Fourth of July Crafts and Projects

Fourth of July and other patriotic holidays are lots of fun to make crafts for, and pretty easy to plan for since anything red, white and blue looks like it’s made for the holiday.

I’ve shared a lot of crafts, sensory activities, flag crafts and other activities through the years, but here are some more patriotic craft ideas, coloring pages and more for the holiday or really any time in summer when you need some easy crafts.

This cute bald eagle craft is easy to prep in big quantities if you want to make it with a group, or just make enough for the kids in your household. This project comes from Crafting Jeannie and includes a printable template for all the pieces. You could even just assemble the template and use it as a coloring page if you want.

Confetti poppers are fun for kids who might be scared of sparklers or other fireworks, and they’re pretty easy to make, too. These from Mommy Made That use a cardboard roll as the base, and you might have most of the supplies you need already in the house. (Tip: make your own confetti using a hole punch or different shaped craft punches as you like.)

Make Uncle Sam hats that kids can wear with this printable from Simply Full of Delight. Kids can color in or paint the stripes, or cut strips of construction paper to glue to the hat template for older kids. There’s also a full-color version you can just print, cut, assemble and wear if you want really low-prep!

These color by number worksheets from Leap of Faith Crafting are billed as being for Memorial Day, but you can pull them out for any patriotic holiday. They include a top hat, cupcake, heart and pinwheel and some summery treats, and they are free to download.

All About Baby Blog has some patriotic do a dot printables perfect for coloring with dot markers. They include a flag, stars, fireworks, balloons and more. If you don’t have dot markers you can use regular markers, or paint on a cotton ball or swab.

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Patriotic Crafts for Kids

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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