Fourth of July Crafts

Independence Day Fun

In the United States is America the 4th of July is filled with parades, barbecues, and fireworks to celebrate the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Here are some easy crafts I made with my nanny kids  to bring with them to their local holiday parade. The finished projects may look a little primitive but the process of creating is more important for children then the finished outcome. Older children can make more accurate and polished projects.

4th of July Shakers

Make several shakers putting different materials (dried beans, popcorn kernels, rice, or buttons) in each to see what materials make different sounds.

You Will Need:

• Cardboard Toilet Paper Rolls
• Dried beans, Popcorn Kernels, Rice or ButtonsRed, White or Blue Construction
• Construction Paper
• Safety Scissors
• Aluminum Foil, Waxed Paper or Heavyweight Paper
• 4th of July Stickers
• Duct Tape
• Glue

What to Do:

1. Cover one end of the toilet paper roll with aluminum foil, waxed paper, or heavyweight paper. Secure with duct tape.

2. Let kids fill the tube half way with dried beans, popcorn kernels, rice, or buttons.

3. Cover the open side of cardboard tube and secure with duct tape.

4. Cover the tube with construction paper and glue into place.

5. Have kids decorate their shakers with holiday stickers.

American Flag

When working with small children it’s not necessary to make a perfect American flag with 13 stripes and 50 stars. I focused on letting my nanny kid practice using safety scissors and pasting paper rather than making an accurate flag. With older children I make sure they use 13 stripes to represent the original 13 colonies and 50 stars, one for every state. I secured my nanny kid’s flag to a large stick so she could carry it at a local 4th of July parade.

You Will Need:

• Red, White, and Blue Card-Stock Paper
• White Paint or Stickers
• Safety Scissors
• Glue

What to Do:

1. Have the kids cut out strips of red paper and a square of blue paper.

2. Have the children glue the red strips to a large piece of white paper to make white and red stripes (like seen on the American flag). Let them paste the blue square to the upper left hand corner of white paper.

3. Have the kids use white paint on star-shapes stickers to add stars to the blue square.

Parade Wand

I went to the local craft store and found glittery stars on sticks. I simply wrapped the stars poles together to create a pole and wrapped glittery red, white, and blue ribbon around the pole for my nanny kids to carry at their local holiday parade.