Celebrating America’s 250th!
July 4 marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and our nation’s birthday. This once-in-a-lifetime milestone offers a special opportunity for families to reflect on our country’s history, ideals, and future. Looking for family-friendly ways to celebrate? Here are a few ideas:
Create a Wish Tree for America.
Share birthday wishes for our nation by creating a Wish Tree. You can find instructions for Kids Voting’s Wish Tree activity here. Invite friends, family members, and neighbors to add leaves with their hopes and wishes for our country. Look for common themes and discuss how we can use our rights and responsibilities as citizens to help make those wishes come true.
See the Declaration of Independence in a new way.
Print a copy of the Declaration of Independence and create a blackout poem individually or as a group. Lightly circle words or phrases that stand out to you, “black out” the other words with a pen, and create a poem from the words that remain. Add illustrations or artwork to make your poem unique. To get started, explore these various ways of creating blackout poetry or look at poems others have created using historical documents, like these poems from Michigan social studies students or the poem Declaration by Tracy Smith.
Celebrate people who help bring our nation’s ideals to life.
The Declaration speaks of freedom, equality, and the rights of all people. Take time to recognize individuals who have worked to ensure we live up to these ideals throughout our nation’s history, as well as people in your own community who make a difference today. Share stories of civic leaders, volunteers, teachers, advocates, or neighbors whose actions bring our community closer to our founding ideals using Kids Voting’s Profiles in Citizenship activity as a guide. Consider writing a thank-you note or recognizing a local “community hero.”
Share your North Carolina story.
Contribute your story to Voices of North Carolina, a project of America250NC. Explore the rich collection of stories from North Carolinians past and present, and add your own written or video story to help preserve the experiences and perspectives that make our state part of the great American tapestry.
However you choose to honor our nation’s 250th anniversary, we would love to hear about it. Share a photo or reflection with Kids Voting NC by emailing cmkreuge@ncsu.edu so we can celebrate and inspire others together.
