STREAM Activity: Summertime Lantern

Light up the night with a special summer lantern!

Activity best for children ages 2 and up

The heat is here and so is summertime! During the summer, the weather becomes much warmer and makes it the perfect time to do things we couldn’t do as much or as comfortably compared to the winter. In the summer when it’s much warmer, it can be fun to garden, play outside, go to the beach or even go camping. There are plenty of exciting things to do during the daytime, but when nighttime comes and we need to go inside, it doesn’t mean the fun has to stop. Today, we are creating a Summertime Lantern to light up our summer nights! Our Summertime Lantern is going to be very special because we get to choose how we’d like to decorate it and how we’d like our summer nights to look like!

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Materials:

Clear glass jar

Scissors

Glue

Small bowl or plate (for glue)

Paint brush

Colored tissue paper

Small light or candle

Guiding Questions:

What are some things that remind you of summer?

What are your favorite summer colors?

Directions

Step 1

Cut colored tissue paper into 1×1 inch square pieces. Cut enough to cover the jar.

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Step 2

Add glue to a bowl. Use your paintbrush and apply a layer of glue onto the jar.

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Step 3

Add tissue paper to your jar. You can create a color pattern or even pictures with the different colored tissue paper.

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Step 4

Give it about 10 minutes to sit and dry, then apply a second coat of glue. Add another layer of your tissue paper.

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Step 5

Wait 2 hours and your Summertime Lantern will be complete! Ask a grown-up to add a light or candle to see it glow. Then place it in a safe part of your home.

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Grown Ups-Are you looking for more ways to extend your child’s learning? Check out these extension activities to build upon today’s STREAM activity!

Reading Connections

The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle

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Real-World Connections

Being able to be creative and create our own unique versions of things we can find around our home is something many engineers and artists do every day. The coolest part is not only that we got to create something but that we can enjoy the process of making it, just like how we got to choose the colors for our summertime lantern!