Celebrate National Postage Stamp Day

Another American holiday that’s celebrated on July 1 is National Postage Stamp Day. It commemorates the issuance of the first U.S. postage stamp, the Two-Cent Blue, on July 1, 1847. The stamp was designed by James B. Longacre and featured a portrait of Benjamin Franklin.

The Two-Cent Blue is one of the most famous postage stamps, but it wasn’t the first. The first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black, was issued in the United Kingdom on May 1, 1840. The Penny Black was designed by Rowland Hill, a British schoolmaster who is credited with inventing the postage stamp. Hill’s idea was to create a system where mailers would prepay postage, rather than having the recipient pay for it upon delivery. This system made mail more affordable and efficient, and it quickly caught on around the world.

In the early days, postage stamps were made of paper and were not perforated. This made them difficult to use, as they had to be cut by hand. In 1854, the first perforated stamps were issued in Switzerland. Perforation made it much easier to use stamps, and it quickly became the standard.

If you want to celebrate National Postage Stamp Day (whether you live in the United States or not) you can:

visit your local post office, looks at and buy some stamps
write a letter or card and mail it
design your own stamp with a blank stamp coloring page (like this one from Eduprints)
color in stamp coloring pages — Mr. Nussbaum has a collection of the 50 states stamp coloring pages, which are just so cute!
start a postage stamp collection or check out the collection of the US Postal Museum
learn some stamp facts — for example, did you know the most expensive postage stamp ever sold was a British Guiana 1c Magenta, which sold for $9.5 million in 2014?
do some pretend play post office play — little kids love putting “stamps” on envelopes and writing “letters”

[Photo via Kenmore Stamp]

Remembrance Day (marked as Veterans Day in the United States) is Nov. 11, and it marks the end of hostilities in World War I. Poppies are a traditional symbol of the day because it is said they were the first flower to grow again on the battlefields, which inspired a famous poem. Let’s check out some poppy crafts you can make with your kids as part of a World War I unit or for Remembrance Day.

This pretty poppy craft from Krokotak just requires the printable, some crayons, scissors and glue. The printable includes the center of the flower and kids can draw the outside as well as adding stem.

Glued to My Crafts has a printable for a torn paper poppy, or you could color or paint this one as well.

Use torn or cut pieces of paper to make these poppy suncatchers from Red Ted Art.

Happy Hooligans has a bunch of great poppy crafts but I particularly like the painted rocks and easy paper plate poppy.

Crafty Morning has a cute poppy craft made with fingerprints, which is quick and easy to do with kids of any age.

Older kids and adults can make these folded paper poppies from Chica and Jo, but they do involve hot glue and floral wire, which can be sharp, so it’s not for young kids. An easier paper poppy that only calls for regular craft glue can be found at Sugar Spice and Glitter. This one also has a printable template to make it easier.

These felt poppies from One Little Project also use a glue gun and a sewing needle, but they’re so pretty I couldn’t resist sharing them for older kids. Add a pipe cleaner stem or turn them into pins to wear for remembrance events. Check out their coffee filter poppy craft for a great option for younger kids.

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