Crafting is a great way to encourage kids to learn about various topics in a hands-on way. We recently learned all about the American flag and it’s significance while making a fun & easy American Flag Craft with popsicle sticks!
A great extension to a unit on American history, or after learning the pledge of allegiance, this American Flag craft is a great classroom craft as it is easy for kids to make without assistance, and the materials are super affordable.
This craft instills a sense of pride in children as they are able to complete it independently while deepening their understanding and knowledge about an important cultural symbol.
I splurged on some strong magnets to turn our popsicle stick flags into flag magnets, but do what works for your budget.
Making the American Flag Craft
First, gather your materials:
- Red and white popsicle sticks
- Glue (we used clear school glue)
- Blue and white craft gems or rhinestones
If you don’t have colored popsicle sticks, the first part of this craft could be to paint several popsicle sticks red!
We started off by looking at a real American flag and discussing it’s various components and their meanings.
We counted the red and white stripes on our American flag and then counted out just as many corresponding popsicle sticks.
When we assembled the white and red popsicle sticks, we realized that the dimensions of our popsicle sticks were different than the dimensions of the flag, and that if we used all 13 popsicle sticks to represent the 13 stripes, we wouldn’t end up with a flag shape.
My daughter made the executive decision to reduce the number of stripes in order to achieve the flag’s shape, and I would encourage you to let your crafter do the same!
To secure the sticks, glue another popsicle stick to the back in a diagonal (corner to far corner) direction, ensuring that it touches every stick.
Add a second popsicle stick to the side of the flag for an optional “flag pole.”
Let the glue dry before moving onto the next stage of the craft.
Instead of using blue and white gems, you could paint a section of the flag blue and then just add on white gems, but we decided to stick with all gems.
Arrange your gems until you achieve a pattern you like – my daughter enjoyed the challenge of patterning the gems so that no two “like colors” touched. Again, we couldn’t fit all 50 stars on our flag, but I ensured my daughter understood that there were 50 stars to represent the 50 states.
Attach the gems with glue and allow to dry.
As a special surprise, I attached a strong magnet to the back of the American popsicle stick flag as well as our Canadian flag version.
I love how they look side by side on our fridge!
What do you think? Would you try making this popsicle stick flag craft with your class?
More 4th of July Fun
Looking for more ideas and inspiration this 4th of July? Check out some of our favorite patriotic crafts and activities!
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Jennifer
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