How to Make Veterans Day Art for Kids

These are some art projects I did with my girls (4 & 2 years old) to celebrate Veterans Day this year. The book, My Daddy is a Hero by Hannah Tolson, really pulled at my heart being that my husband is currently serving in the Army. You could certainly use these ideas for other days like Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, or any day that you just want to celebrate this incredible place called America.

THE BOOK

When Veterans Day was approaching, I knew our library was lacking a book that would celebrate our brave men and women who have served or who currently serve this great country. Since we are an active duty military family, I felt like we needed a book that could illustrate how our soldiers are heroes and shed some light on what it means for their daddy to “go to work.” I came across My Daddy is a Hero by Hannah Tolson (there is also a My Mommy is a Hero edition) and it was exactly what I was looking for.

The illustrations are so sweet in how they highlight each branch of the military to help children understand the spectrum of service members and their jobs.

PROJECT 1: QUICK AND EASY STAMPED FLAG

PREP

• 12″ x 18″ white paper
• 6 1/2″ x 6 1/2″ blue paper
• White & red liquid tempera paint
• Red glitter paint (up to you!)
• Glue
• Star & heart sponge brushes

CREATE

1. Glue down the blue square onto the top left corner of the white paper to make the flag.
2. Dip star brush into white paint and add stars.
3. Dip heart brush into red paint and add rows of hearts.
4. My daughter wanted to add glitter, so after it dried, we brushed on some red glitter paint onto the hearts for some shimmer. 🙂

Originally, I drew light pencil lines to divide the space for the stripes, but I realized quickly it wasn’t necessary. Just let them start at the top with a row of hearts and keep going to fill the space nicely. The negative space is enough white for the white “stripes.”

PROJECT 2: CAMO COLLAGE

PREP

• 12″ x 12″ white paper for the background
• 9″ x 12″ white paper for the heart
• Red and blue Kwik Stix
• Star stickers
• Glue
• Brown, peach, green and white liquid tempera paint
• Sponge roller

CREATE

1. Cut out a heart from the 9″ x 12″ white paper.
2. Use Kwik Stix to add stripes and a blue corner to look like the American flag.
3. Add silver star stickers.
4. For the background, we rolled on camo colored paint for a fun textured background using green, white, peach and brown.
5. Glue heart to the camo background.

Adding details:

We decided to take blue and red squares and write DADDY on them with white crayon to personalize it for my husband. We also used aluminum foil for dog tags for a final touch.

PROJECT 3: HANDPRINT CROSS

Since the other two projects were done by my 4 year old, I wanted something quick and easy for my 2 year old to be able to do also. So, we used glitter paint on white paper and printed her hand in the shape of a cross. After it dried, I cut it out into a cross and we glued it to a black background. Simple, sweet and sparkly.

I can’t really think of other activities that I find more meaningful to do with my kids than creating art that celebrates our love for God, our family and this country.

God bless our troops, our vets and America!

If you enjoyed this book and/or story time art, please tag us on Instagram: @picturebooksandpeonies or #picturebooksandpeonies or leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you!