We love to fully embrace holiday and seasonal fun in this house. I’m briefly putting my former preschool teacher hat back on to share some of the activity ideas I’m planning (and aspiring) to do with my littles to get in the Independence Day spirit! We celebrate Independence Day and America the entire month of July (and throughout the summer, too), so we’ll continue to do some of these even after July 4^th has passed.

Firework Painting

Firework paintings are one of my favorite fun and easy July 4^th art activities. I love seeing the creative process and letting the child make the art uniquely his or her own. This activity provides enough structure to keep children engaged while also being open-ended for children to express themselves in their own way.

Take a paper towel or toilet paper roll and cut strips about halfway down the tube. You will likely want to have one tube per color (red, white, and blue). The child can then dip the frayed end of the tube into the desired paint color, and print, tap, or brush the paint from the tube onto the paper! It’s fun for the kids and makes for cute DIY Americana décor.

Flag Fruit Pizza

Get some sugar cookie dough and press it together on the bottom of a pizza pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes based on how “done” you want it to be. Once it cools, spread whipped cream or white frosting on the “pizza.” Decorate the pizza with strawberries and blueberries however you see fit! You can make it into a flag by putting blueberries in the top left corner along with stripes of strawberries across. You can also just put strawberries and blueberries all over the pizza randomly, which is really fun, especially for littles! Activity and dessert?! We love a good multitasking moment!

America Sensory Bin

Sensory bins do not have to be extravagant to be impactful and engaging! They can seem intimidating, but they can be so simple. For the America sensory bin, I usually just grab anything red, white, blue, or glittery and throw it in a tub! Some ideas of materials include pom poms, red/white/blue scrap paper, American flags, star cutouts or toys, red/white/blue beaded necklaces, etc. The dollar store also has great seasonal options. Sometimes I’ll run in there for a few items to make the bin more “themed” if I want to or if I have time. If not, I just look at our craft and toy stash, grab anything red/white/blue, and make it work!

“Light Show”

Another easy fave is putting red, white, and blue glow sticks in the bathtub or in an empty plastic water bottle. This makes for an engaging discovery activity and can make something so routine feel exciting.

Happy Independence Day!

I hope this quick list is helpful and at least gets your wheels turning about other fun Independence Day activities you can do with your kids. Make it your own, keep it simple, and remember to have fun!