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Ideas For A Fun Fourth Of July With Your Grands

June 21, 2021

The Fourth of July might be my favorite holiday–except for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter…I like Memorial Day a lot, too…and National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day (May 15, in case you wondered. BTW, check out the BEST recipe for chocolate chip cookies here.)

Okay, I might have a problem nailing down my favorite holiday. Let’s just say I love setting aside time to celebrate anything!

If you’re lucky, you might be hosting a Fourth of July gathering for your family this year. You’ll be even luckier if that gathering involves grandchildren…or nieces and nephews…or the kids on your block. Really, any kid will do!

Last year we got to see all of our grandkids in late June and early July and we had a ball, doing the simplest things.

Super Simple Art Project

Both our grandsons and granddaughters love a good art project. And last year’s big success was so easy, I’m almost embarrassed to tell you about it.

I’m afraid you’re going to say, “You’re an artist and that’s the best you came up with?” Well, if you do think that, just keep it to yourself, okay? I love to paint and collage, but I’m really not that crafty.

You don’t have to be crafty or an artist to provide some great creative entertainment for your littles. All it takes is a little room and a relaxed attitude.

My Studio/Their Studio

I keep a folding table set up in my studio for the littles to use. The items I make sure always to have on hand are:

♦ Disposable pie pans
♦ Inexpensive acrylic paints
♦ A variety of inexpensive brushes
♦ Sturdy paper (doesn’t have to cost a lot, but should have some heft)
♦ Plastic tubs or cups that are hard to turn over (for water)
♦ Miscellaneous tools for painting (i.e. sponges, rollers)

A week after the girls left, the boys came. And, in the meantime, I received a package that turned out to be invaluable!

Some of the grands' work hangs proudly on my ChiChi board that KB1 installed for me in our laundry room. Talk about an instant brightener every time I throw in a load!!
Gabby (left, although she's wearing Lyla Mac's apron!) and Lyla Mac love to paint pictures to give as gifts.

Super-Easy Patriotic Project

I had ordered some 30″x40″ picture frames, which meant BIG pieces of cardboard. And I knew exactly what I’d do with them–a special Fourth of July project. If you want to do this with your littles, here’s all you’ll need:

  1. Large piece of cardboard, like the side of a big box.
  2. Red, white, and blue acrylic paint
  3. Some disposable pans to put the paint in.
  4. Sponge rollers and paintbrushes (no need for expensive brushes in the hands of littles!)
  5. Optional, but highly recommended: Aprons! I picked some up at The Dollar Tree and wrote the kids’ names on them with a permanent marker.
Owen worked long and hard on this masterpiece and he is especially proud of the final result! George got a kick out of putting it on the front porch. By the end of the project, Henry was pretty much done.

We proudly displayed the finished piece of patriotic abstract art on the front porch so all our neighbors could see it, too! I’m pretty sure they were impressed. 

So, see? How easy was that? And it didn’t cost a nickel. I just used what I had on hand. Just TODAY I received another frame box, so I’m setting that big cardboard aside for their upcoming visit. I think we may make this a tradition!

I’m all for teaching our littles about this great country, aren’t you? Will you be hosting grandkids for the Fourth of July? Do you have any special activities planned? 

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