Felt Build-a-Flag

This is an easy & patriotic activity you can do over and over. A great 4th of July activity for kids!
My boys had fun building their own American flags again, and again....and again! 




Supplies:
  • Felt (red, white & blue)
  • Scissors

Here's what you do:
  • Cut out a rectangle with the white felt.
  • Cut out a small rectangle with the blue felt.
  • Cut out 3 long stripes and 2 short stripes with the red felt.
  • Cut out 5-8 (or however many you want) stars using the white felt, like this:
    • Draw a star on a piece of paper and cut it out.
    • Pin it onto the white felt and cut around it.
    • You can even do 2 layers at once if you have good scissors. :)
    • OR you can buy these felt stars on Amazon!


  • Put the flag together once or twice with your child so they can see what it's supposed to look like.
  • Then let them do it all on their own!


  • You can even take turns making silly flags putting the stripes and stars in all different places. :)
Happy 4th of July!

And if you're looking for some Patriotic style for your kids, check these out!
That Tutu especially caught my eye. It's just so cute!

 


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USA Matching Game

This is a super easy and fun patriotic game for kids. LM(5) loved playing this and cheering for USA. Which is good for America's upcoming Birthday, AND the upcoming Olympics! 


Supplies:
  • Star cut-outs (I got these at the dollar store, but you can also find fantastic star cut-outs on Amazon! You could also just cut out squares of paper---maybe red, white, and blue paper!)
  • Marker

Here's what you do:
  • Write the letters U, S, and A on all the stars (or papers).
    • Turn them over all over the floor and have each child take turns flipping over a star. As soon as one U, one S, and one A are turned over pick them up and then shout, "I love USA!"
  • Here's another way you can play:
    • put these in a bag and sit in a circle with your kids. Take turns drawing a star out of the bag, and hold it up. As soon as one U, one S, and one A is held up, have those children stand and shout, "We love USA!"
And if you're looking for more patriotic fun for kids, check out these great finds on Amazon! 



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American Flag Collage Craft

Here's a really easy 4th of July craft that would be easy and fun to do with a group of kids! We made this one using just old bits of scrapbook paper in the colors of red, white, and blue. But you can also use construction paper! A perfect Patriotic craft to celebrate America!

Supplies:

Here's what you do:
  • On pieces of cardstock, draw a simple flag shape, with the square and the stripes (so the kids know what spaces to fill in with the different colors of paper).
  • Cut strips of red, white, and blue paper and then cut the strips into squares.
  • Set out all the squares in bowls on a table with the glue & star stickers and let the kids glue on the papers making their own flag collage!

Also here are some cute patriotic decorations to show your American Pride this 4th of July!



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Patriotic Sticker Memory Game


Here is a dandy little memory game you can put together faster than you can sing Yankee-Doodle-Dandy!

Supplies:
  • Patriotic Stickers
  • Cardstock
  • Scissors

Here's what you do:
  • Cut cardstock into squares big enough to fit the stickers you have.
  • Put 2 of each sticker on 2 squares so you have a match.
  • Lay them all out on the floor or table upside down and have your kids turn over 2 at a time trying to find matches!



Paper-Roll American Flag Craft










 Here's an awesomely easy and patriotic way to craft your very own star-spangled banner with your kids! A perfect American flag craft for 4th of July, Flag Day, or just teaching your kids about the USA! It looks really cool and is actually really easy too!

Supplies:
  • Cardstock
  • Red, white, & blue construction paper
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Pipe-cleaner (chenille stick)

Here's what you do:
  • First, draw the square and stripes on a piece of cardstock, like this (sorry it's kinda hard to see....):

  • Next, cut out strips from the red, white & blue construction paper. Mine are about 3/4"-1" wide. Make them as wide as you would like. :)
  • Roll the paper strips around a pipe-cleaner so they curl. To save time, we did like 10 at a time. (If you do a lot like this, you may need to roll each of them a little after you take them all apart--so they're smaller curls)

  • Once you have all your paper-rolls ready, put glue on the flag, one section at a time and place the rolls on the glue.



 Happy 4th of July!!

And if you're looking for more fun ways to teach kids about our great country, check out these great products on Amazon!


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Easy Treasure Hunt Games for preschoolers


I LOVE Treasure Hunts!

Here are a few fun and easy ideas of Hunts you can do with your little ones.
Click on a picture below to see that post.
Or click HERE to see all these posts.














Shapes at Home Treasure Hunt


Another super easy idea for a treasure hunt is to search around your home for SHAPES! I was amazed that when I just let my boys look, they found these shapes all on their own.

Supplies:
  • Cards or paper with different shapes on them (I used a set of flashcards we had. You could also just draw different shapes on paper.)
  • Camera (optional)

Here's what you do:
  • Have your child choose a shape and then hunt all over the house for something that is the same shape. If you want, you can take a picture of it, or have your child take a picture of it. (Later you could make a shape book using these shape pictures of things they recognize around the house!)

Here are some pictures of a few of the shapes my boys found:


square (ottoman filled with toys)
rectangle (kitchen towel) 
heart (drawn on chalkboard with a message for Daddy)
circle (logo on LB's shirt)


Spelling Treasure Hunt


A fun way to do a treasure hunt is to hide LETTERS that spell what the treasure is!

Supplies:
  • Letters (you can write letters on pieces of paper, or use toy/magnet letters.)
  • Treasure (whatever you want or already have: candy, crayons, toy car, dinosaur, doll)
    • You don't even have to give your kids a NEW toy, you could even use toys your kids already have. Just pick a toy and get the letters to spell what toy it is! 

Here's what you do:
  • Choose a "treasure" and hide it in a special place.
  • Get all the letters you need to spell what the treasure is.
  • Hide all the letters in a different room and have your kids hunt for them.
  • Once all the letters are found, help put them together and sound them out to discover what the treasure is. Then have them go in the other room to hunt for the treasure!


Magical Rainbow Treasure Hunt


This is a fun treasure hunt you can play with your kids with VERY little preparation. :)

Supplies:
  • Bag
  • Pieces of colored paper
  • Colorful candy OR box of crayons (I used jellybeans in a ziploc bag)

Here's what you do:
  • Before you begin, and when your kids are not looking--place the "treasure" in the bag (the candy OR crayons)
  • Lay the colored paper out on the floor or table.
  • The child chooses a color--then goes around the house to find something that is the same color. Next, they bring it back and put it in the bag. Depending on the size of your bag ask them to look for big or small things. (Make sure they don't look in the bag as they put it in). :)
  • After they find something of every color in the rainbow, shake the bag and tell them that with all the colors of the rainbow the bag has created a magical rainbow treasure! Then pull out the candy or crayons. 


Puzzle Treasure Hunt


This is a fun way to play with puzzles while also getting the wiggles out! My boys had so much fun playing this game that they even played it by themselves!

Supplies:
  • ANY puzzle you have!

Here's what you do:
  • Hide all the puzzle pieces throughout the house, or all in one room, and then hunt for them! 
  • After you find a piece, bring it back to the puzzle and put it in.


Father's Day Crafts

There are so many fun Father's Day Gift ideas out there.
And here are 4 really easy Father's Day craft & card ideas to go along with them!


Click on a picture below to see that post.
Or click HERE to see all these posts!






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Father's Day Card - Collage Tie



My boys had fun making the crazy paper-collage tie for this Father's Day card using their current favorite colors! 

Supplies:
  • White cardstock
  • Construction paper
  • Scissors
  • Glue

Here's what you do:
  • Cut out a piece of cardstock and fold it in half.
  • Cut out a tie shape using cardstock, and small squares using construction paper. Glue the squares all over the tie and trim the edges. Glue tie onto the middle of the card.
  • On top of the card, cut about 1"-1/2" off the back piece. Then cut slits into the top of the front. Fold them over and glue them down, like this:



Then write a message inside!

Happy Father's Day!

GIANT Father's Day Card



This Father's Day, why not show Daddy how BIG your love for him is by making this GIANT Father's Day card! And best of all, it is SO easy!!!

Supplies:
  • 9 pieces of white paper (like computer paper)
  • Paint
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Markers

Here's what you do:
  • First, glue 3 pieces of paper together and draw a giant tie shape on them. Put it on the table and let your kids go to town painting it all colors of the rainbow! Let it dry.
  • Then, lay out the other 6 pieces of paper and glue them together to make one big square.
  • Using the same technique as HERE and HERE, cut 2 slits at the top of the square that you will fold over to make the collar of the shirt. From the back it will look like this:


  • Then Glue the tie on the front, fold the collars over and glue them down, and write a message all over it to wish your Daddy a happy Father's Day!
  • You can leave it huge to hand over to your lucky Daddy, or you can roll it up and tie it with a ribbon, like this:


Easy Frog Craft for Kids

Summer is in full swing....and ending all too quickly! If you're kids have any bored days where they are jumping off the walls l...