Five Fun Presidential Activities to do with Your Kids for Presidents’ Day

Especially coming on the heels of such a celebrated presidential inauguration, Presidents’ Day is a good day to carry on the festivities. And with many school-going kids also experiencing a school holiday today, Presidents’ Day can also be a fun way to spend a little extra together-time with the kiddos.

We’re having a presidential-themed day at our house today, celebrating with a mixture of the following fun activities and games:

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1. Presidential Matching Game: Using this Memory Game tutorial and a Google Image search, make up your own matching game with images of iconic presidents (Washington, Lincoln, Kennedy, etc.) and places (the White House, Mount Rushmore, Lincoln Memorial, etc.). Utilize recycled materials–the back sides of used typing paper, used cardboard, leftover bits of scrapook paper–for the most eco-friendly game possible.
2. Big, Big Map: At Owl & Mouse, you can use your home printer to print a U.S. map that’s as small (one page) or as big (64 total pages) as you want. With a big, big map, you can put stickers where your loved ones live, or color the states, or turn it into one giant collage. It only took us one visit the the recycling bin at my partner’s office to collect all the used printer paper we needed for this project–may I also suggest the recycling bin at a local copy shop?
3. Lincoln Logs: Invented by Frank Lloyd Wright’s son and named partly in honor of Abraham Lincoln, wooden Lincoln Logs are the ideal material to recreate Lincoln’s childhood cabin. Or an entire village of cabins. With dinosaurs, if you wish. We thrifted our sets of Lincoln Logs from a couple of good garage sales, but perhaps you have your own childhood set, rescued from your own garage sale decades ago?
4. Sing the Presidents: Sing this Presidents’ Names Song to the tune of “Yankee Doodle” or find a video version on YouTube. Then film your own version. With costumes?
5. Your local library is probably closed for the holiday today, but if today’s celebrations get you really jazzed up, run out first thing tomorrow and check out this list of children’s books appropriate for Presidents’ Day reading. The list runs from picture books to chapter books, so there’s something for everyone.

And for dessert? Cherry pie, of course.

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