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Fourth of July Preschool Lesson Plans

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Even the Family Pet Can Get Dressed Up for the Fourth of July

Get ready to celebrate! This Fourth of July Week you and your preschool child will make lots of bright red, white and blue decorations for your home and yard. Your child will even decorate his tricycle or wagon, so you may want to find out if there is a children’s parade in your area.

This week, your child may learn:

  • Independence Day is celebrated on the fourth of July
  • Independence Day is our nation’s birthday
  • Communities celebrate with parades and fireworks displays
  • Many families celebrate with picnics, barbecues and get-togethers

Additionally, this week’s concepts include:

  • The letter F
  • The colors Red, White, and Blue
  • The pattern “stripes”
  • The number 13

Community Fireworks Displays

Find out when the fireworks display is offered in your community, as it isn’t always on July 4th any more! It might be better to do this week’s activities the week before the Fourth, especially since this year the Fourth falls on a Monday. What other activities are offered in your community? Is there a parade? Contests? Children’s games?

Building Family Traditions

Marching in the Children's Parade
What does the Fourth of July mean to you? What traditions have you enjoyed in the past? What would you like to add? Spend some time discussing this with your family. What is your family’s energy level? Do you need to have organized games in the park by age-level, or would watching patriotic movies in an air-conditioned den be more your style? Would you prefer barbecued pork or cold chicken salad? Do you want to gather with your relatives, or host a neighborhood block party? When was the last time you went to see the fireworks?

I read in Jeanine’s Fourth of July Family Tradition that she hosts the annual reunion in her home. She cuts out paper stars in red, white and blue, and each person takes a star when they arrive. They write why they are proud to be an American, or what Freedom means to them. Later they take a photo of the entire family, then make a collage of the photo and stars to add to the Fourth of July album. What a wonderful tradition! The only thing that I would add is that with digital scrapbooking you can have multiple copies of the pages printed so that everyone can get a copy.

Another family does Patriotic caroling! They go from door to door in their neighborhood and sing Patriotic songs while holding sparklers. America the Beautiful, the National Anthem, My Country ’tis of Thee, This Land is Your Land, and more are all good candidates for your family sing-a-long.

Make the Menu Special

Even the menu can become part of the tradition. Serve roasted pork, corn on the cob, apple pie, plenty of beverages, and of course, birthday cake! Other families go with barbecued chicken, or grilled hamburgers. One family recipe I discovered in my search is for “Dirty Bananas”. The directions said to make a small slit up the side of an unpeeled banana, insert a few squares of Hershey’s chocolate, then place the unpeeled banana on the grill. Oh, yum! I can’t wait to try that!

Children Learn by Our Actions

Young Children May be Frightened by the Louder Fireworks
Truth, liberty and justice are abstract nouns. You can’t show your young child a picture of them. You might stumble around as you try to explain them. Your child will learn patriotism from you. Stand erect with your hand over your heart whenever you hear the National anthem played. Better yet, learn the words and sing along. If you display a flag, learn the right way to do so. Don’t let the flag touch the ground. Don’t display a flag that is tattered and torn. When it’s time to retire your flag, call your local Boy Scout troop for directions. Some troops will take care of destroying the tattered flag for you. There is a specific way to do it, and tossing it in the trash isn’t correct.

Prepare Your Child for the Noise of the Fireworks

Some children are frightened by the loud fireworks. Prepare your child for what to expect. Bring along some ear plugs, just in case. Bring along a flashlight! and your child’s favorite blanket, stuffed toy, or other comforting item. It may be well past your child’s bedtime before the show even begins, and he may be cranky. Being prepared (and patient) will make all the difference between a pleasant memory and a nightmarish experience you never want to repeat.

Five-Star Picture Books

Quality Products for Your Preschooler (Optional)

Worksheets (Optional)
Worksheet #1 Flag coloring page
Worksheet #2 F is for Fruit
Worksheet #3 Letter F Beginning Consonant Sounds
Worksheet #4 Trace and Write Number 13
Worksheet #5 Cutting Curved Lines
Worksheet #6 Statue of Liberty Coloring Page
Worksheet #7 July Fourth Coloring Page

Preschool Lesson Plans for Fourth of July Week



Photo Credits:
Top: photo by GrandmaMusher
Middle: photo by E.D.W.W.
Bottom: photo by Epic Fireworks

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corny said in September 29th, 2012 at 2:24 am

At home, this kind of learning is not at an optimum level. In a pre school the supervisors focus on teaching children the age-appropriate behaviors through observation and imitation.
Most of the playschools have language and listening room, a motor skills room and a drama and theatre room. Such spacious playschools not only provides variety to the child in terms of learning and polishing their skills but also helps the parents in making the right decision for their child. As a child learning habits develops from an early age which they carry till the end.

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Lorelei said in October 10th, 2012 at 10:39 pm

I know we will disagree on this! I am a preschool teacher. I did provide the best lesson plans I could. I tried to be patient, loving, kind, and firm with the children in my care, but I still was not their mother. Children learn best at home. Day cares and preschools came about because too many moms HAD to work! Now we make nice preschools so moms can feel better about working. But the sort of preschool you describe is very very rare, and only for the most wealthy. Most preschools I have come across have one room or even one section of a room per age group. A group of four year old children remain in their four-year-old room all day, except for a brief stint outside – and by brief, I mean about fifteen minutes in the morning, and maybe thirty minutes after naps in the afternoon. There was no language room, no listening room, no motor skills room and no theater room. One underpaid and overworked preschool teacher worked with the four year olds by herself, and maybe she was good at drama but not so good at reading aloud. Or maybe she had great skills at doing physical activities with the children, but not as good at maintaining discipline. Few preschool teachers have more than their undergraduate degree! Children DO learn from an early age by watching and imitating others. So which is better – to be home, and watching and imitating a loving parent twenty-four/seven, or to be in a classroom setting, and watching and imitating other four year olds?

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