On June 14th, we celebrate 🇺🇸 Flag Day by paying tribute to the Stars and Stripes and also to all the flags of the world. We love using Holidays as themed unit studies, and today, we are learning all about flags.
This World Flag Board is a Montessori Geography material which offers a child an opportunity to practice fine-motor skills by inserting the correct 🇧🇷flags into their corresponding slots on the world 🗺map. Also, the board is double-sided, and the other side offers a child a "control-of-error" chart with flags being depicted and the names of countries they belong to written underneath, so that the child can self-correct. This is a really wonderful material to learn geography hands-on by developing spacial awareness of the positioning of the world countries, as well as learning about flags' meanings and what they stand for. It is amazing how a little piece of material can"tell" a big story!
Below is a fun fine-motor poking activity with a language twist.
- a piece of styrofoam,
- a marker to write a letter for a child to trace (illustrate to the child proper tracing direction),
- flag toothpicks (buy here),
- a tray (see here).
https://player.vimeo.com/video/221683106A child pokes toothpick flags into a styrofoam block while tracing a letter.
Adrian traced "F" for Flag.
We then learned about flags of the United States and the meaning they convey by reading Flags of the World book (buy here).
There are fifty stars and thirteen stripes on this tricolored flag, nicknamed the "Stars and Stripes." The stars represent the number of states in the country. The last states to join were Alaska (bought from Russia for $7,200,00) and Hawaii, becoming the 49th and 50th stars. Also, there are thirteen stripes, corresponding to the thirteen original colonies in the Union. The white stripes signify honesty, and the red stripes: courage and fervor. The blue rectangle symbolizes loyalty, friendship, and justice.
F Is for Flag book (right) is a simple beginner book to introduce the holiday.
Flags of the World book (buy here) is a complete compendium of the world’s flags, grouped by geographic area. Each nation’s flag is paired with facts explaining flag's meaning and significance, thus providing a window into the histories, values, and cultures of countries around the world.
Waving in the wind, a flag may not seem like a code. But hidden in the stripes, stars, suns, moons, and colors of the world’s flags are the keys to understanding different countries’ shared histories and cherished ideals. Flags do much more than identify countries and groups of people. In every color, pattern, and design, the citizens and governments of countries announce their allegiances and herald their history.
This is a fun play-dough craft to enjoy on Flag Day!
You will need:
- flag toothpicks (buy here)
- and googly eyes.
Happy Birthday Stars and Stripes Flag!
See also here a post "🇺🇸 Flag Day ~ How We Celebrated in 2016."