4th of July Decorations

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4th of July Fun

This Fourth of July, you and your child can make your very own patriotic decorations to display in your home. These streamers are fun and festive and they couldn't be simpler to make. This activity even has a "green" twist, so that you and your family can celebrate the holiday in an eco-friendly way!

What You Need:

Clean, empty round oatmeal container (these usually come in two sizes, small or large and either one works this activity)
Red, white, and blue construction paper, 12x18”
Scissors
Glue stick
Tape
Streamers in red, white, and blue (rolls of crepe paper work well)
String

What You Do:

Start by making sure that your oatmeal box is clean and empty. (The cylindrical containers work best for this project.) You won't need the plastic cap for this activity, so you can remove it and save it for something else!
Turn the container upside down, so that the solid cardboard bottom is on top. Help your child use the tip of her scissors to punch two holes in this bottom section, directly across from one another.
Have your child thread a piece of string through the wholes, from one to the other as shown above. Secure the string on the inside to the bottom of the container. Your string will be your “hanger” when you’re done!
With your child’s help, use a ruler to measure the box from the new “top” (which was the old bottom) to the new bottom, and mark a line around the container about 1/3 of the way from the top.
Cut your blue paper to fit this top 1/3 of your can. Wrap it around the can and glue it down.
Cut red paper to fit the bottom 2/3 of your can. Help your child wrap it around the can and glue it down as well. At this point, your can should look like this:
Help your child mark and cut five point stars from the white construction paper, and glue them onto the blue section. Then mark and cut 1” strips from the remaining construction paper, and trim them to the length of your red section. Glue them all around the red section of your can, to make alternating red and white stripes around the outside.
Now you’re ready for the final stage: the streamers! Help your child cut 8 streamers—you can use any combination of red, white and blue—each about 20” long. Have your child tape them to the bottom of the container on the inside of your cylinder.
Hang your patriotic wind sock from a trellis or on a porch. If you've got a group of kids to keep busy one afternoon, this is a perfect project for everyone to do together. Hang all of your wind socks up in a row for your next Fourth of July party. Let them fly in the breeze and celebrate the holiday in environment-friendly way!