Fun Fourth of July Activities for Kids

The Fourth of July is a day traditionally full of fireworks, cookouts and family fun, and it’s a great day to do activities and on-theme experiments with kids. Check out these easy ideas for fun Fourth of July activities for kids that adults will enjoy, too!

This one is listed as a Flag Day activity, but I think going on a flag hunt would be great for any patriotic holiday. (We have a few people in our neighborhood who line their yards with tiny flags on patriotic holidays, and when my daughter was little we’d go on walks and count all the flags.) No Time for Flashcards made a flag hunt into a race against the clock, but if you have several kids you could also see who can find the most flags in a period of time.

Make the classic baking soda and vinegar explosion reaction into red, white and blue fun with this fun activity from Kindergarten Worksheets and Games. Or make oil and water “fireworks” with this quick experiment from Preschool Play and Learn. You probably have everything you need for both of these in the house already if you keep food coloring around.

And while we’re making fun out of stuff in the pantry, grab an empty paper towel roll and make some fun marshmallow shooters. The decorations on the shooter are what makes this a Fourth of July activity, but if you don’t have red, white and blue supplies on hand kids can also decorate the tubes with a holiday twist before turning them into shooters. Get the instructions from Hunny I’m Home.

Looking for more July 4th activities to do with kids? Check out my list of flag crafts that kids can make, as well as some printables with a Fourth of July theme. And if you’ve got young ones these red, white and blue sensory activities are great for the fourth or any time of year!

Sometimes when I’m scrolling through Ravelry a pattern will catch my eye as much because of the name as the look of the design (which is a little hard to see in those little thumbnails sometimes, anyway).

So it was with the Stellify shawl by Paola Albergamo. Stellify means to turn into a star, and the name and the story behind the shawl come from the story of Ariadne. The better known part of her story is that she helped Theseus escape from the Minotaur, but he then abandoned her. What comes after in many stories is that Dionysus found her, fell in love with her and later married her.

When he threw her jeweled crown into the sky, the Corona Borealis constellation was formed.

What does all this have to do with shawl knitting?

The shawl itself looks like it has a scattering of stars on it, as if it, too, has been stellified. The shawl begins with an I-cord tap and is shaped into a triangular shawl with both lateral and central increases. I-cord edging is incorporated into the sides, and the colorwork is done with mosaic knitting, which means this shawl is easier than it looks.

Mosaic knitting has you working with just one color per row, slipping stitches that appear in the other color to make the colorwork visible. Even better for people new to this kind of colorwork, the pattern includes written and charted instructions throughout so it should be easy to follow along.

The pattern comes in two sizes (the larger one is shown here) and calls for two colors of fingering weight yarn. It looks great in black and yellow, but don’t miss the other projects on Ravelry to see other fun and beautiful color options.

You can find the pattern in English and Italian on Ravelry.

[Photo: Paola Albergamo]

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