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FIREWORKS ART
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Place a spoonful of bright colored paint on a piece of black construction paper. |
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Have your child use a toothpick to draw lines of paint out from the paint blob to make a “blossoming fireworks” design. |
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While the paint is still wet, let him add sparkle by sprinkling on a little glitter. |
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If you wish, place more paint on the paper for your child to turn into fireworks.
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FLAGS-A-FLYING
These red, white and blue handprints will brighten any 4th of July celebration.
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Set out red, white and blue tempera paint along with some paint brushes. |
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One at a time, have your children come up and paint one of their hands red, white and blue in any way they wish. |
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Then have them press their painted hand sideways on a sheet of plain paper, keeping their fingers closed, to make a handprint. |
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Have a dishpan of soapy water for hand washing. |
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To complete their pictures, have the children paint a blue flag pole down from the palm end of their handprint. |
Extensions: You can cut out paper frames for your children to glue onto their flag pictures. |
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SPARKLERS
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Have each of your children paint a jumbo craft stick black on both sides and allow it to dry. |
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Set out various colors of glitter chenille stems and let each child choose three stems. |
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Have the children wind their stems around a fat crayon or marker and gently pull them off to make sparkly spirals. |
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Then help them tape their spirals to the top of their painted craft stick to make Sparklers for waving on the Fourth of July. |
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HOLIDAY PLACEMATS
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Help your children trace around their hands on pieces of red and blue construction paper. They will need two red and two blue hand shapes. |
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Cut out their hand shapes. |
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Set out sheets of white construction paper and glue. |
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Let your children glue their hand shapes on a paper any way they wish. |
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Have children write their names on the backs of their pictures. |
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Laminate each placemat. |
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Let children use their holiday placemat when eating holiday snacks. |
| Variation: Set out glittery star stickers to add to the pictures before laminating. |
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PATRIOTIC PLATE PUZZLE
For this activity you will need two paper plates with an identical Fourth of July pattern printed on them.
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Cut one of the plates into several puzzle pieces. |
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Then mix up the pieces and give them to your child. |
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To work the puzzle, have him use the second plate as a holder and put the puzzle pieces together on top of it. |
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BEAD PATTERNS
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Collect a number of red, white and blue beads with holes large enough for a chenille stem to pass through. |
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Set out the beads along with several chenille stems. |
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Use markers to draw different bead patterns on separate index cards, such as red-white-white-blue-red-white-white-blue, or something easier, like red-white- blue-red-white-blue. |
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Place the cards in a pile. |
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Let your children take turns choosing a cards and repeating the pattern on it by stringing the beads onto a chenille stem. |
| Variation: Let your children choose one pattern design and string a chenille bracelet. |
CAUTION: Always supervise children when using items that could be swallowed.
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RED, WHITE, AND BLUE POKER CHIP GAMES
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Hunt for Chips- Hide chips around the room and invite your child to search for them. |
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Matching Chips – Set out a pile of chips and three papers, one red, one blue and one white. Have children match the chip color to the paper color and place the chips on the matching papers. |
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Tossing Chips – Set out a large basket. Let each child have a turn tossing five chips into the basket. Have children count how many they got into the basket. |
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Sorting Chips – Set out a pile of different colored chips. Let your children take turns sorting the pile of chips into three piles of the same colored chips. |
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Pattern Chips – Line up chips in a pattern for your child to follow, such as red-white-blue, red-white-blue. Continue with more challenging patterns |
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BLAST OFF
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Let your children pretend to be rockets and crouch down near the floor. |
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Tell them that it’s time to count down for blast off. |
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Then count backwards from 10 to 1 and shout “Blast Off” |
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When the children hear the “Blast Off”, have them jump up as high as they can.
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FLAG COUNTING
Go for a walk or drive around your neighborhood and count American flags waving.
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FOURTH OF JULY CARDS
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Give each of your children a piece of white construction paper folded in half. |
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Set out washable red and blue ink pads along with Fourth of July rubber stamps. |
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Invite your children to decorate the front of their cards with the stamps. |
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Then, help them write “Happy Fourth of July” and their name on the inside of their card.
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BIRTHDAY CAKE
Let your child help you make a birthday cake for America.
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Follow directions on a package of cake mix to make a standard cake. |
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Then top it with white frosting and add red and blue sprinkles for decorations. |
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Include a few red and blue candles. |
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Don’t forget to sing “Happy Birthday” to America before eating. |
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MUSICAL CELEBRATIONS
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Sing a patriotic song, such as “The Star Spangled Banner”. |
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Ring a pretend Liberty Bell. |
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Pop plastic bubble-wrap to make “firecracker sounds”. |
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Tune in to a July Fourth TV special and march to the music.
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FOURTH OF JULY PARADE
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Give your child and her friends rolls of red, white and blue crepe paper streamers to use for decorating wagons, trikes and other riding toys. |
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Give family members oatmeal boxes to beat on for drums and cardboard tubes to toot through for horns. |
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Then lead everyone around the block in a parade while singing “Yankee Doodle”. |
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FLAGS ARE FLYING
Tune: “Frere Jacques”
Flags are flying, flags are flying
Oh so high; oh, so high.
Flying for our country,
Red and white and blue,
Flying high, in the sky.
Liz Ryerson
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ADDITIONAL SONGS FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY – Can be found a the Music Station |
