Easy Kids Crafts for Fourth of July

I don’t know why the Fourth of July feels like a crafting holiday to me, but it does. I guess it’s because stars and stripes and red, white and blue are such simple things to work with and build off of, and there’s something extra-homey about a kid-made American flag.

Even if you’re not super crafty yourself, these kid crafts for the Forth of July are quick and easy to make and fun to use as decor for all your holiday gatherings.

These cute ribbon wand flags from Ruffles and Rain Boots are also a great fine-motor skill activity for little ones as they loop the ribbon to attach it to the stick. Add to the fun by painting the sticks if you like (before you add the ribbon, of course!).

Speaking of ribbon, Momfessionals has an easy flag craft inspired by a wind sock made from a plastic cup and ribbons. This one is especially great for parents (or teachers!) who don’t like the mess that’s often associated with kids crafting.

Stringing beads is another great fine-motor skill builder, and kids can get lots of practice stringing beads when they make these patriotic necklaces. These are made with beads and paper straws. Littler kids can make beaded bracelets with pipe cleaners and pony beads. Get the tutorial from Buggy and Buddy.

Paper tubes are a great base for all sorts of crafts, including this patriotic blower from Natural Beach Living. There is a little painting involved, so this one isn’t quite as quick as some of the other ones, but they’re still really cute.

I thought these rockets from Heart Filled Spaces were also a paper tube craft, but it’s actually all made with cardstock cut with a cutting machine (there are instructions for doing it by hand, too). You could use a tube if you wanted to make it a little easier!

Or make this cute straw painted paper plate star craft from Our Kid Things. This one can get a little messy, but it’s also a lot of fun!

Gabon is a country in central Africa on the Equator, which is bordered by Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo, as well as the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea. Let’s learn more.

Gabon Facts

Gabon has an area of 100,000 square miles, or 270,000 square kilometers and is home to about 2.3 million people. The capital and largest city is Libreville. Almost 90 percent of the land of Gabon is forest, and the nation has huge biodiversity.

The original inhabitants of Gabon were Bambenga, and the Kingdom of Orungu was established there in the 1700s, and France colonized the area in the later 19th century. Gabon gained its independence in 1960.

The official language is French and about 95 percent of the population is part of the Bantu ethnic groups. The majority of people are Christian.

Gabon comes from the Portuguese word gabao, which means hooded cloak. Portuguese explorers in the 1470s used the term to refer to the Komo river estuary, which they said resembled a cloak. Eventually the name spread to cover the whole region.

Gabon is a presidential republic with a legislature, though there have been many disputed elections and, in 2023, a military coup.

Gabon National Symbols

The Gabon flag consists of three horizontal stripes, in green, yellow and blue. The flag was adopted in 1960.

The national anthem is “La Concorde,” and it was written and adopted in 1960 as well.

The coat of arms features a ship on a shield with the same colors as the flag, with three yellow circles in the green section. Above the crest is a large tree, and the crest is flanked by black panthers. The motto, which translated to English is “unity, work, justice,” is below the shield, among the roots of the tree. The slogan that translates to “we shall go forward together” hang around the tree.

I couldn’t find any official national animals or plants, but black panthers are considered a national symbol because of their use on the coat of arms.

Gabon Learning Activities

Did you know black panthers aren’t a distinct species? In Africa they are leopards, but in other areas black panthers are actually cheetahs, bobcats, lynx or other big cats. Learn more about the animals of Gabon at A to Z Animals.

Check out Monts de Cristal, or the Crystal Mountains, home to a large diversity of wildlife (including lots of butterflies) and a large national park. There’s lots of great pictures on that page.

Adventures in a Messy Life has a little Gabon unit study that includes links to some videos, a recipe for African beignets, and notebooking pages available for purchase that you can use for any country in Africa.

Check out this video with interesting facts about Gabon from The African Script.

Find more resources for teaching about Gabon at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Learn more about traditional foods in Gabon from Chef’s Pencil, and check out this recipe for what’s considered the national dish of Gabon, poulet Nyembwe, a chicken dish made with red palm oil (which is what the dish is named for).

Have you read?

Gabon Facts

Gabon National Symbols

Gabon Learning Activities

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