Between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, we love strolling downtown even more than usual. Our little home happens to sit in a historic small town. American flags wave on flagpoles up and down each block. Building rooftops anchor red, white, and blue lights. Patriotic bunting, garlands, and banners festoon shop window displays and neighboring porches.
The excitement in the air shouts that we Americans are decorating for the biggest birthday party ever! This semiquincentennial (or sestercentennial) celebration focuses on all 250 years. And this party celebrates the beginnings of our nation in 1776, but also highlights the seven years of activities surrounding it. (We’re going to be celebrating for quite a while!) And, of course, we want our children to get in on all the action.
Patriotic Engagements for Children
Creating Patriotic Art with Kids
Walks through town might give your family ideas for patriotic projects you want to try. There’s nothing like real-life inspiration! From drawing pictures, painting, using markers, or even designing three-dimensional projects, children can make unforgettable art.
Blanket your sidewalks and driveways with stars and fireworks made of colored chalk. Invite even young children to draw sparklers, stars, flags, houses decorated for the season, whatever. Keep the ideas flowing and draw right alongside them. Add some special words and numbers to honor significant dates. (Artist tip: Occasionally, children get frustrated when trying to draw stars. For an easy asterisk-looking or snowflake-style star, I encourage preschoolers to draw a plus sign and then put an “x” directly on top of it.)
Or you might want to create art on paper. One favorite idea is to use dark blue or black paper as the background for patriotic art. (Nothing like night scenes to light up for July 4th!) Kids can create fireworks from yellow, white, orange paints along with the reds and whites. Even toddlers can use round dish brushes to splash bursts of colored fireworks into night skies. You’ll ooh and ahh over the results. (You can find some other amazing art to try with children on my Pinterest board here.)
Decorating for a children's parade
One of our most highly-anticipated events each year is our town’s Children’s Parade. On the weekend before Independence Day, the focus is on the children and their enthusiasm for the Fourth of July.
But before the parade happens, kids need time and materials to get ready. Encourage children to decorate their bicycles, scooters, and wagons. They could base their decorations on the chalk or paper art they’ve made. Or supplement their creations with festive patriotic décor. Streamers, crepe paper, garlands, and cutouts transform kids’ riding toys. Babies can participate by riding in a wagon and holding a flag!
On the Big Day in Our Hometown
For our local town event, everyone meets at the Town Hall. Here are just some of the things that might happen. (All my years of attending blur together in my mind. These are just a few of my memories.)
- Volunteers distribute miniature flags, pinwheels, balloons, etc.
- Reenactors show up in costume.
- The public library brings its mobile van.
- A high school band plays patriotic music.
- Firefighters volunteer to mingle and serve where needed.
For the “ceremony” itself, adults and children lead by:
- Saying an opening prayer.
- Leading the Pledge of Allegiance.
- Singing a patriotic song.
- Playing instruments.
(Children’s groups might fill the roles or simply participate in the gathering. It’s a great way to involve Children of the American Revolution chapter members, children’s church groups, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and more.)
Usually, there’s a quick presentation from the mayor and thank-you’s from the organizers. A drum corp gives the signal. The cannon team light the cannon. And BOOM! The parade begins.
Reenactors line up alongside the children. Most of the participants actually parade down the street to the sound of the band and drums. A few townspeople and grandparents gather along the sides of the street to wave, call out to the revelers, and take photos. It all ends just too quickly!
Hopefully you have a similar local parade. Or maybe you can even create a neighborhood gathering of your own.
Pretty Patriotic Food
Who wouldn’t want to create a red, white, and blue fruit salad bowl, dessert, or charcuterie board? What a wonderful way to celebrate with family and friends. Thankfully, Pinterest is a great place to locate recipes and ideas. If you want to see some of our holiday favorites, feel free to check out my Pinterest board.
When I was teaching full-time, I never took the time to create such imaginative dishes. But now that I’m a Gigi? I LOVE them! And children love them. (A Plus: Some of them are quite easy, too.)
Grand Geography Skills
As a part of this year’s big celebrations, travels throughout our country are a big hit. Hopefully your family can find some time to visit a state or national park, camp under the stars, or hike a trail. But, if you don’t find yourself on an adventure, maybe you can make one of your own. There’s inspiration all around us!
How We Stumbled on Challenger the Eagle
During an engaging bird study, my kindergartners and I discovered Challenger the Eagle through a children’s picture book, Challenger: America’s Favorite Eagle. As an eaglet, he was blown out of a tree and saved by humans. But he imprinted (got used to people) and would not stay away from humans despite several attempts. He just couldn’t return to a normal eagle’s life. Therefore, he had to adopted by the American Eagle Foundation. He became an ambassador for eagles with the remarkable Al Cecere as his trainer. We read this book about Challenger over and over again.
A Gamechanger
When we realized Challenger actively flew for performances, we squealed! We headed right over to YouTube to find videos of his stunts during the National Anthem at different ball games throughout the country. It was one of our most surreal moments. (I’m sure those kindergartners-turned-young-adults are still mesmerized when they spot him in the wild!)
We decided to begin following Challenger online. Remember those huge pull-down maps every elementary school seemed to have? We acquired one and used it to mark Challenger’s sightings and performances. What an authentic use for maps! That year we learned so much about patriotism, our country, and our national symbols that still inspire Americans everywhere. (And we happened to learn lots of geography as well. If you look very closely on this map, you might even see an egg a child drew to mark where Challenger was originally found!)
Enjoy just one of the videos I found of Challenger. If you’re in a hurry, simply scroll towards the end. Or find your own favorites by searching variations of “Challenger the Eagle.”
Other Inspiring Books that Children Can Read Themselves
Even the youngest of children can enjoy reading patriotic books, especially through music.
For decades, one of the most popular book tubs at the beginning of kindergarten was always the one filled with “Song Books.” As an early childhood educator, I hunted for picture books based on songs. My children’s parents were always surprised… until they saw how much the children adored them. Once you start looking for this genre, you’ll be surprised how many you find.
Children recognize songs and eagerly join in. The illustrations in this genre are usually detailed and inspiring. The images blend well with the lyrics and give children hints about what words are coming. Children try to follow along and point to the corresponding words. Seeing all the repeating lines and choruses builds confidence as they move through the pages. Kids of different ages will happily join others, pointing words out and singing along. There’s nothing like shared learning and singing together!
Some of my favorite songbooks:
- God Bless America, Irving Berlin and Lynn Munsinger (illustrator)
- America the Beautiful, Katharine Bates and Wendell Minor (illustrator)
- He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands, Kadir Nelson
- John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads, John Denver and Christopher Canyon (illustrator)
- The Pledge of Allegiance, Scholastic and Macarena Salas
Happy 250th Birthday, America!
Hopefully some of these ideas will spur your celebration of the 250th birthday party of America. We never get tired of wonderful celebrations. So please feel free to share your ideas for this significant milestone and the little ones in your life.
This is wonderful, Jennifer! I’m inspired by your ideas!
Myra
Ah, thanks so much, Myra! That’s such a compliment. You KNOW I always get such great ideas from you! I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment.