Easy American Flag 4th of July Craft for Kids

Summer is here! There are so many things to love about summer time! Longer days, fireflies, popsicles, pool time, and one of my favorite holidays, Independence Day! While the seasons may come and go, one thing remains the same for my kids- they LOVE arts and crafts anytime of the year! This easy American Flag 4th of July Craft for Kids is the perfect way to get in the mood for the upcoming Fourth of July holiday!

Outside your home you may have an American flag hung with pride! What better compliment to that than creating this American flag art for kids to hang inside your home!

A Teachable Moment!

I think I get just as excited as my kids do about craft time! I will jump at any opportunity to allow my kids to express themselves through art.

Another added bonus of craft time is that little ones can work on improving their fine motor skills through super easy crafts that involve drawing, painting, cutting, gluing, or coloring!

Crafts provide opportunities for fantastic fun and learning to take place at the same time!

Take advantage of a teachable moment with this US flag craft for kids and talk about the significance of our country’s flag! Read the book Red, White, and Blue: The Story of the American Flag to go along with the craft and learn about the history of our flag!

Here are some discussion topics! (or questions to research!)

• What do the stars and stripes represent?
• Do you know what the original 13 colonies were?
• What do the colors red, white, and blue on the flag symbolize?
• Who made the first American flag?
• When was the first American flag created?

How To Make This Patriotic Craft:

Materials:

• 8 X 10 Canvas
• Red, White, Blue Oil Pastels
• Book: Red, White, and Blue: The Story of the American Flag
• American Flag or Picture of an American Flag (having a model will help your little ones with the correct placement of the stars and stripes!)

Instructions:

First, use a blue oil pastel to draw the blue rectangle in the top left corner of the blank canvas print. After an outline is drawn color the entire rectangle blue.

Next it is time to draw the stripes! Start with a red stripe at the top.

Depending on how precise you want to be this may be a good opportunity to get a ruler out and practice some measurement skills with your child to equally space out the stripes.

Helpful hint: There are 4 red stripes that connect to the blue rectangle (with 3 white stripes in between).

After you finish the stripes that connect to the rectangle continue to alternate red and white stripes until you have a total of 13 red and white stripes altogether.

Have your little one use their finger to blend the blue oil pastel that colored in the rectangle in the top left corner of the canvas. This will help the white stars to show up better!

Draw the white stars on top of the blended blue pastel in the rectangle.

Another helpful hint: There are 9 rows of stars. There are 6 stars in the first, third, fifth, seventh, and ninth rows. There are 5 stars in the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth rows.

Once all the stars are drawn, have your little one blend oil pastel on the red stripes with their finger.

Ta Da!! You have a beautiful American flag canvas to display! Uncle Sam would be proud!

Other Ideas For Fourth Of July Crafts:

Now that you are in the 4th of July mood you may be looking for more crafts to do! There are plenty of easy art projects and American flag crafts for kids that require very little supplies!

• Use all those left over popsicle sticks from the delicious treats your kids eat! Glue the sticks together, use red, white, and blue paint to create a flag and you have an easy popsicle stick flag!
• Paint a flower pot or mason jar with patriotic colors and add some red, white, and blue flowers for a festive centerpiece for a picnic or barbecue!
• Use sidewalk chalk to create drawings of fireworks and American flags on your driveway!

The possibilities for patriotic fun and are really endless!