I think the kids are going to remember this 4th of July......thanks to our special friends who asked if we'd be willing to celebrate a "July 4th Seder." We always enjoy the Passover Seder meal we do at another friend's house at Easter so we were all for it. Besides - this is yet another American "holiday" that we sometimes have not made meaningful. It is simple to get together, BBQ and enjoy fireworks....but do we honestly reflect on how our country came about? Especially in these times as we see our country beginning to move away from what our founding fathers seem to have intended....it is imperative our children understand what the original documents of our country said and meant!
At the beginning of our reflection, we all gathered around our tables and listened as our friend shared some history about our country and the events surrounding the Declaration of Independence. The kids had chances to read and share in the discussion.
Nickels were distributed and the kids looked at the different symbols and words on the coin as well as listening to the meanings.....
Next, we drank a little tea to remember the Boston Tea party......
ate a salty pretzel to reflect on the tears shed by those who lost loved ones in the Revolutionary war.....
and enjoyed strawberries and blueberries dipped in whipped cream to celebrate the red, white, and blue of our flag!
Later, we were given a quiz about the Declaration of Independence. Oh boy - it was hard! I didn't do so hot! Everyone worked diligently though and after all the answers of the questions were revealed it turned out Madeline and Jonathan had the most right! (Jonathan was very effective at copying his brother's answers as well as making a few good wild guesses of his own!)
Inside the special box was a cool prize of a $2 bill!
Following the quiz, we looked at a copy of a newspaper printed July 5, the morning after the Declaration was signed. Pretty cool.....and then it was time to sign our own copy with a quill pen our friends had bought while on a recent trip back east.....fun!
Such lovely signatures!
After working up quite an appetite, we enjoyed special Fourth of July drinks by Madison and chicken/veggie kabobs grilled by Mr. Miller himself! After play and nice conversation after dinner we had to scramble to swiftly get down the road for the fireworks at a nearby church! It was a shorter display than we anticipated - but not a problem since we were in such good company! The kids and parents just sat and chatted until the traffic died down and we could walk home.....
and enjoy some fireworks of our own.......The kids enjoyed sparklers, black snakes, and smoke bombs.... It doesn't get any better than that.....unless you have races to see which sparkler dies out first!
At midnight the kids were still going strong with foosball and even a sweet little game of trouble......
What a rich night of fun and celebration with old friends.....
