Summer Boredom Busters for Kids :: Easy 4th of July Crafts for Kids

The 4th of July is right around the corner and it's the perfect time for some crafting with the kids.  This was a post I did for the Jacksonville Moms Blog last year with some great activities for the kids.

Paper Towel Roll American Flag

We did a flag similar to this one back on Flag Day a few months ago.  For the 4th of July we made an American Flag.  Our flag doesn't have the correct number of stripes on it, but we did count out 50 glitter glue stars.

Flag Supply List: 1 paper towel roll, red, white & blue construction paper, glitter glue, glue stick, packing tape

Glue a blue piece of construction paper into the corner of your white flag.  Cut red strips of paper and glue those down.  Use your glitter glue to put 50 stars on your flag.  Allow to dry.

Once your flag is dry you can use the packing tape to secure it to your paper towel roll.

Book Suggestion: The American Flag is a great non-fiction book that goes through tons of facts about our American Flag.  It was fun to read through all the different facts with Cole.

Toilet Paper Roll Fish

 Fish Supply List: 1 toilet paper roll, tissue paper, scissors, piece of ribbon, construction paper, google eyes, packing tape

 Roll your toilet paper up in the tissue paper and secure it with tape.

 Tie one end with the string and tuck the extra tissue paper from the other end into the cardboard tube.

 Cut some slits in the fish tail.

Add your google eyes and fins and your fish is ready to go for a swim.

Book Suggestion: If you haven't read The Pout-Pout Fish then you don't know what you've been missing.  Little kids will love the repetitive verse and playful rhymes as well as the adorable pictures.

Fireworks Artwork

 Firework Artwork Supply List: construction paper, 1 paper towel roll, crayons, scissors, glitter paint, paper plate

 Start by drawing a picture of your city or town or home on a sheet of paper.  After we finished this craft I realized that dark construction paper with a white crayon and the glitter paint would have turned out really nice.  Oh well, maybe next time.

 Cut thin slits about inch long along the bottom of your paper towel roll.

  

 Dip your paper towel roll in the glitter paint and stamp your fireworks on the paper.

Book Suggestion: Fireworks, Picnics, and Flags: The Story of the Fourth of July Symbols is a great book to read over the 4th of July or really anytime this month.  Cole loved reading about the different icons from American history.

Flowers for Mother's Day {part 2}

 This is a little variation on the project we did yesterday.  Instead of using regular scissors to cut your toilet paper roll strips, use a set of pinking shears. 

Book Suggestion: If your little one is interested in drawing then I would suggest How to Draw Flowers.  It goes step by step through some simple techniques and the directions are easy to follow. 

Flowers for Mother's Day

 Flower Supply List: 3 toilet paper rolls, paint, scissors, hole punch, floral wire, button

 Paint the outside of your toilet paper rolls and allow them to dry.

 Cut the toilet paper roll into strips.

 Fold the strips in half and punch a hole at the bottom.

 Bend your floral wire in half and thread it through your button.

 Stack the strips of toilet paper roll on the floral wire.

 Once you have 7 or 8 strips on the floral wire push them up to the button and thread a second button on the bottom of the flower.

Put a few of these flowers in a small vase and they make a great gift for Mother's Day.

Toilet Paper Roll Spring Flowers

Happy First Day of Spring!  These spring flowers were super fun to make and it's a great way to welcome in my favorite season of the year.   

Spring Flowers Supply List: 2 toilet paper rolls, scissors, construction paper, crayons or markers, glue

Cut your toilet paper rolls in half so that you have 4 smaller tubes.  Cut slits half way down each tube.  I did various sized cuts so that the flowers had different sized petals.

I cut 3 of the tubes and let Cole cut the last one by himself.  It was difficult for him to cut through the cardboard tube but he enjoyed the challenge.

 Fold back the slits that you made.

Using crayons, markers or paints decorate the petals of your flowers.  We used Roll It Paints.  I like these paints a lot because they are easy for little hands to use.

While your flowers dry draw a spring picture on a sheet of construction paper.  Cole really wanted to draw some bugs and grass, so that's what we did.  We also used straws for the stems of our flowers.

Glue your flowers onto your paper and enjoy your creation.

Book Suggestion: It's Spring! is a great book to introduce young children to the sights and sounds that come with the season of spring.  After sharing this story with my son we went for a scavenger hunt in the backyard to look for our own signs of spring.