Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Works For Me: Teaching Patriotism



So often, the fourth of July is spent preparing and eating food, spending time with family, and enjoying fireworks. These are wonderful, and the source of great memories. But, often the meaning of the holiday gets lost for us big people, and sometimes is never found for our little ones. A spirit of patriotism is not something that should be left to school teachers to give our children. It is something we should be teaching our children ourselves.

I recently found online a list of ideas to use in helping instill a sense of patriotism in our children. I think the best way to do this is to take your children to historical sites and talk about what happened there and how that blesses our lives today. Unfortunately, that isn't all that easy, especially if you live on the western side of the country. Here are four ideas from the list I found:


-Flag colors and symbols. Talk to your children about the symbolism of the flags colors and symbols. Then, on the 4th of July, have everyone wear those colors. You can buy everyone a new matching article of clothing, use ones you already own, or let them decorate white t-shirts with blue and red fabric pens.

-Have a birthday party for America. Make cards to display on the fourth of July. Include in them your gratitude for our freedoms and a "gift" for our country-something you will do to be a good citizen in the next year. Display these on the fourth. Don't forget to have a cake and sing Happy Birthday!

-Music and Literature. Preceding the fourth of July, take time to learn patriotic songs, especially "The Star Spangled Banner". This is a focus I am working on in my piano practice. Or, memorize a patriotic poem, such as "Paul Revere's Ride", or the Preamble to the Constitution.

-Veteran Devotional. Honor a veteran in your family, or invite a veteran friend to your home for a special devotional. Sing patriotic songs. (This would be a good time to present a patriotic poem you have memorized) Ask the veteran to share their experiences and feelings about America. Be sure to open and close with a prayer of gratitude for our freedoms.

This year, the fourth of July is on a Tuesday. So doing the birthday party or devotional on Monday night for Family Home Evening would be a great way to kick off the holiday! I am planning on doing the American Birthday Party one that night. For more ideas and more information on the idea's above check out LDS Living Magazine.

What have you tried to help your children learn to love their country?

And don't forget to check out the rest of the Works for Me Wednesday posts at Shannon's Rocks in My Dryer!

26 comments:

  1. I think this is SO important, especially at a time where our media thinks its super uncool to be American.

    Great ideas. Happy 4th!

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  2. Have fun! I'm not American, but Canada Day is this Saturday - we always seem to spend it in my grandfather-in-law's tiny little town, watching the three float parade. The kids' enjoy it!
    Good tips!

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  3. Those are great and I love the photo! Thanks for stopping by ;).

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  4. That is a terrific idea. Not only are you teaching a lesson you are keeping the kids busy too...

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  5. These are great ideas - thanks for sharing them!

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  6. What great ideas! This is my first visit to your blog (I found you from Rocks in My Dryer) but I think I'll be back. It is always nice to find new good reads out there.

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  7. these are great ideas, thanks!

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  8. Thank you for reminding us of the important things. Thanks, too, for making it so I can post on your site...I LOVE your blog and read it everyday.

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  9. Wonderful words and ideas! It makes me insane how patriotism has been disappearing in American, in schools and out. I love how you make it fun and a learning experience too.

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  10. These are some great ideas. I am doing a patriotism activity with my activity girls in a couple of weeks. I will use a few of these ideas!

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  11. I like these thoughts!! Thanks for the ideas. I'll be using them!!!

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  12. Great ideas, will definitely be using these :)

    Mine is up too :)

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  13. I'm so excited that I can post now! I love your blog and I can't wait to see what you say! Thanks a bunch Nettie!!

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  14. You are a special mom to recognize the importance of these lessons for your children. A couple summers ago I did a series of "activity days" for our 8-11 year old girls in the ward on this same subject matter. I even taught them how to fold the flag and all the symbolism within the colors, etc. It was fun for all of us!

    That same summer I wrote an opinion article for the newspaper about the disrespect of flags I was seeing quite often in our community. Shortly thereafter the proper respect was starting to show around town. It was neat.

    Thanks for passing this message around.

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  15. I love these ideas, Nettie. I too wanted to do something a little more special than our usual fare, this time around, because my kids,(at least two of them) are now old enough to understand the sacrifices and importance of where we live.

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  16. I always try to teach the real reason we celebrate special days. From Christmas to Memorial Day -- it means more than store sales and picnics!!!

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  17. It is so true - most kids think 4th of July is just about the fireworks. Those are great tips. My kids love Paul Revere's Ride!

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  18. Great post. It's true that sometimes we need to stop and consider what 4th of July really means, especially with little kids. Beautiful picture!

    Reading your post made me realize that this will be my very first 4th as an American. YAY!

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  19. Great Post. Plus I love the new layout of your site.

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  20. Great ideas! I think we might try that birthday party. My kids would love it. I love your picture.

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  21. great ideas! I am from Canada and patriotism gets forgotten here too. we have such a great country and i am so grateful to live here.

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  22. As always, great choice to pick for WFMW - I'm on it! I already got some children's books from the library that help explain the holiday! It's one of my favorites.

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  23. I love this post. It saddens me that the real reason for our important holidays like this are often forgotten or glossed over nowadays. These are great suggestions and I definitely want to instill patriotism and a thankful spirit in my daughter as she grows up.

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  24. Great ideas! ps: thanks for commenting today! It felt like a {hug} and I needed one! C

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  25. Thanks for posting this early so we can implement some of them here on The Hill!! Great ideas!!

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