Preschool

Quick & Easy July 4th Activities for Kids

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Activities Tagged With: Easy & Inexpensive, Holidays, Infant & Toddler, July 4th, Kindergarten, Preschool, Seasons This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I had some much fun putting this post together. Easy July 4th activities for you and your kids to enjoy! Enjoy these Easy July 4th Activities for Kids!

Easy July 4th Activities for Kids

DIY Star Pattern Cards

I love working the pre-reading and pre-math mind. Kids as young as 2 and 3 (and EVEN younger) years old can begin to connect and solidify those neuron pathways enabling a ripeness for learning more complex concepts later in development. This festively themed 4th of July activity is perfect for preschoolers and perfect for making learning fun.

Materials Needed

Red, White, or Blue Cardstock
Star Stickers
Scissors
Laminator (optional)

Approach

Cut the cardstock into strips
Place stickers on card stock strip
Laminate
Create matching labels with same stickers
Cut out the matching labels
Demonstrate to the child how to match star to star
Alternatively you can prepare cards that don't complete a pattern and have the child choose the label or labels that come next in the pattern. There are many variations to pattern and matching cards.

Why are matching & pattern cards so beneficial?

Pattern cards teach young children logic when it comes to math and prepares a child for reading and writing. Typically pattern cards move left to right just as a child's hands and eyes would move when reading and writing later in his development.

4th of July Art Activities for Kids

How the heck do we introduce topics like America's birthday and the founding of our nation to young children? My quick answer is to find ways to hook them into the stories. Art activities work best with most young children in achieving this hook!

My sons are almost 4 and almost 2.5 years old. They understand that certain symbols, like a flag and statues, represent countries.

The Statue of Liberty particularly resonates with them because their dad travels to New York City several times a year. So I wanted to complete a few Statue of Liberty related art activities.

Art Activities for Kids

Statue of Liberty Resist Art

Materials Needed:

Poster board
Statue of Liberty print out
Scissors
Blue Paint
Brush
Star hole punch (optional)

Process

Find and print out a Statue of Liberty FREE printable online
Cut it out (older kids can cut the statue out on their own)
Tape it onto a piece of poster board.
Give your child the opportunity to paint.
I asked my son what color paint he wanted for this project. He chose blue (obviously).
Then we made stars with a paper hole punch. We ended up filling most of the poster board with stars.

I love the way it looks on our window with the light shining through the stars.

Statue of Liberty Art Activity

Materials Needed

Poster board
Statue of Liberty print out
X-acto knife
Red and blue dobbers

Process

Find and print out a Statue of Liberty FREE printable online, use your x-acto knife to cut out the Statue of Liberty only, then tape the template onto the poster board.

I used dobbers so that my 2.5 years old could feel a part of this project. You could use paint, crayons, markers, etc, whatever will work with your child. Once your child is done, pull the template off the poster board to see the Statue of Liberty and display. I love how abstract this artwork appears upon completion.

More 4th of July Activities for Kids

American Flag Fingerprint Activity
Marbled Art American Flag
Patriot Hand Print from B-Inspired Mama
Hand Print and Foot Print Flag from Serendipity
American Flag activity from True Blue Aggie Fans
Patriotic Rock Painting with Amazing Moms
Patriotic Ping Pong Pattern Match Activity by PediaStaff
Stringing Stars Activity from Toddler Approved
Fireworks by I Heart Lovely Things
Q-Tip Fireworks from Busy Bee Kids Crafts

Have fun and thank you for visiting today. If you liked what you read and learned, please share this post with your friends!

Marnie

MLK Jr. Crafts Kids Love & Will Start the Conversation about Race

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Activities Tagged With: Culture, Elementary, Holidays, Infant & Toddler, Kindergarten, Martin Luther King Jr., Peace, Preschool This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Below are my favorite Martin Luther King Jr. crafts, activities and ideas for celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day with Kids. Be sure to check out my Martin Luther King Jr. Day for Kids Pinterest board for more favorites. All images are sourced from the original linked up post. Please click through to the websites for all the details!

I found these Martin Luther King Jr. Crafts for Kids and had to share them with you all!
We have a few activities in the works on our end that I will be sure to share with you soon.

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Martin Luther King Jr. Crafts Kids Love

Fingerprint Dove

This craft from Kristen at Busy Kids = Happy Mom is beautiful on so many levels. I love the colors, the dove, and the collaborative approach.

Learning about Martin Luther King Jr. in Preschool

Deborah at Teach Preschool gives us an easy and awesome hands on craft for kids to truly begin to think about these bigger topics.

What is Diversity?

Mari from Inspired by Family Magazine rocked this big topic! What child does not love cracking eggs AND the element of surprise! Plus, the lesson sticks with children.

Crafts for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Valerie at Inner Child Fun offers simple and beautiful activities. I adore this Peace Symbol plate. Easy to put together and lots of room for creativity!

Artists Helping Children offers wonderful multicultural activities to celebrate MLK Jr. Day with kids.

Mommyfriend at Babble offers helpful advice to parents who want to teach kids about MLK Jr.

Free Kids Crafts presents a beautiful MLK Jr. hand print poem craft for kids

This hand print wreath is a lovely MLK Jr. kids craft

I love this MLK Jr. reading activity from Julia at Variquest

Allie at No Time for Flashcards presents an easy yet powerful MLK Jr. Kids Multicultural Craft

Daria from Daria Music shares children's songs for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

I saved this lovely post from Go Kid Yourself for last: MLK Jr. & his Children

Thank you for visiting us today. Please leave a comment with your favorite MLK Jr. idea for Kids. I love hearing from you.

Marnie

Resources for Teaching Kids Diversity

Easy Rocket Craft – Perfect Space Themed Project for Preschoolers

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Activities, Science Tagged With: Crafts, Easy & Inexpensive, Easy Science for Kids, Elementary, Kindergarten, Math, Preschool This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

As I journey down our homeschool path, I have a few homeschool “bibles” from which I source activities and ideas for preschool learning. For example, one of these books is Rachelle Doorley's Tinkerlab: A Hands-On Guide for Little Inventors. This book is accessible, beautiful, and filled with easy crafts (like the rocket ship craft in this post) for preschoolers.

In other words, I simply enjoy the process of looking at its pages because I feel inspired by the words and images. I am excited to show you one of the many projects in this book – the straw rocket craft, simple and packs a punch with kids. If you have ever wondered how to make a rocket with kids, this easy craft is the perfect starting point.

“There is the happiness which comes from creative effort. The joy of dreaming, creating, building, whether in painting a picture, writing an epic, singing a song, composing a symphony, devising new invention, creating a vast industry.” ~ Henry Miller

Doorley presents simple yet powerful ideas to help us parents and teachers guide our children's innate desire to learn, to do, to build, to wonder, to create, and to imagine by presenting an arsenal of hands-on learning activities. Children develop problem-solving, logic, and critical thinking skills by doing rather than imitating. She does this by introducing easy crafts and activities for preschoolers, like the rocket craft presented in this post. This science craft is the perfect addition to a spaced themed unit of learning.

Doorley provides easy to read and to digest philosophy and research behind the ideas presented in Tinkerlab: A Hands-On Guide for Little Inventors. She also provides tangible words of wisdom to adults in how to make these activities happen in our home and classrooms. You will be hearing a lot more about this book as we explore and progress through it.

Easy Rocket Ship Craft for Preschoolers

Materials

1 piece of construction paper (or 2 if you want different colors)
Scissors
Straw
Tape

How to Make a Rocket for Kids

Cut paper in half
Roll one half into your rocket's body
Tape so the body stays wrapped up

Cut a circle about 1.5 inches in diameter from the other piece of paper
Then, cut a slit to the center (or origin of the circle
Roll from slit to create a cone from the circle
Tape paper to maintain a cone
Finally, place nose on the end of the rocket's body. Secure with tape.

Blow a puff of air through the straw. Watch your child's face light up with joy.
Repeat.

Related Read: Send a Hug Craft

11 Easy Extensions for this Easy Craft

The child can decorate her rocket. So, add decorating materials (e.g. glitter, glue, markers, stickers, etc) to your materials list for added rocket detail.
Incorporate your rocket into imaginary play and storytelling
Try a shorter (or longer or fatter or skinnier) straw and see what happens
Use shorter (or longer or fatter or skinnier) body and see what happens
Create different size cones for the nose. Observe what changes when you blow through the straw.
Ask about shapes (e.g. cone, circle, cylinder)
Discuss rocket launches
Inquire how the speed at which the rocket launches might change (blow slowly, blow quickly, short breath, long breath, etc)
Remove the nose and ask why the rocket doesn't launch
Then try blowing up instead of blowing out. How does this change the launch pattern of the rocket?
Take the space learning a bit further and discuss gravity

This project is one of over 50 in Rachelle's book, Tinkerlab: A Hands-On Guide for Little Inventors. She has a great Tinkerlab blog, too. I can't recommend her work enough to you all! You won't regret a minute spent!

Related Activity: Super Fun & Easy Solar Eclipse Activities for Kids

More Straw Rocket Projects for Kids

If your child wants more straw rockets, check out these tutorials. Have fun!

Make a Slingshot Straw Rocket

How to Make Simple Straw Rockets

How to Make a Rocket from Paper & a Straw

I hope we inspired you today!
Marnie

The Best Father’s Day Books for Preschoolers

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Activities Tagged With: Book Lists, Father's Day, Preschool This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I lost my dad when I was an infant so Father's Day was always a day that approached with nervousness. However, my brother, sister, and I were extremely close to our Pa and we had a blast celebrating him each year. It is important to remember that – as cliche as this sounds – it truly does take a village to raise a family.

Celebrate with whomever you see as your dad this year. In the meantime, however, we have curated an amazing set of Father's Day Books for Preschoolers. What better way to celebrate!

Learn The Best Children's Books for Father's Day

Made For Me

This story displays the tender love that a father has for his child. It is so sweet and demonstrates that all the little things are what makes their relationship so special.

The Night Before Father's Day

This book tells a beautiful story of compassion and the importance of showing someone you love them. A mom and her children work together in showing appreciation and gratitude on Father's Day.

I Love Dad with The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Another beautiful book by Eric Carle. The caterpillar that all kids are familiar with tags along on a journey of the special qualities in a dad.

And Tango Makes Three

This is an adorable true story about two male penguins at the Central Park Zoo that mate and raise a baby penguin together.

Papa, Please Get The Moon For Me

A story of the unconditional love a dad has for his daughter. By trying to get the moon for her he shows that he will do anything to make her happy.

My Father Knows the Names of Things

Every Dad is so special! Each father has a unique gift to share and something special to teach their children. The cute little boy in this book is so proud of the things that his Dad knows.

A Wild Father's Day

I love the rambunctious wild nature of a Dad. Dad's are great for sitting on their shoulders, wrestling, horseback rides, and playing ghost in the graveyard. This book is a tribute to all those special moments.

Owl Moon

This is one of my favorite stories, so it had to be on this list. Owl Moon makes a great bedtime story. It is a peaceful story of a father and his daughter connecting on a midnight walk through the woods. If you haven't been on a walk through the forest at night you may be able to imagine what a magical experience this can be. Owl Moon is a story of true connection to nature for a father and his daughter.

A Tale of Two Daddies

This book builds on the natural curiosity of children. When a little boy at school learns his friend has two daddies he is naturally curious. He has many questions for his friend. A Tale of Two Daddies is approached with a beautiful non-judgmental and approachable nature.

How to Surprise a Dad

We have all been in a situation where a child has surprised us with something! These surprises are often very sweet and sometimes a bit peculiar. The natural kindness that this exudes from a child is something worth fostering and encouraging as they grow. This story is an adorable example of this caring nature.

For other amazing books for preschoolers, check out these book list posts.

For more Father's Day goodness, check out:

Make a Marbled Art Paper Print of the American Flag

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Activities Tagged With: Art, Elementary, July 4th, Kindergarten, Preschool This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

One of my favorite parts of my Montessori training was the art portion. Not only did I learn a ton of process art activities for preschoolers, but I also got to do the activities! How lucky am I? Recently, we created an American Flag with marbled paper.

Marbled paper is known for a vibrant design as a result. So, creating an American Flag certainly required a bit of constraint. Once we created our flag, however, we made more marbled paper with gorgeous, creative designs.

Kids absolutely love this art activity. The result is beautiful (albeit the process is a bit messy and that is ok!). A super fun addition to a 4th of July, Memorial Day, or Veteran's Day themed unit.

Make a Marbled Paper Art Print of the American Flag

Art Materials Used

White cardstock
Shaving foam
Liquid watercolor or food coloring
Scissors or paper cutter to cut the cardstock
Tray
Drying rack (like the one you use for baking) is super handy

Steps to Take to Make Marbled Paper

Cut your cardstock to a size you'd like
Cover the tray (mostly) with the shaving foam
Add your American flag color design using a squirt bottle or dropper
Use a brush to smooth out foam and colors
Add stars to your flag (although it would be nice to be completely strict about placement and number of stars, I advise you to let it go, especially when working with kids!)
Press the paper flat onto the foam
Lift and allow time to dry
Admire your creation & consider extensions to this activity

Marbled Paper Extension Ideas

Make a Fourth of July night scene. Use black construction paper as the background and paper hole punch stars from your marbled paper
Create a string of stars using the marbled paper and hang it in your classroom or playroom
Design greeting cards & sell at a school function to raise funds
Make bookmarks as gifts for family, friends, & teachers

Before I go, I'd like to say one thing – this art activity will not produce an exact replica of the American flag. Give kids a poetic license. Allow them to be creative with the concept, which lays the foundation for the activity.

The Ultimate List of Light Energy Experiments for Kids

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Activities, Science Tagged With: Easy Science for Kids, Kindergarten, Physics, Preschool This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I scoured the internet to discover the BEST activities to explore light. This post includes dozens of light energy experiments for kids to keep you and your kids busy.

Light Energy Experiments for Kids

Build Your Own DIY Spectroscope from Buggy & Buddy

Kids will LOVE to make their own DIY spectroscope! The best part of this science activity is that it can be done with a few simple materials and explore the spectrum of different light sources. This science activity for kids makes a great addition to a unit on light or weather. Plus, you get to see rainbows so add it to an April preschool unit or St. Patrick's Day themed unit.

Sky Science – Why does the sky change colors? from Steam Powered Family

Finally, have an answer to the age-old question: why is the sky blue? Even better explore why the sky changes color at sunrise and sunset. You can explain until you're blue in the face about the science of the sky colors but doing an experiment brings the understanding to a whole new level.

Learning about Optics with Two Fun Light Experiments! by From Engineer to Stay at Home Mom

Explore how light behaves with this activity! Furthermore, explain the concept of OPTICS as the study of how light works. This water and light experiment was showing him how light works.

Explore the Eye's Blind Spot from Carrots Are Orange

The blind spot is a little spot of the eye. Everyone has a blind spot. The blind spot is the point in the eye where all the nerve in the eye come together. The nerves form a bundle of nerves calls the optic nerve, a nerve that runs from the eye to the brain.

So, why makes the blind spot “blind'?

$Light Experiment - Refraction$

Simple Light Refraction Experiment from Look We're Learning

Learn an easy way to teach kids about light with this simple light refraction experiment!

Light Activities for Preschoolers – Learning about Light Energy from Carrots Are Orange

This post includes loads of light energy experiments and ideas to explore.

DIY Sundial from KC Adventures

Learn an easy way to make a sundial using simple materials.

UV Light Experiment from Inspiration Laboratories

Try this simple exploration to explore ultraviolet light with your child.

Exploring Science Through Art: Colour & Light by Childhood 101

This activity is sweet and to the point. What a lovely hands-on way to explore color and light.

Reflection Science with Light Patterns in a Box from Buggy & Buddy

A super cool and remarkably easy to put together light energy experiment.

Rainbow Science for Kids: Exploring Prisms from Buggy & Buddy

Prisms are one of the most beautiful and simple materials. Learn ways to explore light science with this simple object.

Easy Motion Science Experiment from Carrots Are Orange

Learn how movies are made with this easy motion science experiment. My sons have been on a “how does this work?” kick. This easy science experiment was one answer to “how do movies get onto a screen?”

Science for Kids: How to Make a Kaleidoscope

Learn how to make a kaleidoscope in this fun & easy science activity and a craft for kids. Kids will LOVE to explore light, reflections, and symmetry by making their own kaleidoscope.

Other Experiments Worth Checking Out

Easy Science Activity with Balloons – How to Build a Balloon Rocket

Science Activity with Milk & Food Coloring