Nestled between Memorial Day in May and the 4th of July, the patriotic U.S. commemorative holiday, Flag Day, celebrates the American Flag each year on June 14.
Patriotic children's activities such as free U.S. Flag Day coloring pages provide parents and kids with a quick and easy way to celebrate Flag Day and learn more about the history of related symbols and historical figures such as the American Bald Eagle, the Liberty Bell, Stars and Stripes, the Star-Spangled Banner, and Betsy Ross.
A Flag Day Craft Activity
- Color an American flag printable. Apples4theTeacher.com provides printable coloring pages of the Betsy Ross flag and 40 different versions of the U.S. flag.
- Cut out the colored flag printable.
- Learn when and how to display the U.S. Flag properly (also known as "flag etiquette".)
- Display the flag.
Apples4theTeacher.com offers patriotic symbol coloring sheets, including several versions of the U.S. flag, the American Bald Eagle, a five-pointed star, the Liberty Bell, Uncle Sam, the Washington Monument, and the Capitol Building.
Classroomjr.com offers several U.S. flag printables, as well as Flag Day themed worksheets and activities.
A History of the U.S. Flag and Flag Day
In May of 1776, Betsy Ross sewed the first American Flag. On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act: "Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation."
Between 1777 and 1960, Congress passed acts to change the flag's number and arrangement of stars and stripes to reflect the addition of states to the U.S.
Stars and Stripes and the Star-Spangled Banner
Stripes. Today's flag has thirteen stripes, seven red alternating with six white. Each stripe represents one of the original thirteen colonies. Red stands for hardiness and valor; white for purity and innocence; blue for vigilance, perseverance, and justice.
Stars. The stars represent the fifty states on the Union.
The U.S. flag is the symbol of American pride referred to in the U.S. national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
The American flag, through Flag Day activities and crafts, can be a good place to start for introducing kids to further topics in American history.
Sources:
- Feldt, Brian. "23 Facts About Flag Day." Bolingbrook.Patch.com, 14 June 2011.
Sara McGrath - Sara is a veteran homeschool mom of three, Usborne consultant, and the author of Unschooling: A Lifestyle of Learning.
Join the Conversation