Red, White & Blue Windsock

A simple project for little hands to make! These

Red, White & Blue Windsocks

are perfect to display for Flag Day (June 14!) and then fly through the 4th of July

.

• Cut out several white stars and let the kids glue them all over a piece of blue cardstock (a glue stick worked great)
• Insert the blue star paper into a clear page protector. This keeps it waterproof while it’s hanging outside.

 

• Cut a white garbage bag into strips (while it’s still folded) for the white stripes and some red crepe paper for the red stripes. We used 3 of each.
• Tape the strips onto the back, then roll into a tube and tape all the way down the edge. I like using clear packing tape … it’s nice and strong.

 

• Tie a string through the page protector holes and hang up outside.

   

They look so festive!

Super Simple 4th of July Banner

I love to make the holidays fun for the kids, but I don’t take a ton of time doing it. I’ve noticed just having a fun banner hanging makes all the difference. This one is about as simple as you can get!

1. Use a cup to trace 13 circles on colored cardstock. I used red, white and blue.
2. Cut the circles out.
3. Write one letter on each circle.
4. Clip them to a string with paper clips on top. I threw in a few extra stars for fun
5. Save these with your 4th of July decorations for next year! Easy, easy!

Fill a clear jar with all of your fireworks and a couple of flags for a simple table decoration the kids will be very excited about!

Straw Splatter Painting

Blowing paint through straws. Summertime painting can’t get much more fun!

1. Open 3-4 paint jars. I like these Crayola Washable Paints I found at Target. You can also get them here. We were aiming for 4th of July pictures, so we used red, blue and yellow.
2. Put one straw in each paint jar.
3. Spread newspaper or a large piece of butcher paper over your workspace. We did this outside on the washable plastic kids table and still covered it with paper. Okay, it goes everywhere, but that’s what washable paints are for … right?!
4. Use paint shirts! Or on a nice, warm day my 2-year-old went for the shirtless technique.
5. Dip one end of the straw in the paint (we did go over the “don’t suck in” rule)
6. BLOW!

P.S. Don’t stand directly in front of your kids trying to take a cute picture while they are blowing, you will get paint-splattered

I let these dry, then we cut star shapes out of them to use for 4th of July decorations. I love how they turned out!!

Linking to: Summertime Fun Party

Stars & Stripes

This is a simple project, fun for the kids and perfect for the 4th of July (or just learning about stars & stripes during S week).

• Supplies Needed …
  1. 1 piece of white cardstock
  2. 7 red paper stripes
  3. 1 blue rectangle
  4. lots of shiny star stickers
• Show the kids an example of an American flag. Point out the red and white stripes, the blue rectangle in the corner and the stars on the blue.
  1. Using a glue stick, help them glue their red stripes on the paper first … spacing them evenly enough all the way down.
  2. Next, add the blue rectangle to the top, left corner
  3. Finish by decorating with star stickers. There are several to choose from here!

NOTE: As you can see from the pictures, my 2-year-old wanted to make the flag his own way. I’m glad now that I just let him be creative and do it his way. He loved it and it was still a great decoration for the 4th of July

• Listen to The Star-Spangled Banner while you make this project! (click on the blue link. Click on the play button in the right-hand column under the Star-Spangled Banner lyrics) 

Linking to: Summertime Fun Party

Strawberries!

Since summer is just around the corner and official preschool at our house ended last week with letter Z, I decided to start posting summer and summer holiday projects and preschool-type activities!

To start, I love this idea from Laura at Come Together Kids …

Red, White, and Blue Strawberries.

How simple. How pretty. And how delicious! Perfect for the kids. Strawberries should be ready for u-pick around June 15th here (I called this morning hoping it would be earlier) and these will definitely be on the menu!

Red, White and Blue Strawberries @ Come Together Kids

We love going to U-PICK farms all through the summer and fall for berries, apples, and pumpkins. I use this site www.pickyourown.org to find great local u-pick farms. And I use it just as much to learn how to freeze and store what we do pick. Start here to select your state.