Independence Day gives parents the opportunity to show their children how important our freedoms are to us. Make this time of year a fun and memorable experience for your children. There are many simple and inexpensive activities that we can use to celebrate the importance of Independence Day with our children. Here are two fun projects to get you started:
Have a mini-parade. Give the kids some supplies for putting together their own Independence Day parade. Get them started with some ideas, then let them be creative. Once their parade is ready to go, lead them around the block as they sing, march, or play music. Maybe they’d like to incorporate some of these ideas into their parade:
* Give them red, white, and blue streamers to decorate their bikes.
* Build floats using wagons, stuffed animals, banners, or anything else they’d like.
* Put together their own band with homemade own instruments.
* Dress up for the part. Wear red, white, and blue and have their faces painted with stars, flags, or fireworks.
Fireworks art project. You may have done something similar when you were a kid….
Darkly color the entire surface of a sheet of paper with different colors of crayons. Then, use a black crayon to color over the whole page. Use a tool such as an unbent paper clip or mechanical pencil with the lead retracted to scratch out a fireworks design on the page. The black will scratch off leaving the colors showing through.
Write letters to men and women in the military. Have your children write letters about themselves to those serving in our armed forces. Teach them to be grateful for our troops and their service to our country.
–In addition to these ideas, you may want to think of some educational projects you can do to teach your children more about the country we live in and the struggle for our Independence.