Blog

Observing Presidents' Day in Your Homeschool

There are so many different holidays; some we celebrate, some we simply acknowledge, and some lend themselves to including in our homeschool.

Why Should We Incorporate Presidents’ Day in our Homeschool?

Presidents Day is a great one to incorporate into the lesson plans. It has the obvious tie-ins to history, but you can also include literature, music, art, and even food.

Incorporating Presidents Day activities into your day is a great way to make learning a little more interesting while covering some significant parts of our American history.

Observing Presidents' Day in Your Homeschool

What Exactly is Presidents’ Day?

Most people agree that we celebrate George Washington and Abraham Lincoln on Presidents’ Day. Other folks like to incorporate other presidents into the celebration. I had always believed that it was officially the celebration of both Washington and Lincoln.

However, a little research shows that on a federal level, the holiday is officially a celebration of George Washington. The holiday was initially established on his birthday but was moved to the third Monday of February when several other federal holidays were changed to always fall on a Monday.

There was a push to include Lincoln (whose birthday is also in February), but it did not have enough support and was dropped. Since then, it has become popular to celebrate both presidents and call it Presidents Day, but it is still officially Washington’s birthday.

How Do I Incorporate Presidents’ Day in my Homeschool?

 While there are many ways to incorporate Presidents’ day into our homeschools, our favorite is reading.

Good books are an easy way to encourage our children to learn about any topic, and they are readily available. You can read aloud during your morning time, assign a biography to your older students, or even have them on display for students to pick up and read as they have time.

Books for Presidents' Day

Having a display of books can entice children to learn more about a particular subject.

Picture Books for Presidents’ Day

I have divided the book list into picture books and chapter books for ease and convenience. However, please note that picture books are not just for younger children, and many of these would be great for various ages. 

A Picture Book of Abraham Lincoln and A Picture Book of George Washington are older books that do a great job giving a short picture book style biography of the presidents. 

When Washington Crossed the Delaware is specifically about how General Washington led his troops across the Delaware River during the Revolutionary War. This book has stunning illustrations. 

We the People: The Story of the Constitution focuses on the writing of the constitution but includes Washington’s role. It also has excellent illustrations. 

Everybody’s Revolution looks at various people that play a role in the revolution, including Washington. It also makes a point to discuss lesser-known people, including women and those of African American descent. 

George Washington’s Teeth is a rather comical story that tells how George Washington lost his teeth and had to use dentures. Throughout that story, it includes important historical facts and an excellent timeline that gives more information. This book would be great for a reluctant reader who needs to engage through comedy and rhyme.

Vinnie and Abraham is a beautifully illustrated picture book about the young woman who sculpted the statue of Abraham Lincoln that stands in the Capitol rotunda. It tells of how she met him and sculpted him before his death and then how she had to fight to get the commission because many people did not believe that a woman could create the sculpture.

The House That George Built is a cute story about the White House and George Washington’s role in having it built. The story has a sing-songy rhyming style that will keep young children engaged and provides pages with lots of historical information.


Chapter Books for Presidents’ Day

These chapter books would work well for a read-aloud to older children or as independent reading for upper elementary and middle-grade children. Our family has also enjoyed listening to the YWAM biographies on audiobook.

George Washington: True Patriot and Abraham Lincoln: A New Birth of Freedom are biographies in the Heroes of History series by YWAM. They are excellent chapter books that are well suited for anyone from upper elementary to adults. These would be perfect as a family read-aloud or the basis of a unit study. 

Who Was Abraham Lincoln?  and Who Was George Washington?  are shorter biographies that are a part of the Who Was series. These books are suitable for elementary-aged students or a quicker family read-aloud. 

George Washington, Our First Leader is a good chapter book biography that includes some lovely black and white illustrations. 

In Their Own Words: Abraham Lincoln is a shorter chapter book that uses many of Lincoln’s own words to tell his story. It is a great book to use to teach children about first-person sources. 


Activity Books for Presidents’ Day

In addition to the picture books and chapter books included in the lists above, some families may want to incorporate some hands-on activities. 

 Abraham Lincoln for Kids: His Life and Times with 21 Activities and George Washington for Kids: His Life and Times with 21 Activities are great books to help with that. The books each contain 21 different activities to help your children learn more about each person and the times in which they lived. The books also include timelines and other resources to help you dig deeper. 

And don’t forget the Lincoln Logs!

The Birth of Lincoln Logs is a fun story to share with your children - and February is a PERFECT time to drag out your logs for free play!


Music Appreciation and Presidents Day

In the SQUILT LIVE! Plus curriculum we will be enjoying a special event to learn even more about Presidents Day.

Matthew Sabatella, of Ballad of America, will perform and teach our children about the songs that were popular during Washington and Lincoln’s time. Mr. Sabatella has a passion for American history and music, and his programs are always excellent!

Membership is always open, so become a SQUILT LIVE! Plus member to enjoy this event - and over 105 recorded lessons in the archives, along with two new live lesson each month!

Reading, creating, playing, and incorporating music are great ways to build relationships and learn about history.

I hope you find something I’ve suggested to focus on and enhance your study of Presidents Day in your homeschool!

Dawn is a passionate follower of Jesus, wife to Chris, and homeschool mom of four. In her spare time she loves to read, hike, and write on her blog Schoolin’ Swag. She enjoys reviewing curriculum and helping moms find the right fit for their family. Some of her favorite parts of homeschooling are hymn studies, living history, and read alouds. She and her children also enjoy incorporating food into their studies as often as possible.

You might also like:

Children’s Literature for February

The Joys of Homeschooling Older Children

5 Simple Ways to Enhance Learning With Creativity

One of the biggest benefits of homeschooling is the creativity we are able to include in our children’s learning.

For some parents this is exciting. For others, however, it is daunting.

Some of us are hard-wired for creativity (that would be me - sometimes almost to my detriment!). Others of us are much more straightforward thinkers who need some encouragement in the creativity department (this describes my husband).

No matter your own personal level of creativity, it is a fact that creativity infuses our lives (and our children’s lives) with depth and richness.

When we left the public schools to homeschool it was such a treat that I could exercise limitless creativity in my children’s education.

Today I’d like to share some very simple ways that you can get creative, too.

Creative #Homeschooling - 5 Simple Ways to Enhance Learning Through Creativity

5 Simple Ways to Get Creative in Your Homeschool

For the sake of this post, let’s take a history subject (it seems that history has always been the spine of our homeschool) - let’s pretend we are studying The Civil War.

Now, I’d like to show you 5 ways to get creative studying this particular area, and you can apply these principles to any historical subject.

(Don’t feel like you need to limit yourself to these 5 areas - there are many more, and you will find yourself getting more creative with practice! Include nature study, geography, field trips - the sky is the limit!)

5 Ways to Get Creative in Your #Homeschool

Living Books

Look for a few quality living books about The Civil War to get your children engaged. (After a while you will become a pro at this - I’m always on the lookout for living books at books sales, thrift stores, the library, etc… It’s great to build up a library so your children can feast on the books!)

Keep a basket or shelf full of the books you will be using for your study so your children can grab them when the mood strikes.

To help you locate Living Books:

(For the Civil War, I love Follow the Drinking Gourd (picture book) and Gettysburg (chapter book). There are SO MANY to choose from - but hopefully this gives you the general idea.)

Music

As a music teacher, I am always looking for ways to incorporate music appreciation and history! Music speaks LOUDLY to many children - it might be just the hook you need to get one of your children excited about a subject.

  • Research music/composers from The Civil War - who was writing music in the mid-late 1800s, both in America and abroad? What if you search “Civil War and music”? You will be amazed at what comes up!

  • I just finished a book - Civil War Drummer Boy - a true story about a 9-year-old Union drummer.

  • Use a chronological music resource to help - my curriculum, SQUILT Music, is organized by era to go along with history studies! Members of SQUILT LIVE! also have access to all of our lessons that are archived by era to make designing your own music appreciation curriculum EASY! We are currently learning about The Spirit of America in our lessons - using a song from The Civil War!

  • Can you use a service like Spotify to find a playlist of music from The Civil War? Use this as the backdrop of your days!

Art/Hands-On

Art is another simple way to get creative in your homeschool. And don’t worry - YOU don’t have to be artistic to accomplish this with your children.

Going back to the Civil War, I would start thinking about ways you can help your children learn about The Civil War with art.

Ideas:

Are you starting to get a feel for how to get creative with learning?

Games

Games are probably the most FUN way to get creative with homeschooling - and your kids will think you’re simply amazing.

  • What about games children played during the Civil War? Do some research and learn a few with your own children.

  • Here’s a free printable Civil War game for kids.

  • How about a family game night where kids share their learning with dad or grandma & grandpa and play games?


Are you feeling more creative yet?


Food

This one is super popular in my house!

What type of cooking activity or meal can you plan that coincides with the Civil War?


Once you start incorporating creativity into your homeschool, I think you’ll find it comes more naturally. You will also find that children are the most creative of all - let them design their own learning and see what fun it will be!


Go forth and homeschool creatively!


Way to #Homeschool Creatively