4 Fourth of July Crafts, and 5 Reasons for Your Kids to Make Them

July 4^th is coming up! As we prep for the holiday, set some time aside from buying hamburgers, hot dogs and buns (not to mention, cleaning the yard for our barbeque guests – because none of us moms ever, ever have random half-inflated soccer balls, strewn about pool noodles, a stray baseball glove or a bevy of bikes and trikes sitting around) to make an art activity.

Why take time out of all of your running around to set up the paints and glitter for kids during the week leading up to the Fourth of July? Here are a few reasons:

1.      You can break up a not-so-exciting day. The kids are bored and getting whiny, especially after being dragged to the grocery store, bakery and party supply store. Even though you’ve kicked your party planning into high gear, they really don’t care. Take a break, set up a holiday craft and have some fun (you can get in on the artsy adventure too) making a project.

2.      Décor, décor, décor. Why buy ready-made decorations when the kids can create them for you? Make some art and hang it up in your home, on your front door to greet your guests or line the buffet table with hand-made creations.

3.      It’s better than using the TV as a babysitter. This doesn’t mean that you should leave the kids alone while they are crafting. My son always says I’m super-overprotective, but I do believe that children should always have adult supervision during art-making activities. That said, you can sit the kids down and have them color a red, white and blue flag or they can glue together a collage at the kitchen table while you wash and dry dishes a few feet away.

4.      Get psyched for the holiday! Your child may not really know what July 4^th is or care much about it. Making a holiday craft the week leading up to the big day gives the kids something to look forward to.

5.      It’s fun! What sounds more exciting: Picking up the million Legos that are hidden behind the couch, under the cushions and lining the stairs, or sprinkling sparkly glitter all over ooey, gooey glue? I know what my answer is, but what’s your kids’ answer? I’m guessing it’s the glitter.

So, you’ve decided to try a Fourth of July craft with the kids. What should you do? Here are a few easy options that are also tons of fun:

 

·         Paint splatter art: Instead of using brushes, reuse an old fruit container (or poke holes in the bottom of a cup with a lid) to splatter red, white and blue across a white piece of paper. Use this technique to make a banner by doing the same splatter over a white sheet.

·         Berry splatter: If paint just isn’t fun enough – try berries instead. Gather together red and blue berries and let the kids squish them. They’ll explode like July 4^th fireworks on the paper.

·         Flag collage/print: Use tissue paper to make a flag collage. Choose non-colorfast tissue, put a wet piece of paper down and make a print.

·         Glitter flag: Piece together reused popsicle sticks with glue, attach them to a piece of cardboard and sprinkle red, white and silver glitter on them to make a flag. They also double as cool coasters.