How to Have a Bastille Day Celebration for Kids

The US isn't the only country with a colorful past that gets celebrated in July. On July 14, 1789, angry citizens stormed the Bastille in Paris, France and declared their independence from their traditional monarchy. This July 14th, why not arrange a Bastille Day celebration for the kids and teach them a little bit about French history in the process.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• French History books
• Cardboard Boxes
• Cardboard boxes
• Paint
• Paint
• Paintbrushes
• Paintbrushes
• Paintbrushes
• Scissors
• Scissors
• French flags
• French feast

1. Purchase a World or French History book for kids that describes the events leading up to and the actual storming of the Bastille. Try to make certain the book includes a map, so you can show the kids where these events took place in relationship to where they live.

2. Mock up the facade of the Bastille with some old cardboard boxes and washable paints. Remember to cover the kids' clothing with painting smocks or change into old clothes before getting started.

3. Describe how the storming of the Bastille turned out to be the beginning of the French Revolution and how under the tyrannous rule of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette the people were starving. Don't forget to include Marie Antoinette's alleged remedy to the plight of the starving citizens, "Let them eat cake."

4. Attend a Bastille Day festival in your city and partake in French themed arts and crafts, face painting and enjoy French food!

5. Get "inside" your Bastille and have the kids "storm" the Bastille. Let them beat on the door till the whole thing falls down.

6. Teach the kids some basic French words like "Yes" and "No", "Oui" and "No" respectively. Try teaching older kids the battle cry of the citizens who stormed the real Bastille, "Liberte`, Egalite`, Fraternite`", which means "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" in English.

7. Set your dinner table for a feast after the storming of the Bastille. Decorate with red, white and blue, the colors of the French flag.

8. Have a French feast to celebrate Bastille Day, the anniversary of the storming of the French prison, the Bastille, on July 14, 1789. Serve some "French" fare, Perrier, cheese and maybe even petit fours from the local bakery.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't let "storming the Bastille" get out of hand. Make sure the kids know, as a rule violence is not an answer to a problem and that throwing food should not be an everyday event.

[ChrissLJ]

on 7/14/2009 Actually, there is a lot of misinformation in this article. Even during the times leading up to the French Revolution, King Louis XVI was not "tyrannous." He was actually a fairly weak king in comparison to his earlier relatives who ruled with more of an iron fist. The aristocracy of the time didn't want to pay taxes and wanted more control, so they started fights around the country... including starting the FALSE rumor that Marie Antoinette said "Let them eat cake." (She never really said this, but the aristocrats said that she did upon hearing that people had no grain to eat.... There was a bad drought leading up to these events.) ALSO, the French words are misspelled. NO is NON and the accents are going the wrong way on the quote in step 6. It should read "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité."

[vikki9]

on 7/14/2009 Interesting information.

[haileyerickson]

on 7/14/2009 Great ideas to make more holidays fun!

[starlet67]

on 7/14/2009 Great article and love the title pic! Face painting looks like so much fun!5*

[lilolladystuff]

on 7/14/2009 Love the idea and very nice article. Thanks.