How to Make Betsy Ross Inspired Flags with Toddlers and Preschoolers

Toddlers and preschoolers can make their very own flags just like Betsy Ross did. Practice fine motor skills and create lasting artwork.

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How To: The Artwork

Supplies:

• White fabric flags (or cloth you can glue to a wooden dowel)
• Painter’s tape
• Paint (Washable is safe with toddlers and preschoolers, but if you want the paint to stick, you may want to use fabric paint.)

Directions:

Help the kids put tape on their flags to make any kind of design they want. Then, without removing the tape, let the kids paint the flags. When the paint is dry, remove the tape. That’s it! Fly those flags high!

How To: The Program

My Young Artists class allows 2-5 year olds to explore art and engage the senses to help them understand the world around them. Exploring famous artists and their work allows kids to see that they are capable of making beautiful, creative artwork. Plus, exploring famous artists provides a unique way to teach children about basic art techniques.

Group Activity:

When the kids came in to the class, I had everyone join me around the large sheet of bulletin board paper on the ground. I gave them everything I had that was red, white, or blue, and then they decorated the paper using those items. They used markers, yarn, stickers, crayons, paint, pom poms, pipe cleaners, etc.

They had so much fun being able to choose whatever medium they wanted!

Group Story:

I found a simple non-fiction book called What is the Story of Our Flag by Janice Behrens, and I’m so impressed with it. The text is easy enough for a three-year-old to understand, and I love that it uses photographs instead of illustrations. Behrens explains the relevance of the flag in a way that even toddlers and preschoolers can understand. The book also mentions our artist of the day – Betsy Ross and mentions that she was a seamstress. I’m glad I pulled a non-fiction book for this class because it’s great to demonstrate to parents that nonfiction picture books often explain ideas better than we sometimes can!

Individual Art:

Finally, I explained that, today, they could design their very own flags, just like Betsy Ross did for America. I reminded them that the stars and stripes on the American flag were chosen for specific reasons, so they could do designs that had reasons too. Maybe they could use blue because it’s their favorite color, maybe they could paint five hearts because they have five people in their family, or maybe they could draw a flower because they like to be outside. The kids got really excited and started telling me all of the things they were going to put on their flags. So I let them go to a blank flag and get started!

First, they taped designs onto their flags.

Next, they painted their flags.

And finally, they peeled off the tape!

Everybody had so much fun! The flags and paint combo we used turned out really well. The paint actually bled through the flags completely, which turned out to be amazing because then the flags were painted on both sides, not just one side!

I taped them to a counter top while they dried.

All of the flags turned out a little green/gray/brown, so next time I may just give them two colors that mix well together.

I’d love to hear your art project ideas!