Kid-friendly patriotic party foods and 4th of July recipes children can make themselves

Hello my Omschool friends! I'm teacher Omi (grama) and today I have some ideas to share about fun  red white and blue snacks and homemade patriotic party foods for 4th of July. These patriotic recipes use inexpensive foods,  are easy to make with a few simple tools and do double duty as food craft projects. Even the youngest can help (grandson Remus and granddaughter Flora, that means you. Baby Max you can lick the spoons and supervise!) Older children, you can be in charge of seeing to it everyone has what he or she needs to make these yummy food crafts! Some of these are for Memorial Day too. 

 * Remembrance Day cake. Bake any flavored cake and frost white. Let each guest write the name of

 a loved one who has passed away in red or blue frosting. Write "we remember" in the center.

 * Fruity Flag cake. Make red velvet cake. Frost with white frosting or whipped topping. Arrange sliced

 strawberries in rows to form stripes. Place blueberries in top left corner (with white frosting showing

 through) to create field of stars.

 * RWB candy flag cake. Make flag cake with red velvet and white frosting. Decorate with red and blue

 M & Ms.

 * Star-spangled jigglers. Make blue and red finger Jell-O (use less water or add unflavored gelatin to

 make Jell-O Jigglers). Cut into star shapes. Mix with white mini marshmallows.

 * Patriotic stained glass cookies. Cut refrigerated sugar cookie dough into triangles. Arrange point

side out to form star. Place clear blue or red Jolly Rancher candy in center. Bake cookies and melt

 candy to fill center.

* RWB cole slaw. Shred white daikon radishes or cabbage with purple cabbage. Cut red peppers in star shapes. Add mayo, celery seed and a little celery salt. 

 * RWB coolers. Mix Squirt and cranberry juice. Make blueberry or blackberry ice cubes or use blue

 popsicle as ice cube.

* Patriotic Party Potato salad. Boil potatoes and eggs. Cool, peel and dice. Add chopped purple cabbage, purple cauliflower, diced red pepper and onion. Toss with mayo and garnish with red smoked paprika. 

 * Flag kebobs. On large wooden skewer, alternate strawberry slices or raspberries, blueberries and

 white marshmallows.

 * Patriotic parfait. Layer in fluted parfait glasses: whipped topping and vanilla or blue mermaid pudding, blueberries,

 raspberries, blackberries and strawberries.

 * RWB cheesecake. Make or buy a plain cheesecake. Make concentric circles of raspberries,

 blueberries and strawberries. Make "stars" with white decorators frosting.

* Super star sandwiches. Cut cheese slices and lunch meat in star shapes. Or cut sandwiches in star shapes.

 * Letter and number pretzels. Have children make Memorial Day themed words: American, freedom,

 stars, flag, 13, USA.

* Patriotic pasta salad. Cook star pasta till tender. Toss with sliced grape tomatoes, black olives, mini cucumbers, pepper jack or mozzarella cheese cubes, mini pepperoni, diced purple peppers and mayo. Garnish with lightly crushed blue corn chips. 

 * Red and purple pepper slices with ranch dip. Or hollow out red peppers and arrange blue corn chips

around the edge. Fill with white sour cream dip. 

* Sweet Freedom trail mix. Mix vanilla yogurt covered raisins or pretzels, strawberry yogurt raisins, blue gummy candies or fruit snacks, strawberry and vanilla or Rice Chex. 

 * RWB dogs. Serve hot dogs on white buns. Garnish with mayonnaise dyed blue with blueberry juice or red with beet juice. For vegetarians, use  white Mozzarella cheese sticks, blue mayo and ketchup.

Homemade US history games and patriotic crafts for 4th of July with free printables

Hello Omschool friends! Teacher Omi (grama) here with educational US history art projects and patriotic crafts just in time for 4th of July (also called Independence Day). Use these patriotic crafts in homeschool, day camp, VBS or other summer enrichment programs. 

* Homemade dough, putty, paint. Kids in US history typically had few toys, so they made fun with found materials. Turn the back yard into an old-school chemistry lab. Here are recipes for silly putty, moon sand, play dough and other media for patriotic crafts and art projects. If you have a natural clay deposit, mine your own. Make clay pots or marbles (a favorite old-times game). Concoct homemade fabric paint mixing tempera and Elmer's School Glue or powdered milk. Teach chemistry and science experiments using these finger paint and regular paint recipes. Make patriotic RWB paints and crafts for 4th of July with Nate and Rachel (safe enough for toddler crafts). 

* Decorate tote bags. In times past, kids' art projects were learning activities and their learning activities did double duty as chores or making of functional items.  Use US history patriotic holiday crafts to teach simple sewing, math and life skills lessons. Repurpose fabric tablecloths, sheets, blankets, pillow cases, towels. Have kids measure and cut two matching squares. Sew three sides of squares together by machine or with needle and thread. Turn inside out. Fold and sew a hem around the top edge. Braid scrap yarn, rope, twine, into handles. Attach and decorate with homemade paint. 

 * Family tablecloth. Family was important, elders were respected and everyone worked together in olden times. Hand print a clean plain-colored flat sheet or polar fleece blanket with fabric paint (see recipe above). Get everyone involved--grandma, grandpa, grouchy Aunt Mildred, the baby, even the cat-can dip her palm (paw) and make prints. Then, they sign names in permanent marker near their print. Make patriotic holiday crafts do double duty as gifts and give as a keepsake to an elderly relative. 

 * Flag pencils. Cut white sheets or plain fabric scraps into 4x6 squares. Show world flags and play a free printable flag bingo game. Then let kids create a personal flag that represents their interests. Color with markers or crayons. Hot glue to new pencils. Wave your flag patriotic holiday crafts in Memorial Day and 4th of July parades. 

* Flag foods. The US is a melting pot of nationalities. People from all over the world call the United States home. Set out different foods from around the world and put toothpick flags in them to identify country. Or just put out assorted flags and play a game of matching food to country of origin. 

* Personal logo T-shirts. Famous Americans--Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson--are known by mottoes. The Gadsden flag was an American revolution symbol. Universities typically have Latin mottoes. Have kids create their own slogan and logo to reflect their ideals. Then transfer images to T-shirts with fabric paints or permanent markers. Recycle old shirts. Buy packaged T-shirts. Check dollar stores for good prices on supplies for patriotic holiday crafts and Memorial Day or 4th of July art projects. 

* Have a 4th of July parade. Sing US history songs, display your patriotic holiday crafts and art projects. Wear US history shirts. US History leaps off boring textbook pages and comes to life with these educational US history art projects.

A to Z Summer Enrichment activities for kids of all ages

Greetings and welcome to almost summer vacation at the Omschool! Teacher Omi and Opi (<---) here with some some educational summer vacation tips. Summer vacation means different things for kids and parents. Students rejoice in the holiday. Parents worry how time away from school will affect learning. The problem is compounded when children already struggle academically. Summer school is an option, but not very popular with kids. Tutoring is costly. Working parents or work-at-home parents lack time to tutor. How can you ensure that your child retains what he learned in school? Here 26 tried and true summer enrichment activities from A to Z. I've included fun homework ideas to  practice, retain, learn lessons. Use for homeschooling families, charter public and parochial school  kids. Perfect for all ages and content levels.

 A is Ask for help. Do you have a friend or relative willing to spend half an hour every few days helping your child with school work? Senior citizens are especially good at helping kids learning those pesky  times tables, encouraging the reluctant reader or explaining difficult science concepts.

 B is borrow. Schools and libraries lend textbooks, workbooks, games and teaching supplies. Check out museums for activity kits you can borrow. Also B is for build. Help children set up outdoor work stations (very Montessori!) where they can build bird houses, bat boxes even simple furniture. Or build Legos. 

 C is Create. Sing. Draw. Paint. Build. Dance. Sew. Cook. These tasks are the 'to-do' list for genuine

 educational development. Also C is for community resources. Check out municipality websites for local events calendars. 

 D is Discipline. Maintain a summer routine. Schedules help children organize, prioritize and

 experience success.

 E is Exercise. The brain functions best when the body is active. And summer is the perfect time to get outside and play! 

 F is Fix (repair, replace, remodel). Give your child several household items that need to be repaired.

 Provide tools, demos and safety instructions. What better way to discover how things work than to

 take them apart and put them back together?

 G is Garden. Tending plants is an educational curriculum in itself. Gardening is healthy, therapeutic,

 relaxing and interactive.

 H is Hire an older child. Contract that child to assist with reading, writing and math practice. This is win-win for large multi-age homeschool families. 

I is Investigate. Examine. There's a world of information in every flower and butterfly wing. Take a look.

 J is Join a group. Local communities offer hundreds of activities for children. Summer reading

 programs, museum activities, nature hikes, tours, sports clinics, day camps, art venues and more. 

 K is Keep a journal. Students who journal develop writing and critical thinking skills. Illustrate, too.

 Drawing encourages and inspires the reluctant writer.

 L is Listen. Parents habitually talk to children more than they listen. If you are an active listener, your

 child learns to be a good listener and speaker. It improves reading and writing too!

 M is Make new friends. The new kid on the block, the lonely old lady next door, even a little brother.

 The lessons learned in making and keeping friends are invaluable.

N is for No Technology Times. Dedicate time to turning off phones, computers, video games, TV, even Alexa. This includes parents too (unless work requires it of course). Encourage kids to do real, active,  hard copy activities! 

 O is Organize. Success in school requires organization of time and resources. Give your child  opportunities to practice organizational skills. Our grandson Silas loves Legos so he was given plastic sorting containers to organize his millions of Legos. 

 P is Play. Dr. Maria Montessori said that 'Play is a child's work.'

 Q is Question. Teach your child to ask questions. Ask detail questions, not 'yes-or-no' questions.  Why? How? What do you think?

 R is Relax and rejuvenate. You and your child have worked hard all year long. You both deserve and  need some down time. No one can pour from an empty cup.

 S is Serve. Volunteer. Do kind deeds for others in need. Helping others is a life lesson.

 T is Teach by modeling. Ask your child to 'teach' you. Be a good student. Listen and ask questions. This is an excellent way to assess what she is learning. 

 U is Understand. Be patient with your child and yourself. If your child struggles in school, it doesn't  mean that either of you is a failure. No two people learn in the same way; accept your child's  individual style.

 V is Visit. Take field trips. Go lots of places. See new things. Experience your world. You can't explore  too much!

 W is Write. Let students write poems, mysteries, essays, reports, ghost stories, jokes, silly stories,

 graphic novels, cartoons, create a neighborhood newspaper. Write letters to extended family! 

 X is Explore and Examine. Every community has untold resources. Explore the history of your town,  the local wildlife, area businesses, interesting people...You'll be amazed at what you learn.

 Y is Yard Sale. Going to yard sales and having your own yard sale is excellent practice in handling  money. Build math skills in an interactive hands-on activity.

Z is Zip to your local library. Check out summer reading programs, Internet resources, educational  speakers, classes and more. Your library is one-stop shopping for summer enrichment activities.

Patriotic Memorial Day games US history activities for kids

Hello my dear friends of the Omschool! Teacher Omi loves holidays! Do you? Which holiday is your favorite? Mine are Easter, Thanksgiving and Memorial Day. In today's post I'll share some interactive Memorial Day activities, games and lesson plans that focus on US history. But don't forget that Memorial Day is also about honouring our beloved dead. My omis and opis called it Remembrance Day. And I have school and homeschool activities for that aspect too. 

Meanwhile, if you're looking for patriotic themed Memorial Day party activities, here are educational U.S. history party games. Use these for 4th of July parties and American history lesson plans, too. Don't make games too competitive so everyone can have fun without pressure to win. Here are some free printable American history and patriotic coloring pages to supplement lesson plans. 

Memorial Day (or Independence Day) Scavenger Hunt: List 20 American themed symbols: flag, scroll for Declaration of Independence, statue of Liberty, elephant, donkey, bald eagle, bell, stars, globe, penny, nickel, dime, quarter, star stickers. Collect items that represent American products: wheat, corn, cars, cattle, fruit. Collect logos of American companies. List 50 items to symbolize each of the fifty states. Put one of each symbol per child in a zippered bag. Hide them around the yard. Give each player a list and a plastic bag. As child finds each, he takes one and puts in his bag. Or put a piece of paper near each for him to sign his name as he finds the item. 

Red, White and Blue Rover. Give each player the name of one of the 13 original colonies: Delaware, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, North and South Carolina, New York, Georgia, Virginia, New Jersey. New Hampshire and Maryland. Divide players in two groups. Each group links hands and takes turns calling for one person from the other side to try to break through the chain. For example: "Red Rover, Red Rover, let Georgia come over." 

Armed Services eraser tag. Make two sets of signs with the six branches of the United States armed services: Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard and National Guard. Divide kids in teams. Give each child a sign. Kids place one of their shoes in the center of the circle. When branch is called, both children with that sign rush to grab their shoes and return to their lines without the other tagging. Award points like this: two points for getting your shoe back home without getting tagged. Three points if you get your opponent's shoe. One point if you tag your opponent before she's safe behind the line. 10 points if you get both shoes. Lose 5 points if you grab the wrong shoe! 

U.S. History charades. Put names of famous Americans, events, movies, books in history. Students works in teams to act out and guess what or who is being enacted.