Your toddler is too young to understand the history behind this holiday. Keep it simple, and explain that you are celebrating the country's birthday. Your child will love being a part of the festivities.

Fireworks Painting

Your child will be practicing fine motor skills as she makes this colorful picture. If you are worried that she will suck paint through the straw, take a pin and poke a few small holes about ½ inch from the top of the straw.

• Let your child use the spoon to place small blobs of different colors of paint on the paper.

• Show your child how to use the straw to blow the paint around on the paper, staying fairly close to the paper without allowing the straw to touch it. Let her experiment. What happens when she holds the straw straight up, and what happens when she tilts the straw?

Handmade Flag

Let your child express her patriotism with this personalized version of the American flag. You can adapt this craft for any flag with stars.

• Glue the white and blue papers side by side to form a large square, with the blue square in the top left corner.

• Cut (or help your child cut) the red paper into ten strips. Glue six of the strips together end to end to create three long stripes. Glue the red stripes to the white part of the square, with the longer stripes at the bottom.

• Pour some white paint into the pie tin. Help your child dip her hands in the paint, and then press her hands on the blue square to make stars. (Don't try for all fifty; instead, you're just going for the effect.)