As you prepare for your Fourth of July celebrations, don't forget to get the kids involved by inviting them to create some fun crafts to make the holiday... more fun of course!
Celebratory Flip Flops
Make your flip flops look like they came from a boutique!
Items You'll Need
- Flips flops
- Ribbons-various colors
- Scissors
- Embellishments (buttons, rhinestones, etc.)
- Fishing line or embroidery thread
1. Cut several equal length ribbons (enough to coverthe top of the shoes). Make sure the ends are at an angle to help prevent (or slow down) fraying. You can also put a little clear glue on the ends if your ribbon frays.
2. Start tying the ribbons in the middle and work out towards the edge of the shoe, making sure to alternate colors for variety.
3. When the tops are completely covered, tie buttons or other embellishment on with fishing line or embroidery thread.
Fireworks Ring
How can anyone say no to sparkly things??
Items You'll Need
- red and silver tinsel stems
- three whole stems (cut them in half to make 6 pieces of equal length)
To make one ring, gather five of the stems and fold them in half. Leave enough of a circle to
fit the child finger. You may need to shape it into a circle a bit. Then wrap the sixth stem
around a couple of times to secure the ring. Be sure the ends lay flat so they don’t poke the child’s finger.
Turn the ring so the loose ends face up and bend them slightly into the shape of a burst of fireworks. Leave the stems raised enough so they aren’t poking into the child’s hand.
Repeat and make fireworks rings in all of your favorite colors.
Patriotic Hats
Party hats are always a good idea!
For older kids, fold sheets of construction paper length-wise into 1 inch strips to create cutting lines. There are a LOT of strips to be cut, so I usually only have them do one sheet of cutting. For younger children, I try to do a few strips with teacher-assist scissors. The rest of the strips, I use my paper cutter. It will take 6 strips of each color, with an extra one for every year of age over 2.
The large stars are used to cover the seam at the center of the headband. Older children can be provided with a template to trace and cut out. Younger ones will need more assistance with this.
The band is two 2-inch strips cut length-wise from the child's choice of red, white or blue construction paper. We glue the seam to keep it flat, but I also staple to ensure it doesn't fall
apart with repeated use. Older children with especially large heads may need an additional filler piece inserted into the band. The two 11 inch long strips can be joined to make a heheadband up to 21 inches long. Two year old have about a 19 inch head circumference and it goes up by about an inch a year. The band is turned over and placed in front of the child. They then create the ABC pattern of red, white and blue. Once completed, and correct, I move the strips just above the top of the band, have the child glue all over the band, especially the edges, and then begin placing the strips down onto the headband.
Once the strips are secured, we turn it over. I ask the child to glue one star on top the stapled center seam. Then, they are free to place the other two stars where they want.
I give them a strip of silver, red and blue star stickers and let them at it. We count the number of stars of each color each child chose and graph them.
When complete, I measure the band to fit the child's head and staple. I then use scissors to strip curl the red white and blue strips to create a firecracker effect.
We will use these for many activities this week, not the least of which is acting like little
firecrackers.
What are you doing with your kids on the fourth???
