This year, President’s Day takes place on Monday, February 20th. It is a federal holiday that is always celebrated on the third Monday of February in honor of George Washington, our nation’s first president, who was born on February 22, 1732.
The day also is known in some states only as Washington’s Birthday, or Washington’s and Lincoln’s Birthday, since Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, but does not have a federal holiday in his honor.
Over the years, the day has been used to celebrate all U.S. Presidents. Schools and homeschoolers often adopt a wide range of fun, learning activities to both celebrate the day, and become more knowledgeable about our nation’s history.
Here are a few tips on how parent teachers of homeschoolers can celebrate President’s Day.
Get out of the house and go for a field trip. A number of states have presidential libraries, museums, and homes. Here are a few of them:
Have an hour of Presidential Trivia. You can use Wikipedia and Legends of America to gather some facts, and depending on the age of your student learner, ask a mix of complex or easy
questions. For example:
Have an hour of Presidential Trivia. You can use Wikipedia and Legends of America to gather some facts, and depending on the age of your student learner, ask a mix of complex or easy questions. For example:
Question: Who was the first president to hold a press conference on TV?
Answer: John F Kennedy
Question: Who was the shortest President?
Answer: James Madison at 5 feet, 4 inches.
Question: Who was the tallest President?
Answer: Abraham Lincoln at 6 ft 4 in
It may sound simple, but you could have a day of presidential foods. The best part of it is – these foods do not require a lot of preparation time.
You may not have known, but when Thomas Jefferson traveled to Holland, he fell in love with waffles. Upon his return to the United States, he insisted on buying a waffle iron. If you want, you can make the waffles look more presidential with strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream.
Barack Obama, a Calvert alum, loved chili. He was known for occasionally going to Ben’s Chili Bowl in Washington, DC, and has his own secret recipe for chili.
If you make chili, you can combine it with FDR’s favorite snack – a hot dog or yum dog.
For a fun treat, enjoy President H.W. Bush’s favorite snack, popcorn.
Making these meals, and discussing some presidential fun facts, can be a great activity for you and your kids.
Another option is to have your kids make a presidential themed work of art. For example, using multi-colored construction paper, glue and cotton balls, your kids can make cut-outs of presidents.
Older and more advanced learners can create drawings or paintings of famous presidential moments in history, or visualize how America looked in the past.
For more ideas, please be sure to check out Calvert’s Pinterest Board for exciting activities and recipes you can try at home on President’s Day, as well as all throughout the year.
Remember: Even if you cannot do one of these activities on President’s Day, they do represent great options for the future.
President George Washington is often known as “The Father of our Country”. He was unanimously chosen by the Electoral College to become the first President because he was seen as someone who could unify the country and set an example of integrity for future presidents. Did you know that each year on George Washington’s birthday, the U.S. Senate reads his farewell address to the nation?
Washington was the leader of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Did you know that he created the first military badge of merit for the common soldier? As an honor to Washington, Congress created the Purple Heart medal in 1932, which is awarded to soldiers injured during battle. The medal has an image of Washington.
President James Buchanan
https://www.lancasterhistory.org/visit/wheatland
Rutherford B. Hayes
http://www.rbhayes.org/
William McKinley
https://mckinleymuseum.org/
William Howard Taft
https://www.nps.gov/wiho/index.htm
Gerald Ford
https://fordlibrarymuseum.gov/
Ulysses S. Grant
http://www.granthome.com/grant_home.htm
Abraham Lincoln
http://www.lincolnlibraryandmuseum.com/
Ronald Reagan
https://reaganhome.org/
Jimmy Carter
https://www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov/
Woodrow Wilson
http://www.wilsonboyhoodhome.org/
Lyndon Johnson
http://www.lbjlibrary.org/
George H. W. Bush
http://bush41.org/
George W. Bush
https://www.georgewbushlibrary.smu.edu/
JFK Book Depository
http://www.jfk.org/
James Madison
https://www.montpelier.org/
Thomas Jefferson
https://www.monticello.org/
James Monroe
http://jamesmonroemuseum.umw.edu/
George Washington
http://www.mountvernon.org/
Woodrow Wilson
http://www.woodrowwilson.org/
Legends of America
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ah-presidenttrivia.html