Presidents' Day Fun!

I have been wanting to write this post for awhile, but I wanted to wait until I had pictures to show all of you. As many of us are gearing up for Valentine's Day in our classrooms, I am getting my kids excited for Presidents' Day as well. Believe me, I have TONS of Valentine's activities ready to go, but I also want my kids to learn about a few historical icons in our country. Last week, we discussed Martin Luther King Jr. and yesterday we were able to watch a presidential inauguration. So, I thought today would be a great day to introduce Abraham Lincoln to my kiddos. My "hook: was this wonderful book Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers by Karen Winnick.
                                               
In the story, the little girl, Grace writes a letter to Mr. Lincoln while he is running for president. In the letter, she tells Mr. Lincoln that he should grow a beard because his face is currently too thin. She also says that all the ladies like beards and they will then convince their husbands to vote for him if he grows one. After reading the story the kiddos and I made a chart of pros and cons as to why Lincoln should or should not grow a beard.

The kids came up with some really funny ideas. Here they are working on their writing. They had to write a persuasive letter explaining why they thought Lincoln should or should not grow a beard.

When their writing was done, they glued their finally copies to the top of Lincoln's hat.

How stinkin' cute are those Lincolns??? They make me smile and the kids LOVED this activity.

We are going to learn about Washington tomorrow and make these:

We also are in a review week in our reading series, so that means enrichment and intervention time! I have the enrichment group, so we are going to be using the centers from my Patriotic Presidents' Day unit. The Lincoln and Washington craftivities are included in this unit.

I am also participating in an awesome giveaway over at Second Grade Math Maniac. Casey has reached over 600 followers and is celebrating by hosting a mega giveaway! I am giving my Let It Snow! Snowman Glyph to one lucky winner. Head on over and enter the giveaway for a chance to win some amazing prizes.