I absolutely love the Fourth of July. It’s one of my favorite holidays. What’s not to love? Shorts, flip flops, swimming, grilling, fireworks…I love it all. My kids are three and five, and they are at a fun age where they anxiously await all holidays. Whether it’s Christmas or Groundhog Day or Pi Day, for goodness sake, we celebrate it. In the spirit of our never-ending party planning, I thought I’d share a few of our plans in case you’re looking for fun ideas for the little ones in your life this weekend!

To dye my pasta, I shook them in a bag with liquid watercolor paint. You can also use liquid food coloring with about one half-teaspoon of rubbing alcohol. Set them out to dry overnight on a paper towel or newspaper on a cookie sheet and they’re ready to use.

This project can be simply fine motor practice for little ones, or patterning practice for older kids. All you need are patriotic colored beads and pipe cleaners. Adding a knot at one end of the pipe cleaner will keep the beads from accidentally falling off. You can also used dyed ditalini or penne pasta instead of beads.

My three year old played in water for at least 45 minutes the other day. Funnels are a fun addition to watch the water flow out. Be prepared for some mess…or take this one outside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This stars and stripes collage is a good way to finish up odds and ends. Scraps of paper, bits of ribbon, leftover wrapping paper….precut it into stars and strips and let them glue it on. Glue sticks are the neatest option, but white glue poured in a small cup with a paint brush works well, also!

My older son LOVES to look at ideas on Pinterest, and he insisted I pin this idea from The Sisters Cafe. I pin ridiculous fancy desserts I will perhaps never actually make, but he’s a realist, and knows this is about what we can handle. Making these for Friday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another Pinterest find! There’s always more than enough in the way of sugary treats at our family parties, so this might be a fun project to put together with the kids as a healthy alternative. It’s been a long week here, and it’s only Wednesday, so I’m not promising mine will include perfectly cubed cheese or perfectly sliced, uniform strawberries. Tasty nonetheless, thankfully!

So there you have it! Our kid-friendly projects for the Fourth of July. Do you have family projects for the upcoming long weekend? Whatever you do, have fun celebrating!

Photos by me unless otherwise noted