When it came time to start celebrating the Fourth of July, I immediately thought BIG. My girls LOVE singing the song, "Grand Old Flag" so we decided to make a GIANT American flag. This project took several days to complete, and we worked on it as part of our Independence Day Theme Preschool Week. It was great to have a long-term project going on and for the girls to see that a little bit of work every day can add up to a pretty awesome result. Here's how to make your own!
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First, you need a big piece of paper. We used our 24" paper roll. Using the information on the correct proportions of the flag from this website, I drew a flag in pencil and then outlined it in black marker. If you're using 24" paper, I'll save you the trouble of doing the algebra. The height will be 24", the length will be 46.6". Your blue area will be 13" tall and 18.25" wide. The stripes will be 1.85" thick.
Tape it up on a wall.
Next it's time to cut some paper for your mosaic. We used old magazines and cut a chunks of red, white, and blue.
Get yourself nice large piles of each color. We ended up replenishing this plate several times throughout the week that we worked on this project. It takes a lot of paper!
Finally, it's time to start gluing the pieces in place. I used a marker to draw squiggles of red and blue in the appropriate areas to help the girls see what color to put in each area.
Keep gluing!
Add some more!
Not done yet!
Almost there!
For the stars, I found some bulletin board accents at a craft store and we glued them on 'backwards' so that the white showed.
Finally.....finished!
This "Grand Old Flag" really looks amazing. I'm not sure my pictures do it justice, but the colors are rich, varied, and interesting. It's nice and textured, and really makes an impact.
This project would be a great choice for a preschool classroom to work on together. Older children in a family could manage it easily, as well. My girls (age 3 & almost 5) required a fair amount of encouragement to keep working on it. In the end, they were glad that they stuck with it, but it was a bit of a stretch for them.
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This post is part of an "Around the World" series here on What Can We Do With Paper And Glue, designed to teach toddlers and preschoolers about cultures from all over the globe!
For more awesome ideas or ways to celebrate the Fourth of July with your kids, visit the What Can We Do With Paper And Glue Pinterest board below.
