to have a go and be as creative as they wish! Make sure to stay and supervise your child as they do this task, as the fork may give the impression that the paint is edible. 

You can go one step further if your child is old enough and add some glitter to the drying paint so that the fireworks sparkle across the night sky! 

Let the artwork dry for several hours and then add to your seasonal decorations!