February
is such an exciting month, and especially this year with talk of the Olympics
along with those we celebrate as part of Black History Month. For more on this,
please sign up for our free weekly activities. This week we feature Ruby
Bridges, all grown up and still working for equality in New Orleans.
Additionally, February brings us Valentine’s Day and Presidents’ Day. This week I wanted to share a favorite art activity from our days in the classroom. I
often hear from our former students and this is one of the crafts these
students remember with affection.
I often read books that featured the presidents, but because this post focuses on
Abraham Lincoln, I’ll mention a few of my favorite Lincoln books:
Looking At Lincoln by Maira Kalman
Abe Lincoln’s Hat by Martha Brenner
Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who
Loved Books
by Kay Winters
Honest Abe Lincoln by David A. Adler
After
reading these books and making a class list about the life of Abraham Lincoln,
we study pennies. I hand out a penny to each child and have them discuss ways
these coins are alike and ways they are different. Of course, there may be much
discussion about the years these pennies were minted. If I really want to get
young minds working, I often go through my pennies and use only those coins that
were minted in the birth years of my students. That makes the activity more
meaningful!
Next
we do a bit of science and clean the dirty pennies using a solution of white vinegar
and salt. Children love to watch the transformation!
Review
the life of Abraham Lincoln, taking special note of his young life in a log
cabin. Hand out craft sticks so children can make their own log cabins.
Then
have them use some math to cut out shapes: a square for the window, a rectangle for
the door, and a triangle for the roof.
Finally,
have children place their clean Lincoln penny in the log cabin window!
Standards
Alignment:
NAEYC – 2.C.03., 2.F.06., 2.J.05., 2.L.11.
Head Start – I.D.4., III.C.1., V.C.3., X.C.1.
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