Show Your Patriotism!

I'm sitting here watching the annual 4th of July Boston Pops Concert and swelling with pride for my country. 

It seems these concerts just keep getting better and better! Back in the old days, we used to drive down to Boston, spend all day saving our spots on the Esplanade, then watch the concert live. The traffic and crowds never bothered us, it was always worth it! 

Nowadays I sit in my living room and watch it on TV. It's not quite as exciting as watching it live, but it sure is more convenient!

In honor of the holiday, I've created some brain breaks with a patriotic theme.

Research tells us that moving aides learning by bringing oxygen to the brain! I do love to include anything the kids are learning as brain breaks. I usually manage to include seasonal or holiday brain breaks when I can. These Patriotic Brain Breaks can be used for any Patriotic holiday: Constitution Day, Veterans Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, or Independence Day!

 

 

See the image or see here to download this fun resource: Patriotic Brain Breaks!

Hooray for the USA!

We have three patriotic holidays coming up! Yep, that's 3!  

We have Memorial Day at the end of May.

We have Flag Day on June 14th. We have Independence Day on July 4th.

I know there are some teachers out there who will be out of school by Memorial Day. My district gets out just a short week before Independence Day. 

But it's a great opportunity to teach our kids something about our country!

I find literature, the arts, and music are a great way for children to learn any subject, especially social studies!  Here are some of the books I use. (Click any image for an affiliate link to Amazon!)

Coming to America by Betsy Maestro is a great book to show how most Americans came from other countries.  (I often read this one around St. Patrick's Day, as this holiday celebrates Irish-Americans, and gets conversations started about our ancestry.)

How Many Days to America by Eve Bunting tells the story of people escaping a harsh life and coming to America for freedom.  It's done with Eve Bunting's child-friendly language, but also touches their hearts, as many of Eve Bunting's stories do.  Although it's subtitled "A Thanksgiving Story,"  it's very appropriate for any day you want to show the children the risks people take to live in America.  It's a great conversation starter to remind children (and ourselves) of the freedoms we have in our country, that people don't have in others.

Speaking of Eve Bunting, The Wall is one of my very favorite books for children. Although I do have trouble getting through this story without tears, it's a nice book to read around Memorial Day or Veterans Day, when we are thinking about those who fight for our freedom, and those that don't come home. (I think this one really gets to me because of the time period... I was "coming of age" during the Vietnam War. Yes, I went to demonstrations and everything, I'm THAT old!)

Here are some informational books that are helpful:

     
  I always want to remind my students about how beautiful our country is.  Picture books are great to help with that concept!  Here are a couple to help:

     

Here are a couple more books that have loads of fun activities to share and celebrate our country!

     

     

No USA celebration is complete without patriotic music!

This CD has a huge collection of historical USA songs and patriotic songs.  Plus, it has the split track for opportunities for the kids to sing with accompaniment!  

   
Here's another collection of classic patriotic songs!  This is nice to have if you want to play a patriotic song in the morning to follow the Pledge of Allegiance.  

Here's a nice You tube video to America the Beautiful.

Of course, after all that learning about America, the children will need to do some writing.  Check out this dollar deal! Click the image or click here: USA-Themed Writing Paper.

Here's a reading activity that can be used for Memorial Day, Veterans Day, or any patriotic holiday: Freedom Isn't Free - About the USA for Active Learners!

Still looking for ideas to celebrate the USA?  Check out this blog post from Memorial Day last year: Memorial Day: A Day to Remember! 

Want a resource with plenty of ideas for patriotic holidays? Try this bundle with several different resources! Learning About the USA!