Mosaic American Flag

What You Need:

• Red, white, and blue jelly beans
• Rectangular piece of sturdy cardboard
• White glue

What You Do:

1. Before you begin, look at a picture of the American flag with your child and talk about the design. Point out how the 13 stripes alternate between red and white, and how the stars are lined up in alternating rows of 5 and 6.
2. Place the cardboard on your workspace with the long side horizontal. Help your child glue a line of red jelly beans about two inches from the bottom edge to form the lower stripe of the flag. The size of your flag is up to you, but it should be at least 25-30 jelly beans wide in order to give you enough room to work.
3. Above the line of red jelly beans, help your child glue a line of white jelly beans. Repeat this process, alternating red and white lines, until you have completed six stripes of the flag.
4. For the remaining seven stripes, use only about 15 jelly beans, placed all the way to the right-side edge. This will leave an open square area on the left for the white stars and blue background.
5. To create the stars, cut some white jelly beans in half and glue them in the blank square in alternating rows of 5 and 6. As you place the stars, fill the surrounding space with blue jelly beans to create the background. Don't worry if you can't fit all 50 stars into the flag; be creative and work with what you have.

Once you've completed your flag explain to your child what a veteran is and why we have a special day to honor those who have served.