Give
everyone a pencil and a piece of paper
and ask them to make a list of common
expressions that include the words red,
white or blue. The person with the longest
list wins a prize. For example:
Red eye
White elephant
Blue Moon
Red-handed
Little white lies
Little boy blue
Star
Toss
Click HERE
and print 6 large stars. Each star
has a number on it (5, 10, 25, 50,
75 and 100). Cut out the stars and
tape them to the floor. Put the
stars in a circle with the 100-point
star in the middle. Be sure to leave
enough room between the stars so
that when a beanbag lands, it will
not be touching two different stars.
Tape a line on the floor to indicate
where the player should stand or
sit. (Vary the distance depending
on your group.)
To
play, ask each person to stand or sit
behind the line and toss the beanbags
(3 or 4) at the stars. If a beanbag
lands on a star (or touches a star),
the player gets points. Tally the points
for each player. Play several rounds
if you prefer. The player with the
most points at the end of the activity
wins. For an added challenge, have
players toss the beanbags with their
opposite hand.
Uncle
Sam Lapel Pin something
to wear on the 4th of July
You
will need:
White
craft foam
Red
and blue markers
Wooden
craft spoon
Googly
eyes
Cotton
balls
Pin
backs
Hot
glue or super glue
How
to make it:
Cut
out a basic Uncle Sam-style hat (about 2 inches
tall and 1 inch wide) from white craft foam.
Use
markers to color the brim blue and draw red stripes
on the top of the hat.
Glue
the hat to the handle of a wooden craft spoon.
If necessary, first trim the wooden handle so
that it's shorter than the hat.
Glue
on googly eyes and a cotton ball beard. Draw
on a small L-shaped nose.
Glue
on a pin back and your Uncle Sam pin is ready
to wear.
Variation:
Use red, white and blue felt instead of craft foam and
markers.
Yankee
Doodle Dandy Party
The
Fourth of July is a time for picnics, parades,
patriotic speeches, and parties. Plan your
own Fourth of July party with the ideas below.
Title
Begin
with a clever title for your party - such as "Uncle
Sam Social" or "Yankee Doodle Dandy
Party."
Sign/Invitation
Click
on the image and print an "Uncle
Sam Wants You" party sign. Add your
own text, print and post your sign where
everyone will be sure to see it.
Attire
Ask
everyone to dress in red, white and blue. As
host/hostess of the party, dress up as Uncle
Sam, Martha Washington, Betsy Ross or one of
the founding fathers.
Decorations/Centerpieces
Naturally,
you will want lots of red, white and blue. Instead
of the traditional balloons and crepe paper streamers,
use colored ribbons and bouquets of red and white
flowers. Stand small U.S. flags in small potted
plants for centerpieces.
Make
your own fireworks! Using glue and a paintbrush,
paint the glue on a piece of black construction
paper in a fireworks design. While the glue is
still wet, shake cake-decorating sugar sprinkles
or glitter onto the glue. Let it dry, then shake
off the extra. WOW! Looks good! Hang your fireworks
all around your room.
Menu
Serve
hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, cole slaw,
corn on the cob, potato chips, watermelon and
root beer floats. For dessert, serve ice cream
and apple pie. What about decorating a cake to
resemble a flag? (Arrange strawberries and blueberries
on a white frosted cake. Put candles on the cake
and sing "Happy Birthday" to America.)
See the 4th of July Recipes above
for more ideas.
Check
your local library or music store for a tape
or CD of John Philip Sousa music. In addition,
play patriotic songs such as "You're
a Grand Old Flag," "Stars and Stripes
Forever," "America the Beautiful,"
etc. See below and download
"Yankee Doodle" for your party.
"We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that
all men are created equal."
~Thomas Jefferson
"I
know not what course others may take, but
as for me, give me liberty or give me death."
~ Patrick Henry
"Our
flag is red, white and blue, but our nation
is rainbow - red, yellow, brown, black and
white - and we are all precious in God's
sight."
~ Reverend Jesse Jackson
"Our
flag is our national ensign, pure and simple.
Behold it! Listen to it! Every star has a
tongue, every stripe is articulate."
~ Robert C. Winthrop (1809-1894), Senator from
Massachusetts
"You
can't appreciate home till you have left
it, money till it's spent, your wife until
she's joined a women's club, nor Old Glory
till you see it hanging on a broomstick on
a shanty of a consul in a foreign town."
~ O. Henry (1862-1919)
"Ay,
tear her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high,
And many an eye has danced to see
That banner in the sky."
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes in "Old Ironsides"
Party
Favors
Click
on the image and print copies
of the Fourth of July basket. (Use card
stock paper for sturdier baskets.)
Cut
out the baskets, fold, and glue. Line the baskets
with pieces of red or blue tissue paper. Fill
your baskets with red, white and blue candies
and snacks - such as dried blueberries, white
chocolate covered raisins and red M&Ms.
"Yankee
Doodle" - the song
The
History of the Song
The
most commonly held belief is that the first part of
the song was written in 1755, during the French and
Indian War, by a British military surgeon named Richard
Shuckburgh. One day he happened to see some Connecticut
militia marching by - not in squeaky-clean uniforms
like the British soldiers, but in their ragged, dirty,
everyday work clothes. He noticed that some of them
were sporting turkey feathers in their tri-corner hats,
and this struck him as being rather amusing. At the
time, in mid-18th century London, there was a fashion
trend among the young men of the upper class called
the "macaroni" style. It consisted of very
fancy, outlandish clothes, topped off with a hat with
a brightly colored ostrich plume. "Dandy"
was the name given to those who dressed in "macaroni"
style. Shuckburgh, being well versed in poetry and literature,
decided to compose a merry little ditty, which mocked
the colonial militia, so he wrote the well-known first
verse and chorus. He probably wrote more verses, but
the first verse is all that remains.
Despite
the fact it began as ridicule, the colonials took the
song for their own. Countless versions and parodies
evolved, many of which made fun of their officers,
including George Washington.
And
there was Captain Washington
With gentle folks about him
They say he's grown so 'tarnal (eternal) proud
He will not ride without them.
There
came Gen'ral Washington
Upon a snow-white charger
He looked as big as all outdoors
And thought that he was larger.
When
Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, it is said that
the British played "The World Turned Upside Down"
and the Americans played "Yankee Doodle."
There
is a line in the song - "As thick as hasty pudding." Q: What
is hasty pudding? (A baked dish made mostly of
cornmeal, milk and molasses. It's not pudding like
Jell-O pudding but more of a mush. At the time, "pudding" was
the term used for the dessert course of a meal.)
Activity
Suggestion
There are said to be as many as 190 verses of
"Yankee Doodle." Click HERE
and print SOME of the lyrics to the song. Click
on the "note"
and download the music. Try writing your own verse.
Yankee
Doodle Dandy - the movie
Yankee
Doodle Dandy (1942) is a film about
the life of the renowned musical composer,
playwright, actor, dancer and singer George
M. Cohan. James Cagney plays Cohan - for
which he won a well-deserved Oscar for his
singing, dancing and acting.
This
is the perfect July movie - not only because
it is a patriotic favorite, but because James
Cagney's birth anniversary is celebrated this
month (born July 17, 1899).
Check Film
Classics for a wonderful review of the
movie. Share some of the information with your
moviegoers before you begin the show.
Another
Idea
Show movies with "red," "white,"
or "blue" in the title this month,
for example:
White
Heat (1949), another James Cagney
movie
Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs (1938), Disney
movie
Subscriber Login
Purchase Online
P
Y
Menu
The
most commonly held belief is that the first part of
the song was written in 1755, during the French and
Indian War, by a British military surgeon named Richard
Shuckburgh. One day he happened to see some Connecticut
militia marching by - not in squeaky-clean uniforms
like the British soldiers, but in their ragged, dirty,
everyday work clothes. He noticed that some of them
were sporting turkey feathers in their tri-corner hats,
and this struck him as being rather amusing. At the
time, in mid-18th century London, there was a fashion
trend among the young men of the upper class called
the "macaroni" style. It consisted of very
fancy, outlandish clothes, topped off with a hat with
a brightly colored ostrich plume. "Dandy"
was the name given to those who dressed in "macaroni"
style. Shuckburgh, being well versed in poetry and literature,
decided to compose a merry little ditty, which mocked
the colonial militia, so he wrote the well-known first
verse and chorus. He probably wrote more verses, but
the first verse is all that remains. 
Yankee
Doodle Dandy (1942) is a film about
the life of the renowned musical composer,
playwright, actor, dancer and singer George
M. Cohan. James Cagney plays Cohan - for
which he won a well-deserved Oscar for his
singing, dancing and acting. 
Other
Ideas from ActivityConnection