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Fun ideas for 4th of July celebrations!

 July 4th Activities, Crafts and Games

Part 1

Making your celebration special is easy when you incorporate a couple of patriotic activities, crafts or games. Here is a variety of suggestions for your 4th of July holiday event! Choose what is appropriate for your gathering and have fun!

First a little history…..

While picnics, parades, fireworks,  games and outdoor activities go hand in hand with  this  mid-summer celebration. Unfortunately, many kids and perhaps some adults don’t know what we really celebrate. It is the birthday of our nation!  

On July 4th, 1776, the  Continental Congress passed the Declaration of Independence.

John Adams, one of the founders of our new nation, said, “I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward for evermore.”

Patrick Henry  was an attorney, planter and politician.  He became known as an important orator during the movement for independence.

Patriotic July 4th Activities for your celebration:

Incorporate one or more of these….

1.  Say the Pledge of Allegiance and explain what it means.

      There is a  good YouTube video of comedian Red Skelton explaining the pledge here

2.  Sing the National Anthem

3.  Play patriotic music or sing patriotic songs. Lyrics are here.

4. Printable 50 star America Flag Coloring Page available here.

5.  View the 4 minute clip on the Declaration of Independence here.(for older kids)

        For younger kids here....

6. Who was Uncle Sam? How did he get to be the icon for The United States?

Find out here:

http://news.discovery.com/history/videos/history-uncle-sam-who-was-he.htm

7. Watch the Youtube video on the Preamble by Schoolhouse Rock or Fifty Nifty United States here

 July 4th Crafts

1.  Make T-shirts

I’ve grouped a couple of former t-shirt posts that are great ideas for 4th of July. For this  first one, I saved the idea from the Family Fun magazine perhaps ten years ago. I looked, but couldn’t find the link. Even though the grandchildren were  the ages of 3-5, they were able to make these great looking shirts. I taped the areas ahead of time and they did the painting. The stars were just drawn freehand on the wide painter’s tape then cut and applied on the shirt. We used wide sponge brushes and wherever they painted, it turned out just fine because of the taped off areas.

Supplies:

White T-Shirts (pre-washed)

Red and Blue Fabric Paint

Sponge Brushes

Painter’s Tape

Directions:

First place painter’s tape on the t-shirt and mask the stripes.  Make them horizontal, diagonal, or vertical.  With tape, square off the blue area and adhere stars.

Next,using sponge brushes, paint the stripes red and the star area blue. When paint is dry, peel off the tape.  Set the paint according to the fabric paint recommendations.

 

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They were very proud of how they turned out!

I’m a Mops Mentor and we used this idea as a craft in our Mops group. Each Mom brought a prewashed  t-shirt or onesie for their child and taped it off at the meeting. Some did a diagonal design and others did theirs vertically & horizontally.Whichever way they taped it, they all looked great! Each mom took it home to paint.

(MOPS stands for Mothers of PreSchoolers)

Look! I even found a manufactured shirt for sale using the same method!

Check out my other t-shirt post here. 

Another t-shirt idea here.

2.   July 4th Hats and Sparklers

Have the kids make these cute hats to wear! Click on the link below for complete directions.

noordinarymomentsblog.com

Thanks to noordinarymomentsblog.com for allowing me to share this idea.

3.     July 4th Visor……..

Supplies:

$1 foam visor

Glitter Star Foam Shapes Stickers

Glitter Glue ( this takes a long time to dry so eliminate if they want to wear immediately)

Directions:

  Place foam sticker shapes of various size stars, etc. on the visor!

Now, that’s easy!!!!

Let kids create their own visor!

July 4th Games

1. Water Balloons: With the weather usually hot, the old stand-by of throwing water balloons is always fun! Vary the game with water balloon tag. One person is it and tags another by throwing a water balloon.

2. Patriotic Bingo: free printable bingo cards here Free Printable Patriotic Bingo Cards {Activities for Kids}, shared by Lorie A on Tip Junkie

3. Near the Flag:  Stick an American flag (small or medium size) in the ground at some distance away from players. Play this game with frisbees or balls. The person who successfully lands his frisbee or ball nearest the American the flag scores a point.! The one scoring the point for that round gets to decide where to move the flag for the next round. First one to score 5 or 10 points, wins! (similar to bocce ball) Use pom-pom shooters, too. Using marshmallows, the person closest to the flag gets a point and moves the flag to a different position. Go here to find directions for the pom-pom shooters.

4. Frisbee Golf: Play this game in an area with trees. Place a number on each tree. (doesn’t need to be 18 trees) Players throw the frisbee trying to hit the numbered tree. Once the player hits the first tree, then go to the second, third, etc. Count the number of throws and the one with the lowest number wins. (Just like golf) For young children, three trees is plenty. For 4th of July version, use lots of flags on the trees!

5. Duck, Duck, Dump!: This game is a variation of Duck, Duck, Grey Duck. Players sit in a circle and the one that is “it” has a cup of water. They walk around the circle saying, “Duck, Duck”….. and when they say “Dump”, they dump the cup of water on the one chosen and run around the circle trying to get back to the place of the one they chose. Play this with water balloons, too!

6. Flag Hunt: Buy a couple packages of little flag picks (the ones you use for cupcakes, sandwiches, etc.) Place these in different places around the area (in a bush, near a flower in the garden. under a table, on a tree). Be sure to place them where they won’t get stepped on by bare feet! See who can find the most flags in a 5 minute time.This works well if you have some wooded areas around.

7. Play a game of 20 questions. Find facts about the signing of the Declaration of Independence online and do a “test” with teams. Do either multiple choice or fill in the answer. Teams go to different spots so they can work together on the answers! No I-phones allowed!

8. Star Tag: This game is played like a regular tag game except there are stars which are safe spots. You cannot be tagged while there!  The person that is “it” chases to tag another person, but if that person runs to a star, they are safe. They count to 20 and need to run to another star for safety again before being tagged. Make stars by using a cardboard cut-out.  Place cut-out stars on the lawn and sprinkle with flour or use white spray paint (paint will grow out). Do this in several places.

9.Night-Time Star Game: This is played when it is dark. It is similar to Duck, Duck, Grey Duck (Goose). Kids lay flat on ground with feet toward the inside of the circle. They need to be spaced an arm’s length apart. The person laying on the ground picks a star in the sky and stays focused or staring at that star. The one who is “it” goes around the circle with a flashlight. When “it” shines the flashlight on their face, they must quickly get up and race around the circle trying to catch the person before they get back to the open spot.

Phyllis (Oma)

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