Flag Day Books, Activities and Crafts

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In the United States, June 14th is Flag Day. To many this is just a holiday that is written on the calendar. I really do not ever remember a celebration for it in my life, but I do remember learning a bit about it in school. Of course being mid-June when school is out or almost out makes it hard for even that to happen. It is the perfect time to start thinking about patriotic crafts with Independence Day coming up and focusing on the flag and its meaning as well as the Pledge of Allegiance. To do these things, I found some books at our local library. But before I share the books and activities with you, I want to share a bit of history. The date June 14th was picked because it is the day the Second Continental Congress adopted the flag. It is unknown who made the first flag and therefore who designed it. There are many legends and rumors about it. It is known that Betsy Ross made one of the earliest flags. (Source)

I Pledge Allegiance by Pat Mora and Libby Martinez is a story told in a girl's perspective. She and her family are excited because her great aunt is about to become a citizen of the United States. She helps her great aunt practice the Pledge of Allegiance and the girl's teacher has her lead the class in the Pledge of Allegiance the day before her aunt becomes a citizen to help celebrate. It is a wonderful book that explains why some people want to become citizens and a great book to start conversations about citizenship and what it means.

F Is for Flag by Wendy Cheyette Lewison is a book that talks about the flag and its meaning as well as a small amount about flag day. The history of the flag is also touched upon in this book.

The Flag We Love by Pam Munoz Ryan is another book about the flag. It goes into a bit of history of the flag, the Pledge of Allegiance as well as the national anthem.

An easy activity/craft for children is to make a flag from paper or felt. Or to have it as a felt "puzzle". It is also a great way to demonstrate how the flag has changed over the years with the number of stars. I cut the pieces out of felt (well the stars are paper and I got bored of cutting them). To get the dimensions somewhat correct I looked them up and used the ones at USFlag. I started with a white rectangle 9 inches by 17 inches. I made a pattern for the various pieces so you will not have to do the math.

We also did some activities on the Pledge of Allegiance and flag last September to go along with the book I Pledge Allegiance by Bill Martin, Jr. This was a wonderful book to teach children the meaning of the words in the Pledge of Allegiance.

We also made flag placemats and windsocks for a Fourth of July party a few years ago.

And a fun states craft with a flag frame.

For more ideas we are going to try some of the crafts and activities (educational) in Little Hands Celebrate America! by Jill Frankel Hauser.

For more patriotic ideas check out my Patriotic Round-Up and my Patriotic Pinterest Board.