{"id":8112,"date":"2010-07-05T14:56:06","date_gmt":"2010-07-05T18:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/?p=8112"},"modified":"2011-05-21T23:10:56","modified_gmt":"2011-05-22T03:10:56","slug":"independence-day-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/2010\/07\/05\/independence-day-celebration\/","title":{"rendered":"Independence Day Celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Laurel, still wet from swimming, is now dressed for patriotic partying.<\/p><\/div>\n

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swimming, America's favorite summer sport<\/p><\/div>\n

What a fabulous\u00c2\u00a0Independence Day\u00c2\u00a0celebration\u00c2\u00a0we had at our son’s home!\u00c2\u00a0 The festivities included red, white and blue games and activities for the children, six cousins ages 4-9.\u00c2\u00a0 Motivated by patriotic fervor, the disturbing national statistic that 25% of the\u00c2\u00a0US population does not know from which country\u00c2\u00a0we\u00c2\u00a0declared independence, \u00c2\u00a0and\u00c2\u00a0her\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0homeschool mama\/teacher drive to educate her children, the games were really civics lessons in disguise.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0The children\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0loved it.\u00c2\u00a0 I am sharing the details with you in hopes that Shelly’s ideas will be incorporated into future Independence Day celebrations and that appalling statistic will be significantly reduced.<\/p>\n

Given\u00c2\u00a0the possibility of rain, swimming\u00c2\u00a0was the\u00c2\u00a0first activity on the agenda.\u00c2\u00a0 Of course, this was the children’s first choice as well.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0While the adults visited and\u00c2\u00a0applauded the children’s strokes, dives, somersaults and belly flops, the little ones played with reckless abandon.\u00c2\u00a0 Four year-old Robert started the day with a belly ache and was a reluctant participant all day.\u00c2\u00a0 Still, while cuddled up on my lap, sucking his thumb, he enjoyed watching the swimmers. But then the lessons\/games began.<\/p>\n

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Gathering the children around her, Shelly asked what they knew about July 4th, Independence Day and\u00c2\u00a0against which country we fought for our freedom. Nine year-old Zachary knew all the answers but all the children could answer at least some.<\/p>\n

\n
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battling the British with water balloons<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n
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Let's make a flag.<\/p><\/div>\n

Gathering the children around her, Shelly asked what they knew about July 4th, Independence Day and\u00c2\u00a0against which country we fought for our freedom. Nine year-old Zachary knew all the answers but all the children could answer at least some.<\/p>\n

After a brief explanation of the Revolutionary War, Shelly played to the 4 boys’ testosterone-driven love of fighting.\u00c2\u00a0 She pinned prints of the British flag, King George and British soldiers to the trees and turned the children loose with water balloons.\u00c2\u00a0 Nearly two hundred and forty years after the first battles, the British were defeated yet again, but this time by\u00c2\u00a0our American children.<\/p>\n

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comparing today's flag with the first American flag<\/p><\/div>\n

Inside, on the dining room table, were the makings of a paper American flag, circa 1776.\u00c2\u00a0 Between questions and discussion, the children learned the meaning of the number of stars and red stripes and constructed the flag.\u00c2\u00a0 They even talked about Betsey Ross.<\/p>\n

Next was an indoor scavenger hunt.\u00c2\u00a0 The children were given clues and information about the bald eagle, the official seal and other symbols of our country before they found images hidden throughout the house.<\/p>\n

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digging for coins with George Washington's image (quarters!)<\/p><\/div>\n

Finally, she gave a brief synopsis of the life and achievements of George Washington and showed them a picture of our first president.\u00c2\u00a0 In a bin filled with buttons and coins, the children were instructed to gather\u00c2\u00a0as many coins as they could with George Washington’s picture.\u00c2\u00a0 The\u00c2\u00a0quarters were all counted and each child\u00c2\u00a0was given a lollipop for his effort.<\/p>\n

There was some discussion about the individual state quarters and the children then examined their coins.\u00c2\u00a0 Of course, there was a lot of excitement when a Florida quarter was discovered.\u00c2\u00a0 But then a cousin from South Carolina found his state and his excitement was infectious.\u00c2\u00a0 When it was announced that each child was allowed to keep 4 quarters, \u00c2\u00a0the decision making took up every minute until dinner was served.\u00c2\u00a0 I decided on the spot to get pick up the collector cards for the quarters and get Robert and Laurel started.<\/p>\n

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red, white and blue trifle<\/p><\/div>\n

The menu\u00c2\u00a0was standard July 4th fare– burgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, potato salad\u00c2\u00a0and other all-American foods.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Shelly had made a trifle for dessert, along with homemade\u00c2\u00a0ice cream sandwiches.\u00c2\u00a0 I had brought the remaining cupcakes, along with another dozen which I baked before coming.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0These were carefully guarded as Hannah regularly prowled the kitchen checking the location\u00c2\u00a0of the cupcakes and me, the guard.<\/p>\n

Finally, the food was put up and everything \u00c2\u00a0put away before everyone loaded up to go see the fireworks.\u00c2\u00a0And, as our local weekly paper said so often, a good time was had by all.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Laurel, making a finger flag<\/p><\/div>\n

Life is good, here in Florida, here in America.\u00c2\u00a0 May it ever be so.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What a fabulous\u00c2\u00a0Independence Day\u00c2\u00a0celebration\u00c2\u00a0we had at our son’s home!\u00c2\u00a0 The festivities included red, white and blue games and activities for the children, six cousins ages 4-9.\u00c2\u00a0 Motivated by patriotic fervor, the disturbing national statistic that 25% of the\u00c2\u00a0US population does … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8112"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8112"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8145,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8112\/revisions\/8145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}