Hooray for the red, white and blue!

The Fourth of July -- the day when we celebrate the United States' independence. We wave our flags, march in parades, watch fireworks, and dress in the familiar red, white, and blue. This year, take some time to talk to your preschooler about more than just the picnics and the parades. If you don't have a map of the USA in your house, take this opportunity to put one up! Talk to your preschooler about the original thirteen colonies, the different states where you have friends and family, and where the president lives. Your children will also be fascinated by more detailed road maps of the localities where you live and where you will be traveling -- so much so that you may want to give them one of their own so that they can follow along with markers and stickers. For the very first geography and history lessons, there is no better place to begin than at home. Let's show our kids what they are celebrating this Independence Day!

Where Have You Been?

Get a large map of the world or of the United States. You can either tape it to your child's wall or roll it up for easy storage. Each time you take a trip, mark the place you visit with a sticker on your child's map. You'll have fun tracking where you've been and where you'd like to go. Talk about how far these places are from where you live. If a parent has to travel on his or her own, this is also a good way to help kids visualize where they are.

Making Flags

On a large piece of paper or poster board, draw the outline of the American flag, or any other country's flag design. Give your child the appropriate colors in markers or crayons to fill in the spaces. Or fill in the spaces with a collage of colors taken from cut up magazines. Get out an atlas or globe and explain where the flag is from -- you could also look up some interesting facts about the country to write on the back of the flag.

Flag Walk

Take a walk around your neighborhood during the week leading up to the Fourth of July and count the number of American flags that you find. Teach your older child how to keep a running tally (four lines down and one line across) and then you can practice counting by fives when you get home.

4th of July Cupcakes

Bake the cupcakes according to your recipe or the package directions. While the cupcakes are baking, hull and slice the strawberries in half. Once the cupcakes have cooled, frost the cupcakes with white frosting. Now you and your kids are ready for the fun part! Decorate the cupcakes by putting blueberries and strawberries on top of the frosting -- any design is fine! The kids will love eating the fruit and celebrating Independence Day with this homemade treat.

See the entire 4th of July activity guide at The Savvy Source...

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• For our children, every day is a learning day.  Find and collect even more great ideas at http://www.savvysource.com/.