Firework Colour Checklists — Free Sample
Try a colour-spotting checklist with pictures, a recording or a prepared colour hunt. Tick the colours together and talk about what you notice.
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Theme collection · Fireworks & Bonfire Night
Explore fireworks through colourful marks, playful sounds, patterns, movement and conversation.
Find creative invitations, counting games, early writing resources and planning support for your setting or home. Choose a few ideas that connect with the children’s interests, whether you are exploring Bonfire Night or noticing light and colour at another time.
Quiet ways to join in are welcome too: look at pictures, draw, move or share a familiar rhyme. There is no need for loud sounds or a real display.
Find your starting point
Try a resource, activity or age. Choose a result to see its cover further down this page, then open the resource when you are ready.
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01 / Explore the theme
Two Fireworks samples to try with Free Access. Use the covers to explore each resource before choosing your download.
Try a colour-spotting checklist with pictures, a recording or a prepared colour hunt. Tick the colours together and talk about what you notice.
Suggested use: Toddlers with adult support · Preschool · Reception
Try arranging firework pictures by size and talk about big, small, bigger and smaller.
Suggested use: Toddlers with adult support · Preschool · Reception
02 / Explore the theme
Make swirls, shapes and bursts of colour with dough, drawing, collage and movement. These are optional starting points: children can change an idea, invent their own marks or simply explore the materials.
Roll, shape and arrange dough on firework outline mats, using the pictures as starting points for patterns and hand movements.
Suggested use: Toddlers with adult support · Preschool · Reception
Large blank firework shapes provide a starting point for collage and arranging loose parts, with room for children’s own colour and pattern choices.
Suggested use: Toddlers with adult support · Preschool · Reception
Six movement cards invite children to move like fireworks. Explore actions, descriptive language and taking turns, indoors or outside.
Suggested use: Toddlers with adult support · Preschool · Reception
Follow dotted firework lines to practise controlled pencil movements. Offer these alongside broader drawing and mark-making opportunities.
Suggested use: Preschool · Reception
A collection of firework colouring sheets for exploring colour choices and adding individual detail.
Suggested use: Preschool · Reception · Selected KS1 uses
03 / Explore the theme
Choose from colour matching, size ordering, puzzles and number games. Offer a manageable number of pieces and focus on the mathematical idea that matters for your children.
Match each numeral to the correct quantity of fireworks. Use the pieces for counting and subitising, or leave them uncut for number ordering.
Suggested use: Preschool · Reception
Roll a 1–6 die and find the matching piece to build a firework picture. Choose dots or numerals for individual play or a turn-taking game.
Suggested use: Preschool · Reception
Match firework cards to six coloured splats. Select fewer colours when useful and build colour vocabulary through a simple sorting game.
Suggested use: Toddlers with adult support · Preschool · Reception
Match two halves of a firework burst. These 11 simple puzzles encourage close looking at colours, patterns, similarities and differences.
Suggested use: Toddlers with adult support · Preschool · Reception
Order the numbered strips to rebuild a firework picture. Choose the 1–5 or 1–10 puzzles to suit the numbers children are exploring.
Suggested use: Preschool · Reception
Firework numerals for a number line, ordering and missing-number games, or matching a chosen number to a collection of objects.
Suggested use: Preschool · Reception · Selected KS1 uses
Match each firework burst to the rocket of the same colour. Play together to practise colour recognition and taking turns.
Suggested use: Toddlers with adult support · Preschool · Reception
Build rockets in a memory game that brings together turn taking, shape recognition and number ordering. Add a firework sound when a rocket is complete.
Suggested use: Preschool · Reception
Match rockets and bursts by colour, then explore one-to-one counting and finding one more using the progressively varied sheets.
Suggested use: Preschool · Reception
04 / Explore the theme
Share ideas, play with words and sounds, and give children a reason to draw or write. Adults can record children’s words; independent writing is one way to take part.
For early reading: use the CVC word-building game only with letter-sound correspondences children already know, alongside your chosen phonics approach.
Use the senses prompts to talk, draw, make marks or write descriptive words and sentences about fireworks. Adults can scribe children’s ideas.
Suggested use: Preschool · Reception · Selected KS1 uses
Drawing and writing sheets offer different amounts of space for children to record a firework experience through pictures, marks or words.
Suggested use: Preschool · Reception · Selected KS1 uses
Invite children to draw, make marks or write about their senses. Use the prompt pages separately or combine them into a small booklet.
Suggested use: Preschool · Reception · Selected KS1 uses
Lower-case letters on firework bursts for displays and letter activities. Choose letters and sounds that children already know for matching games.
Suggested use: Reception · Selected KS1 uses
Explore words that sound like fireworks. Use the posters for playful speech sounds and introduce onomatopoeia when children are ready.
Suggested use: Preschool · Reception · Selected KS1 uses
Use sound cards of different lengths as visual cues for short and long sounds. Combine them to make and repeat simple firework rhythms.
Suggested use: Preschool · Reception
Build and blend simple CVC words in a firework-themed game. Select letter–sound correspondences children have been taught and discuss real and nonsense words.
Suggested use: Reception · Selected KS1 uses
05 / Explore the theme
Use the picture cards and posters for adult-supported conversations, then explore the role of firefighters through the wider Firefighter Pack.
A note for adults: these printables support discussion. Check current fire-service advice when planning any real event. Sparklers should not be given to children under five. Read London Fire Brigade’s fireworks advice.
Four illustrated cards for adult-led conversations about firework safety or a display to revisit together.
Suggested use: Preschool · Reception · Selected KS1 uses
An A4 poster to support adult-led conversations about firework safety and provide a visual reminder in your setting.
Suggested use: Preschool · Reception · Selected KS1 uses
Explore the firefighter’s role through information posters, drawing and writing sheets, creative mats and simple puzzles.
Suggested use: Preschool · Reception · Selected KS1 uses
06 / Explore the theme
Enjoy Twinkle Twinkle Little Star through singing, pictures, sequencing and illustration. These are related night-sky resources; use them when the connection interests the children.
An illustrated lyrics poster for shared singing, actions and rhythm work, or a nursery-rhyme display.
Suggested use: Toddlers with adult support · Preschool · Reception
Large illustrated cards to sequence the rhyme, support shared singing or create an interactive display.
Suggested use: Toddlers with adult support · Preschool · Reception
Cut-and-match sequence cards for putting the nursery rhyme in order and retelling it together.
Suggested use: Preschool · Reception
Blank illustration frames paired with lines from the rhyme invite children to draw their own pictures and talk about the words.
Suggested use: Preschool · Reception
Match two parts from familiar nursery rhymes. Different puzzle shapes help children check the matches as they play.
Suggested use: Toddlers with adult support · Preschool · Reception
Colouring lyrics posters for seven familiar nursery rhymes, including Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.
Suggested use: Preschool · Reception
07 / Explore the theme
Adult-facing support for toddlers and preschool children. These broader projects offer possible connections with light, celebrations and people who help us; they are not a required Fireworks teaching sequence.
A sensory project for 18–36 months, supporting language, confidence and early scientific thinking through light, dark and celebrations.
For adults · Toddlers (18–36 months)
A play-led project for 18–36 months, supporting community awareness, relationships, role play and language.
For adults · Toddlers (18–36 months)
A six-week theme for 3–4-year-olds exploring community, problem-solving and staying safe.
For adults · Preschool (3–4 years)
A flexible two-week theme for 3–4-year-olds, exploring belonging, traditions and why people celebrate through meaningful play.
For adults · Preschool (3–4 years)
08 / Choose a starting point
Use these suggestions flexibly, guided by children’s interests, confidence and support needs. The links take you to the covers on this page.
For babies, keep the focus on shared singing, faces, gesture and interaction. For toddlers, use the dedicated planning resources to choose suitable experiences.
Begin with colour, talk, movement and making. Offer adult support and select materials for the children using them.
Build on what children already know: compare, count, describe and represent ideas in different ways.
Share one invitation with different ways to join in. Older children might explain a pattern, compose a short poem or develop their own written account.
09 / Keep exploring
Follow an interest in the night sky, explore a different celebration, or browse the wider site. The calendar links are optional next steps, not additional Fireworks activities.
You may also like Autumn, Mark Making & Early Writing and Music & Sound.
Browse the complete core Fireworks collection, including games, creative activities, early writing and safety resources.
Extend an interest in stars and rockets with the wider Space resource collection.
Browse the wider mathematics collection for number, shape, pattern and comparison activities.
Browse the wider science and understanding-the-world collection for investigations and exploration.
Explore birthday-themed resources and playful celebration ideas.
Explore the Diwali theme collection and resources for learning about this festival.
Browse the Remembrance collection for themed resources.
Explore the St Andrew’s Day theme collection.
Browse the Thanksgiving theme collection.
Read EYFS and KS1 activity ideas for greetings, communication and connections.
Read EYFS and KS1 activity ideas linked to food and sugar awareness.
Find EYFS and KS1 activity ideas for kindness and caring for others.
Read EYFS and KS1 activity ideas about kindness, individuality and respectful relationships.
Explore EYFS and KS1 ideas for enjoying nursery rhymes, language and music.
Read EYFS and KS1 activity ideas for exploring, investigating and discovering.
Explore EYFS and KS1 activity ideas for playful language and tongue twisters.
Read EYFS and KS1 ideas for taking play and learning outdoors.
Find EYFS and KS1 activity ideas for talking about road safety.
Visit the EYFS Framework page for framework information and support.
Browse the calendar of EYFS and KS1 events, festivals and celebrations.
Find collections for festivals and celebrations across the year.
Browse the wider collection of themes and topics.
Find resources to support imaginative role play in your setting.
Browse organisational resources and practical tools for your setting.
Browse resources through the EYFS areas of learning.
Explore dual-language resources to support communication and inclusion.
10 / Make it your own
A theme can offer a shared starting point while leaving room for children’s own experiences and ideas.
Bonfire Night, also called Fireworks Night or Guy Fawkes Night, is associated with 5 November and the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. With young children, follow their questions and keep explanations brief and sensitive.
Choose one or two relevant additions to familiar spaces: colourful marks at the creative table, a picture to talk about, or a counting puzzle alongside number play. Observe what the children do with them and adapt from there. There is no need to theme every area or print every resource.
Offer quiet choices such as pictures, drawing, gentle movement or familiar singing. Let children watch, join in, pause or choose something else. They can explore colour and pattern without recordings, flashing effects or sudden bangs.
Some colour, pattern and sound resources can be useful when fireworks arise in children’s experiences. Keep the meaning of each celebration clear, listen to families’ perspectives and use the relevant collection for its wider context.
The Fireworks topic resources are listed with editable Word and PDF options. Check each resource page for the formats supplied. The cover links let you take a closer look before opening a resource.
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Resources created by Little Owls Resources.