Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July everyone! Let's take a moment today to talk to our kids about why we celebrate this holiday. Sure, the fireworks and hot dogs are great, but if you're looking to get a little more out of the holiday, check out these neat ideas.

Talk about citizenship with your child. Being a good citizen for a preschooler can mean:

obeying the law,

picking up trash in your community,

helping the family with the chores,

respecting other people, regardless of how they look, act, or believe

and knowing what symbols and ideas represent our country.

Read some books about America and talk about them as you go. Below are a list of good ones you can get from the library.

America the Beautiful by Jane Yolen

Happy Birthday America! by Martha Wilson Chall

Clifford's Good Deeds by Norman Bridwell

F is for Flag by Wendy Cheyetter Lewison

Meet Our Flag, Old Glory by April Jones Prince

America the Beautiful: A Pop-Up Book by Katharine Lee Bates

Be a democracy for a day. Kids can vote on what to cook for dinner, what TV show to watch, or what board game to play. As kids get older, th

is can become a more regular part of your famili

es activities. (Of course, mom and dad get veto power.)

Pray together for the leaders of this country, as well as the soldiers at home and abroad.

Fireworks Art:

materials needed

cups of blue and red paint

straw

construction paper

water

newspaper or large cookie sheet with edges.

glitter (optional)

Cover your workspace with newspaper or have your child do their painting inside a cookie sheet with raised edges.

Add a little water to your paint to make it thinner.

Put small blobs of paint on the paper.

Let kids blow through a straw to move the paint around to make fireworks. Tell them to experiment-blow gently at first, then try fast bursts.

If you don't mind getting a little messy, let kids add different color glitter to the wet paint for extra sparkle!