Washington, Lincoln, Election Day, Presidents Day

Washington & Lincoln Election Day Presidents Day

:Books:

:Poems & Songs:

George Washington [Tune: "Yankee Doodle"] George Washington was the first President of our country. The people loved him, one and all, He worked to make our land free. He led the soldiers - that was hard, For they were cold and hungry. He said, "Be brave, now don't give up. We'll build a brand new country."	President's Day Lincoln and Washington They are remembered on President's Day Two men in history Who gave us liberty. Honor their memories On this great day.
Lincoln Was our President [Tune: "Pop! Goes The Weasel!""] Abraham Lincoln was a man who set the people free. He wore a tall hat and had a dark beard, Our President was he. All around the country, The people wre at war. Lincoln helped to save our land and so much more."	Lincoln A very great man wore a very tall hat. People were alike from where he sat. He helped our country also to see Our nation is founded on liberty.
Washington Washington was born in February, too. He gave our flag the red, white and blue. As a boy he chopped a cherry tree. February means cherry pie for you and me.	My Hat It Has Three Corners My hat it has three corners. Three corners has my hat. And had it not three corners, It would not be my hat.

:Reading:

The Legend of the Cherry Tree

Share the legend about George and the cherry tree and then ask the children questions about this legend. Talk about character traits such as bravery and honesty as you discuss. "When George Washington was a boy, his father planted a small cherry tree in the garden. Soon there were ripe red cherries growing on its branches. One day when George was out playing in the garden, he chopped down the cherry tree with his little hatchet. Later, his father saw the tree and demanded to know who had cut it down. George knew that he had been very naughty and that his father was angry. But he said bravely, 'I cannot tell a lie, Father. It was I.'"

:Math:

Cherry Tree Math

Add this partner game to a math station. Draw the top of a tree on a 9x12 construction paper and glue the top to a trunk. Give oen tree to each group of students. Give each group a pair of dice and a box of red hot candies. {cherries} To play, one students rolls the dice, announces the number to his partner, and places that amount of cherries on the tree.

Cherry Trees

Create a set of numbered (0-15) cherry tree cutouts. Again, use red hot candies for "cherries." Students will identify the numeral on the cherry tree and add the correct number of cherries to match the numeral.

Penny Math

Have several plastic containers with lids. Cut a slot in each lid and label each container with a numeral. Make a set of cards with matching price tags. (one cent, two cents, etc.) In a center, have children match the price tag, number of pennies, and container for each set of pennies.

Money - Coin Identification

penny, quarter, dollar bill, five dollar bill

Coin Toss

Toss pennies and/or quarters and color whether the coin landed on heads and how many times the coin landed on tails. [There is a cute worksheet you can use in Teacher's Helper, Kindergarten, Feb/March 1996]

Estimating Pennies

Estimate how many pennies are in a jar.

Abe's Stovepipe Hat

Estimate how many pennies it will take to cover a cutout of a stovepipe hat.

Date Your Pennies

Distribute pennies to each child. Have them find the year the penny was made. If you have enough of a collection of pennies - you can also graph how many you have from each year

Lincoln Penny Toss

Decorate an oatmeal box to resemble a black top hat. Place the hat upside down on the floor. Then let the children stand a few feet away from the hat and take turns tossing pennies into it. After each round of the game, remove the pennies from the hat, count the pennies and tell how many cents you have tossed. Write the amount on a card.

:Social Studies:

George Washington

George Washington's birthday - February 22, 1732. George is remembered as the "Father of Our Country." He grew up to become Commander in Chief of the American army and led his troops to victory in the War of Independence. He helped form our nation's govement and was elected to be our first President.

The Man in the Chair

Share a picture of the Lincoln Memorial with the children. Discuss the meaning of the word memorial. Show them a map of the United States. Point out the state in which they live, then identify Washington, D.C., where the Lincoln Memorial is located. Tell them that the Lincoln Memorial is the man the memorial honors - a past American president. Talk about the job of the president and some of the ideals Lincoln upheld.

The White House - share pictures of the rooms inside - where the president works - The Oval Office

Who is the President now? Compare the times of the current president with those of George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. How has history and technology changed?

Current and early presidential pasttimes - Lincoln's reading - Washington's horses -

:Science:

Penny Shining

Gather the following: one box of salt, one bottle of white vinegar, a tablespoon, a pitcher of water, several clear jars, a towel, and several DIRTY pennies. Tell the children that you are going to clean the pennies with their help. Have the children help you as you fill each jar half full of water. Add 1 T. salt and 3 T. white vinegar per jar. Add about ten pennies to each jar and let sit for 2-3 minutes. Take the pennies out, rinse with water and set on towel to dry. Allow the children to compare the clean pennies to some dirty ones.

:Art:

George Washington Portraits

These always turn out so cute! You need to pre-cut several items and have them available for your students. I find that to put the pre-cut items in a ziploc baggie for each child makes this project much more managable; otherwise, it is very tedious for my K kids. I give each child: 8 cotton balls, 1 head-shaped skin-toned face shape, a hat shape from blue construction paper, a semicircle from blue construction paper (about 7" across on the straight side), 1 6" strip of yellow construction paper, half of a 6" paper doily, and 2 wiggly eyes. I find that putting the doily on the blue semicircle first helps my children understand the "shirt" concept. Next we glue the yellow strip on the hat - and the hat to the head. Then we glue the head piece to the shirt. Finally I let the children look at my example to complete the facial and hair features. I love seeing how the eyebrows turn out. Many unibrows!!! �

Abe Lincoln's Cabins

I love this simple art project too! I give the kids the needed supplies and have them build their own cabins after seeing how I created mine. I give them 10 craft sticks, a brown rectangle, a brown square, and a black triangle. Give each child a shiny new penny [or use ones that you have used in the shiny penny experiment]. The pennies are glued on the windows of the log cabins. I then let the kids add other outdoor decorations for their log cabin pictures.

George's Cherry Trees

This activity is simple but fun. Give each child a George Washington precut shape - or have them draw their own picture of George! Students will cut out a brown tree trunk and a green treetop. Then, they can use red tempera paint and q-tips to paint the cherries onto the trees.

Simple Three-Cornered Hat

Students can make this easier version of a 3-cornered hat by giving them 3 equal strips of red, white, and blue construction paper. Students can decorate their hats with red, white and blue foil or cutout stars and red circle "cherries." Staple the three strips together and voila - a hat!

:Writing:

Presidential Facts

I always create a worksheet type journal page using patriotic graphics as I have the students write/dictate a sentence or more about something they have learned about Washington and Lincoln. Then they illustrate their stories.

If I were president of the United States ...

Many famous presidents have been known for the pets that they have had in the White House. If you were president, what kind of pet would you have?

:Snacks:

Cherry Pie Treats

Purchase a few packages on instant biscuits. Set the biscuits ona cookie sheet and allow the children to use their thumbs to press a small opening in the top of each. Let them fill the opening with cherry pie filling. Bake according to the biscuits' directions.

Lincoln Peanut Butter Logs

Gather a few rolling pins, a loaf of whole wheat bread, peanut butter and craft sticks. Allow each child to use the rolling pin to flatten a piece of bread. Next, instruct the children to use the craft sticks to spread peanut butter on the bread. Last have them roll the bread into "logs."

Cherry Mini Treats

Place a vanilla wafer in a muffin tin liner. Spread a tablespoon of vanilla pudding on top; then add a spoonful or two of cherry pie filling.

:Websites:

President's Day Unit

Mrs. Sirois' Website

Little Giraffe's Themes

Mrs. Williamson

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