Preschooler Craft Ideas: Presidents Day
One of the best ways to learn about Presidents Day is to do some crafts that bring home the lessons of the holiday. Interactive crafts help kids remember facts and understand the point of Presidents Day. If you’re looking for some fun and easy crafts for Presidents Day, read on for some ideas.
1. Lincoln’s Cabin
Since Presidents Day is really intended to celebrate Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays, crafts surrounding these two presidents make sense. Here are some cabin ideas to help you remember Lincoln’s humble beginnings.
* Pretzel cabin – Use pretzel sticks to create a simple log cabin. If you like, use peanut butter to fill in the cracks or as “glue” to hold the pretzels together. Use a piece of construction paper for the roof.
* Twigs cabin – Use sticks and twigs from outdoors to put together a rustic cabin. Use hot glue if you want to make it permanent.
* Paper rolls cabin – Any cardboard roll would work for this project, although longer ones such as paper towel tubes work better than toilet paper tubes. You can cut up wrapping paper rolls to appropriate lengths, too.
2. Cherry Tree
Remember the famous story about Washington telling the truth about his dad’s cherry tree? Make one in his memory. You’ll need:
* 5 to 8 brown, black and/or gray pipe cleaners
* 1 or 2 green pipe cleaners
* Large red beads, such as pony beads
Gather the brown/black/gray pipe cleaners into a bunch. Starting at the middle, twist the bottom half of the bunch downward and leave about 2 inches un-twisted. Spread the un-twisted pipe cleaners out to make a stand and a root-like look. Spread the top pipe cleaners out to look like branches. Next, thread the red beads randomly onto the pipe cleaner branches.
To make green “leaves,” cut the green pipe cleaner into 1-inch pieces. Twist each little piece around the branches under or above the red beads.
3. Lincoln’s Hat
Lincoln was famous for his tall, “stove pipe” hat. This craft is for a table decoration, but if you want to wear it, just cut a hole in the paper plate and use the resulting ring for the hat brim.
You’ll need:
* 1 paper plate
* 2 sheets black construction paper
* Scissors
* Glue
* Wide black ribbon (optional)
* Black acrylic paint
Paint the paper plate completely black. While it’s drying, glue the two pieces of construction paper together short end-to-end to make one long piece. When the plate and the paper are dry, curve the paper into a tube shape and secure with glue. Once it’s dry, glue the tube to the middle of the black paper plate. If you’re making a hat band, use the black ribbon to go around the bottom of the hat just above the brim. Secure with glue.
