Celebrating Independence Day with young children is so much fun! They love waving the American flag, eating outside, and watching a parade. They can learn basic facts about our country’s birthday. Here are some age-appropriate activities to make this the best July 4th ever!
1. A Birthday Celebration: Explain the meaning of July 4th in simple terms. Say something like, “When you had a birthday party, we celebrated with cake and ice cream because you turned [X] years old. Our country is having a birthday party, too, because it’s turning 250 years old!”
2. Child-size Props: Small, light-weight American flags are easy for a child to hold and wave. Point out the colors, red, white, and blue. Identify the shapes, rectangle, square, stars, and stripes. Talk about how the flag represents our country. Different countries have different flags. This flag represents the United States of America. That’s the country where we live.
3. Clothing: Wear red, white, and blue clothing. Compare the flag’s colors to the colors you are wearing. Purchasing t-shirts with patriotic emblems shows your pride and makes for great photos, too.
4. Activities: Many towns, big and small, hold Independence Day activities, such as a parade, fireworks, or concert. Prepare for parades with fire truck alarms by saying, “There might be a loud siren, E-O-E-O.” Prepare for fireworks by saying, “There might be loud noises like BOOM! Can you say it with me? Cover your ears! E-O-E-O, BOOM!” It’s also helpful to bring child-size noise-cancelling headphones for those children especially sensitive to noise.
5. Food & Family: Families love getting together and grilling hot dogs and hamburgers, eating watermelon and other treats like homemade ice cream. Families often eat outside on picnic tables or blankets. Emphasize the red, white, and blue theme with a dessert of fresh strawberries, blueberries, and vanilla ice cream or yogurt.
6. Optimism: Instilling a deep love and pride for our country is hard to convey to a young child, but these feelings come through in the celebration. Even with the deep divides in our politics, this is a day to be thankful for our country, to believe that good will prevail, and to hope for a better future.
Experience the fun, the wonder, and the joy by seeing the celebration through a child’s eyes. Happy 250th Birthday, USA!
BOOK NEWS! I have a new release date for my upcoming information book for 7-10 year olds, Where Did the Bible Come From? July 6, 2027. So, I have lots of time to prepare! If you want to be on my launch team for a free PDF of the book, write an Amazon review, and share on your social media, just reply to this email.
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Amy Houts is an award-winning author of 100+ picture books for children. She was a graduate assistant at the Northwest Missouri State University early childhood center (now named the Phyllis and Richard Leet Center for Children and Families). Amy worked as the lead preschool teacher at Head Start in Maryville, Missouri. To find out more about Amy and her publications, visit: Linktr.ee/amyhouts.
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