Patriotic Activities

US Veterans
Have your family look for Veterans License Plates and tell your children how they keep our nation free and because of all the past Veterans we are a FREE country today. Even go to a Veterans Hospital and Thank the men and women there for keeping this country FREE THANK YOU

A Cool Independence Day Treat
Take a tall glass and in the bottom put strawberry yogurt then add fresh (washed and cut) strawberries, add Cool Whip in the middle, and then add blueberries (whole). On top, add some blueberry yogurt, and on top of that a little dab of Cool Whip. For extra fun, get inexpensive red/white/blue decorations on a toothpick to stick in the top.

“Fireworks” Painting for Toddlers/Preschoolers
Take a toilet paper or paper towel tube, and cut four slits (the same length) in one end. Fold the sides out so it looks kind of like a ‘plus sign’ with a hollow handle. Then you dip the cut and folded end into paint and let the children press it down all over a black piece of construction paper. Use a different paper towel tube for each color. Yellow paint looks really nice. You could also make more slits in the tube to make more lines.

Red, White, and Blue Poster
Count the lines on writing paper and fold paper in 3rds. Discuss the words “victory, purity, and loyalty” in the context of America’s history. Then teach how to draw a star if they do not already know, or simply have them draw a star if they do already, at the left of each section. Then have the children write these sentences and color the stars accordingly.

RED is for Victory
WHITE is for Purity
BLUE is for Loyalty

Bald Eagles Lesson
Show the children a picture of a bald eagle and point out that their heads, legs, and tail are white, with their beaks and talons yellow or gold, and the rest brown. Bald eagles are always those colors. Then have the children draw or color a prepared coloring sheet with a picture of a Bald Eagle. (I did a search online and came up with
several coloring sheets).

Fireworks Art
Draw and color fireworks – radiating lines, zig zags, swirls, dotted radiating lines, etc. Fill entire page with the design then frame with red or blue paper.

The Pledge
Have kids copy the words to the Pledge of Allegiance, then draw a flag to illustrate. Discuss the vocabulary such as “allegiance” as well:

The Pledge of Allegiance
Â
I pledge allegiance to the flag
Of the United States of America
And to the Republic for which it stands,
One nation under God,
Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Patriotic Wind Sock
Take blue construction paper about 5 x 18 and decorate with cut out white stars. Have older kids cu or trace stars, younger kids can cut pre-drawn stars, or simply draw them (or asterisk shapes) with white crayon on the blue paper. Glue red and white crepe paper streamers around the back side, ten tape or staple into a cylinder shape and hang with string.

Red White and Blue Split (snack idea!)
Make a banana split but use these ingredients to create a red white and blue theme: Bananas, watermelon balls, blueberries, vanilla ice cream or yogurt, granola or crunchy cereal for topping.

Independence Lesson
Discuss the word “independence” and explain the context with which July 4th has been named Independence Day. Discuss with the children how THEY show their independence from their parents. Cut out bell shaped papers and write: I Declare My Independence By _________ (brushing my teeth, walking the dog, getting myself dressed, making my own lunch, etc.) on the papers.

Proud to Be an American
Play or read the lyrics to the song “I’m Proud to Be an American (God Bless the USA)” by Lee Greenwood. Have the kids discuss why they are proud to be an American and write/illustrate.

God Bless the USA
(by Lee Greenwood)

If tomorrow all the things were gone
I’d worked for all my life,
And I had to start again
with just my children and my wife,
I’d thank my lucky stars
to be living here today,
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom
and they can’t take that away.

I’m proud to be an American
where at least I know I’m free,
And I won’t forget the men who died
who gave that right to me,
And I gladly stand up next to you
and defend her still today,
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land
God Bless the U.S.A.

From the lakes of Minnesota
to the hills of Tennessee,
Across the plains of Texas
from sea to shining sea.
From Detroit down to Houston
and New York to L.A.,
There’s pride in every American heart
and it’s time we stand and say:

I’m proud to be an American
where at least I know I’m free,
And I won’t forget the men who died
who gave that right to me,
And I gladly stand up next to you
and defend her still today,
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land
God Bless the U.S.A.

Crayon Scratching Fireworks Picture
Cover a piece of white paper with colors all over, then cover the entire paper with black crayon, pressing hard. Use paper clips to scratch out fireworks designs. The result looks like colorful fireworks in the night sky.

Play Steal the Flag (aka Steal the Bacon)
Divide the players into two equal teams and line them up facing one another, about 15 feet apart (players in line should be about 5 feet apart). Starting at the right end of each line, have the players count off down their line, so those with the same numbers are diagonally across from each other. Place a pretend FLAG (piece of fabric) in the center of the space between the two lines. To start the game, call out a number. The players who share that number must race to grab the Flag and get back to their places without being tagged by the opposing player. The player receives a point each time he makes it home safe; if they don’t, the Flag is returned to the center. The game continues in this fashion until the first team reaches the predetermined number of points.