Quotes:

• A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever. – Letter to Abigail Adams (July 17, 1775)

• Our faith teaches that there is no safer reliance than upon the God of our fathers, who has so singularly favored the American people in every national trial, and who will not forsake us so long as we obey His commandments and walk humbly in His footsteps. -William McKinley’s inaugural address

• I deem the present occasion sufficiently important and solemn to justify me in expressing to my fellow citizens a profound reverence for the Christian religion, and a thorough conviction that sound morals, religious liberty, and a just sense of religious responsibility are essentially connected with all true and lasting happiness. – William Harrison’s inaugural address

• God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever. Commerce between master and slave is despotism. Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free. Establish a law for educating the common people. This it is the business of the state and on a general plan. – Shown on the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.

• The religion which has introduced civil liberty is the religion of Christ and His apostles, which enjoins humility, piety, and benevolence; which acknowledges in every person a brother, or a sister, and a citizen with equal rights. This is genuine Christianity, and to this we owe our free Constitutions of Government. – Noah Webster, 1832, History of the United States

• The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God. – John Adams wrote this on June 28, 1813, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson.

• God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever; That a revolution of the wheel of fortune, a change of situation, is among possible events; that it may become probable by Supernatural influence! The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in that event. – Thomas Jefferson Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII, p. 237.

• It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here. – Patrick Henry The Trumpet Voice of Freedom: Patrick Henry of Virginia, p. iii.

Here are some freebies to help you teach your children. I encourage you to continue studying history and look for ways to impact our future.

Freebies:

* Pocket Constitution (pay only S&H), Games, and Puzzles
http://www.constitutionday.cc/

* Audios and Videos
http://kids.learnoutloud.com/Kids-Free-Stuff/History/American-History

This is not an endorsement for these sites.

What are we teaching our children? Do they understand the meaning and history of this special day? As the years go by it is easy to let pieces of our heritage slip away. This year I encourage you to spend time with your children teaching them about our heritage. History does not have to be dull and boring. Do hands on activities to keep it fun and interesting. Read the history of July 4′th and then try some of the activities I have listed. It will not only keep history alive but you will be making new memories with your family.

History:

Independence Day is celebrated on July 4′th to commemorate the approval of  Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Here is some interesting Independence Day background information from Wikipedia:

During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the American colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia.^[4] After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4, 1776. A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail:

Adams’ prediction was off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress.^[6]

One of the most enduring myths about Independence Day is that Congress signed the Declaration of Independence on  July 4, 1776.^[7][8] The myth had become so firmly established that, decades after the event and nearing the end of their lives, even the elderly Thomas Jefferson and John Adams had come to believe that they and the other delegates had signed the Declaration on the fourth.^[9] Most delegates actually signed the Declaration on August 2, 1776.^[10] In a remarkable series of coincidences, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, two founding fathers of the United States and the only two men who signed the Declaration of Independence to become president, died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the United States’ 50th anniversary. President James Monroe died exactly five years later, on July 4, 1831, but he was not a signatory to the Declaration of Independence.

Activities:

The Declaration of Independence signifies freedom. We have many freedoms to be thankful for.

Make a “Declaration of Thankfulness”. Talk about our country and why they wanted freedom and what we have to be thankful for.

• Younger children can draw pictures of things that they are thankful for. Draw pictures of what preschoolers are thankful for and let them color it.
• Older children can read or listen to parts of the Declaration of Independence. Talk about rights that we have, Then write a “Declaration of Thankfulness”. Let them write it on fancy paper and then have an adult burn the edges to make it look old.

Look around your house for everyday things that you can use for music instruments. Water bottles filled with beans, pots, spoons, paperclips in an empty container, and bells are just a few items that you can use for a thankfulness parade. March around playing your instruments and saying things that you are thankful for.

Sidewalk art is a fun way to talk about how we can celebrate what others have done to give us freedom.

• Younger children can draw stars and fireworks with sidewalk chalk. Talk  about how we can do fun things because people wanted us to be free.
• Older children can draw a USA map or pictures of those that signed the Declaration of Independence. Talk about how many people have fought to give us freedom.

Songs to sing:

America the Beautiful

My Country ‘Tis of Thee

Star spangled Banner

Have fun and enjoy this July 4′th in remembrance of why we have Independence Day.