4Th of July

Bake square-shaped flag cookies and tint store-bought frosting. Give each kid his/her OWN plastic cups of red and blue frosting and little spreaders because they'll be licking their spreaders. (Especially the toddlers--with all preschoolers you may be able to let them share.) You can also provide star-shaped sprinkles. Then throw them all in the kiddie pool afterward because they'll be a mess. It does require set-up, but you won't have to actually help them decorate. (provide bibs for the littlest ones)

Easy-to-peel stickers on some type of pre-cut paper is also a good craft for little bitty ones who can't do too much yet, and older kids love stickers too. I bought some sticker Chinese New Year sheets from Oriental Trading for my daughter's class, but they were not too easy to peel and they had to be helped, so I will go elsewhere next time.

When my kids were young, we made spirit sticks.
Materials:
glue
wooden dowel or flags with stick 9 - 12 inches long
poster paint (optional)
ribbon (use your imagination-sparkly stars etc in addition to red white & blue)
jingle bells

Cut wooden dowel into 1 foot lengths & paint if desired.
glue different lengths of ribbons to the dowel or to the stick below the flag. Tie bells to the end of a few ribbons if desired.
You can really let your imagination go wild here. There are all kinds of possibilities and older participants can use a stapler to make things go faster.

They can use sponges to paint on t-shirts. Family fun website has very good and easy craft ideas.

My kids always like the coloring pages http://www.thecolor.com/Category/Coloring/Fourth%20Of%20J...

Check out FamilyFun.com. They always have great crafts.

You could let them make a flag out of a piece of paper. Draw the stripes on it and make a box where the stars would go. Then, you could either get star stickers to put in the box or get pom poms to glue on. Maybe some glitter paint or something to color in the stripes? Honestly, I'm not that creative and I'm shocked I even came up with this. Have fun!

I don't have a specific craft in mind - but have you been to Hobby Lobby lately? I was amazed to see an entire aisle in the seasonal section dedicated to summer crafts. Most are marked with the appropriate age range. I plan to go bck and pick up a cart full!

Put out white paper and red and blue paint. If you do it outside in swim suits all the better! Let them go to town! I work in childcare and I see many well meaning parents unknowingly over control their childrens activities. This stunts their creativity. Put the supplies out and BACK AWAY! Let your kids experiment and try things and do their own thing!!! Give them positive feedback about their efforts. Have fun just watching from a distance and don't get too involved in their fun.

go to www.orientaltrading.com. Great ideas and cheap. If you do not buy from them, you can at least get the idea and do it yourself.Happy crafting....