4th of July for Preschoolers

My daughter is {almost} four. She is constantly wanting to create, craft, read, do new things, explore. All of this curiosity and energy and interest is sometimes the kick in the pants that I need to make effort as a mama. Ha.

So I've been cruising Pinterest, and we've been enjoying all sorts of Patriotic goodies. Here is a round-up to keep your busy preschooler happy and learning this Independence Day.

Flag Toast. Who doesn't love a mini fruit salad in the morning??? Both of my kids thought this was a pretty fun treat. Even if they did proceed to take it apart bit by bit and paint our table with cream cheese. Ha!

Pom-Pom Flag Painting. Clip a clothespin onto a craft pompom for a fun and unique paintbrush. Pinspiration found here.

Printable Coloring Sheets. I love these vintage Americana printable coloring sheets. My kids also had fun coloring these pictures.

Scissor Practice. Perfect for hand-eye-coordination practice, this file can be donwloaded and printed also for free. S had a blast, it kept her busy for awhile- and I can't believe how much her cutting skills have improved since the last time we tried a similar activity!

Patriotic Straw Necklace. I had some old blue and red paper straws from previous parties, which I cut into 1/2 inch pieces and had S string into a necklace. It was a great opportunity to develop that hand-eye-coordination, and talk about patterns {red, blue, red, blue, red}. Pinspiration found here.

Library Goodies. When it comes to holidays {Christmas excluded} I would much rather borrow a stack of on-topic books from the library than take up valuable shelf space year round at home. Some patriotic titles we've enjoyed include John, Paul, George and Ben by Lane Smith, A is for America by Devin Scillian, Apple Pie 4th of July by Janet S. Wong, and Fourth of July Mice by Bethany Roberts. Find more quality, festive book ideas here and here.

Listen While You Work. While working on our 4th of July crafts, we've enjoyed listening to patriotic tunes on Spotify. Head to their site, do a quick "4th of July" search, and enjoy free music on your phone, tablet, or computer. We also listened to this 4th of July Read Aloud playlist on YouTube. I just flip the screen so my kids don't see it, and they enjoy listening to the books being read. Not of professional quality, and one of the books in particular is a little lengthy, but it is still nice in our opinion.

For Grown-Ups. I can't believe how much early US history I've forgotten... or just never even learned. Reading our library books to the kids was just as much of an education for me as for them. So in an attempt to remedy this, I've picked up Washington's Spies by Alexander Rose. So far I am really enjoying this intriguing look into the Revolutionary War.

Some of the links above are affiliate links- which means that if you make a purchase through them, I receive a small profit at no extra charge to you. But you should know that I am an avid believer in reading for free through both local and church libraries ;). Thanks for supporting The Purposeful Wife!