Not So Lazy Days: Creating a more patriotic Fourth of July

Before heading out to the parade in town, I gave my children a little project to decorate the house for the holiday...

First, I gave them strips of red and blue paper (construction paper first folded in half longways, then folded again longways and cut on the folds) and asked them to color a design with only red, white and blue crayons.

After their coloring was complete, we glued one strip to the top of a white sheet of paper. Then, I took leftover red party streamers and cut into 8-inch pieces. We glued the streamers to the long side of the white paper without the strip in place. Next, another strip was glued over the streamers.

The boys were then asked to color one picture, like a star in the center. When done, we rolled the creations into a cylinder and taped the edges together.

To finish what was now clearly a patriotic windsock to the boys, we used a remaining strip to make the handle by folding it in half and taping it to the inside of the windsock.

I've challenged myself to find a new activity to do five days a week every week of the kids' summer vacation. Activities will fall under one of three categories: Arts & Crafts, Sports & Games or Field Trips. Follow me on Twitter @readallaboutsam for immediate updates on posts!