FOURTH
OF JULYFOURTH
OF JULY*From
Stormie:
Creative Collages:
1.Children brush liquid starch on blue construction
paper then lay squares of red and white tissue paper atop.
2.
Provide rolls of red, white, and blue crepe paper for the children to cut as they
wish and glue on paper.
Shuck ears of corn, boil, and eat it for snack.
Red, White, and Blue Jello Cups: Following the recipe for Jigglers (found on a Jello box), have children help make two separate colors of gelatin -- one being the Strawberry flavor and the other being the Berry Blue flavor. The next day, after the Jello has set, cut it into cubes. Then, and here's the really fun part: Have children spoon a layer of red jello cubes into their own very clean plastic cups, followed by a layer of white Cool Whip, followed by a layer of blue Jello cubes.
Fireworks Display: Children paint with scrub brushes by twisting them around on black paper. Encourage them to "fill the sky with fireworks."
Field Trip: Go see a real parade, or go on a picnic.
Have Your Own Parade: Have children decorate all the center's outdoor riding toys (tricycles, cars, wagons, etc) with red, white, and blue crepe paper streamers and little American flags. They can then take turns being in the parade and driving the vehicles down the sidewalk.
4th of July Necklaces: Children string anything red, white, and blue onto the same colors of yarn (buttons, plastic straw pieces, beads, etc).
Flags: Provide a real or a picture of an American flag for children to look at and/or investigate. Give each child a blue square and red & white strips of construction paper. On rectangular sized paper, allow them to create their own flag. Provide gold or silver star stickers. Attach the flags to dowels.
Investigating a Watermelon:
Let children take turns lifting the melon. Is it heavy or light? Why,
do you suppose? Slice it open. Smell it. Discuss the colors.
Give each child a piece to eat. Proceed With Caution: When I'm alone
with a group of children, I prefer seedless melons but with another adult present
or when with a group of parents, have children count the seeds in their seeded
piece of melon and have a seed spitting contest -- seeing who can spit one seed
the furthest.
Variation: Compare a round and
oval melon.
Grouptime Discussion: Why do
we celebrate the 4th of July? Show and discuss the flag. What are
fireworks? (Discuss safety) What kinds of things do people do on this holiday?
Extension: Provide pictures of flags from other countries
for comparison with ours (shapes, colors, etc), especially if you have a child
in the group who's from another country.
*Song: (From Donna King, Roxboro, North Carolina):
*Handprint Fireworks (from Sherry Ulrich, Jefferson, Wisconsin): I placed a big American flag in the middle of a white background. Around the flag, the children made fireworks with hand prints. We used yellow, red, blue, pink, and purple paint, and the prints were done in a tight circle around the flag. I received lots of compliments from teachers and parents and the children were very proud of their work.
*From Robin, in Ohio: Fireworks: I have the children make fireworks but we use: paper, 3-4 colors of watercolor paints, and straws: Drop a small amount of paint in the center of each childs paper. The child then blows through their own straw to create a fireworks pattern on paper. They really like this, but make sure they wear old clothes in case the blowing gets a little too happy. Snack: We fix a red, white, and blue fruit salad with strawberries, blueberries, and banana slices.
*From
Julie:
Craft: Flag (a following directions activity):
Children glue a blue square into the upper left corner of a white piece of construction
paper. They then glue red yarn pieces (horizontally) onto the white paper
representing the red stripes of an American flag. (The white spaces of the
paper are the white stripes.) The children then dip a star stamper into
white paint and print a star onto the blue square.
You
can make a very simple temporary "star stamper": Cut a star from poster
board then add a handle to it by using double-sided tape between the back of the
star and a small wooden dowel.
*From
Dorothy Ponto, West Deptford, New Jersey:
Following Directions Craft: Flags:
For each child, we cut a rectangle from white construction paper. We
then had them place the palm of one hand in blue paint and press it into the corner
of the paper. We then drew lines across the paper and had the children fill
them in with red fingerprints. These flags turned out great, and they turned
out to be lessons in hand-eye coordination, following and staying on a line, and
moving from left to right (a reading skill).
*From
Joleen D:
Fireworks: First,
I cut the legs off of two clean pair of panty hose (up near the top, leaving four
long stockings). I then fill each foot with about two cups of sand and tie
the leg part in a knot down close to the sand. I fill pie pans with poster
paint and then have the children take turns making fireworks by placing one of
the legs into a pie pan, pick it up, and then "drop" it onto a piece
of construction paper. This is best done outdoors, and have children wear
old clothes that can get messy because the paint does splatter.
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from Stormie: If you would like to begin collecting ALL my current classroom
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