The citizens of the United States are very proud of their beautiful red, white and blue flag, referred to as "the Stars and Stripes".

On June 14 they fly their flag to celebrate Flag Day. Flag Day is one of their ways to show respect for the flag. They also like to think about its origin, and remember the makers and designers of the flag.

On June 14, 1777, the very first flag for the United States was authorized by Congress. It had 13 stripes of red and white to represent the original 13 colonies. There were 7 red stripes and 6 white stripes. On this first flag there were 13 white stars on a blue rectangular area representing the sky so they thought of it as a new constellation.

Since that time there have been different versions of the flag adopted. The red and white stripes and the blue constellation are still the same, but the number of stars and their placement has changed. Now, each state in the union is represented by a 5 point star, as more states joined the union. Currently there are 50 states in the United States of America.

Think about the flag as you make a flag:

You will need red, white and blue construction paper, and some glitter, silver sequins and/or shiny star stickers, and some glue or paste. If you don t have the colors of construction paper you can use red and blue crayons and some white paper.

There are many different mediums you can use to create your flag. One possibility is to use the blue paper as your background and tear little pieces of the red and white- about the size of a nickel, but the pieces do not need to be round.

Draw the lines for the flag; leave the top left corner as the rectangle of blue sky. There will be 6 lines to the right of the blue rectangle, and 6 lines that go across the paper below the blue rectangle. The top line and the bottom line are red and the color of the lines will alternate red and white throughout the flag.

Dip the little, red torn pieces into white glue, or use a glue stick to put a dab of glue on each piece and fill in the top red line. Then fill the next line down with little white pieces, and continue filling the red and white stripes down to the bottom of the flag. You want to make sure as you place the little pieces of colored construction paper, that you completely cover the blue paper so that it doesn’t show between the stripes.

When your stripes are filled in the way you want them to look, then it is time to work on your star area- the blue rectangle. If you have shiny star stickers you can stick them in this area, or glue on some sequins or draw stars in with a white pencil.

You can also add a touch of glitter to the stripes if you want to.

You could also make your flag project with pastels on blue paper, or another way you can make your flag is completely with crayons, or markers of paints.
Think about what you have on hand that would help you create a beautiful flag.

As you make your flag you will be able to think of the history of the flag and you might want to read some books to learn more about our flag.

Books about flag day:
Flag Day (Our Country's Holidays)

F Is for Flag (Reading Railroad)

Flag Day (First Step Nonfiction (Paperback))