Presidents' Day is one of my favorite lessons with my girls—simple, interesting, fun. We celebrate Presidents' Day to honor the two great presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. George Washington was the founding father of America, and Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president, who helped abolish slavery. These two historical figures are worth learning about at any age, and I have pulled some activities to help you with that.
Read:
I am Abraham Lincoln by Brat Metzer
I am George Washington by Brad Metzer
Presidents' Day
Activities (I did not create any of these files but some very talented people did. Enjoy!)
Word search. My first-grader really enjoyed this one by Teaching Squared
color by number, from Teachers pay Teachers
sorting pennies and quarters by identifying the president on each, from Teacher Blog
write what you would do if you were a president, by 123homescool4me
Craft - "Presidents' Day masks"
I don't know about your children, but mine learn best hands-on.
Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
~Benjamin Franklin~
You will need:
construction paper (black and blue)
two paper plates (one for each president). I like these because they are easy to cut and glue sticks well for crafts.
scissors
paper glue
Cut out the center of each paper plate so your child's face would be visible through it.
Next, prepare the hat for each president. For President Lincoln, I cut out a black top hat. For President Washington - a blue hat that resembles his military one (in the picture above). Also, use the rest of the black construction paper to cut out President Lincoln's beard. Have your child glue the hat and beard pieces onto the paper plate.
We used cotton balls for President Washington's hair, adding a little extra sensory play.
Once the President masks are done, attach the craft stick in the middle center of the plate to be used as a handle. And Voila!
I hope you have fun with this. Feel free to post the outcome of your craft in comments :)