Independence Day~Teaching our Kids

Yummy food, fun games, great time spent with family and friends, trips to the beach, patriotic music, and of course the fireworks! Those are all things that instantly come to mind for Independence Day. But is that all it's about? Is that all our kids think of when we go to a 4th of July celebration? It's great to have fun but we need to remember and teach this next generation about why we get to have this fun. For the younger kids you don't need to go into detail and make them all sad but they need know the basics. And as they get older, we need to build on that so they really get the meaning of it all. So below you will find a bunch of links to fun activities that will hopefully help teach the basics of this holiday while having fun. Then below all that is a question, it's one I would love to have responses too. I plan to share your responses with my kids and maybe even on the Facebook page to help others be able to share more with their children. 

Lap books/unit studies/activity sheets: 

4th of July Lapbook by Homeschooling in Heels
Independence Day Unit Study by Amanda Bennett

Stories: 

List of 20 top 4th of July Children's Books

Recipe: 

 4th of July Fruit Pizza! (Easy to make with kids)

Activities/Projects: 

Pinterest is full of great ideas, here a a few pages I found that I love!
Crafts 
Parties, books, and more for 4th of July 

Songs: 

 Star Spangled Banner 
 This Land is Your Land

 Your're A Grand Old Flag
 America The Beautiful 

***The above links are not my work but the work of others who offer these items for free/small fee at the time I made this post. I have not used all of them so my posting of them is not me signing off that they are all ok. As parents we have the responsibility to check over what we put in front of our kids eyes before they get to it. Please note that while I think these look like great activities your opinion may be different so please check them out before  having your children use them.*** 

In your own words, why do we celebrate Independence day and what does this day mean to you/how does it affect you? Please share your answer with us! 

Five Minute Friday: Lost

Thanks to Lisa-Jo Baker for the Five Minute Friday writing prompt. This weeks is : Lost.
 After reading here head on over to her blog to find many other writers and their take on this word.

GO:

Lost in the chaos, lost in the mess, lost in the boxes that have taken over my home.

Lost is my peace, my understanding of what is to happen, lost is my control.

Through this move, all this is true, but there is joy in knowing that this is the start of a new chapter, maybe even a new book.

This is were we start over, find new friends, build new relationships, have a new life.

This is where God has allowed us to go and once things are settled, when the boxes are gone, that is when the peace and understanding that I'm missing will return.

This is a blessing, one we have yet to unpack. One I know will keep giving even after all the sadness of starting over is gone.

Learning to lean even more on Christ and lose myself in Him, this is what comes from the chaos, the boxes, the mess.

STOP

Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”