February 18 is Presidents’ Day

Today is Presidents’ Day! It’s the day that we observe George Washington’s birthday, and we also remember other presidents, as well. Some schools are open today, but others are closed for the holiday. Whether your kids are home for the day or won’t be home until later on, here are some ideas for observing Presidents’ Day with them:

• Play a Presidential Trivia game over dinner. Find some president-related trivia by googling various president names, and write down the questions on slips of paper. Put the slips in a glass jar, and take turns drawing a question, reading it aloud and trying to answer it. Some sample questions, depending on the ages of your children, might include, “What type of tree was George Washington rumored to chop down as a child?” “Which President delivered the Emancipation Proclamation?” “Who was the President when Dad was born?” or “Which President served from a wheelchair?”
• Take a trip. If you live in a state that a President was born or raised, take a trip to visit the town today if the kids are off from school. You could also visit Gettysburg, Washington, D.C. or Mount Rushmore, depending on where you live. If your kids have this week off for February vacation, you could devote a few days to visiting area Presidential attractions.
• Talk about what life was like during the days that Washington, Lincoln or one of the other Presidents was in office. You could tell the kids about the Revolutionary War or the Civil War, and see if they know why those wars were important in the history of the United States.
• Have some wordy fun. Print off a Presidents’ Day word search, and offer up a prize to the child (or team) who finds all of the words first. Another option is to write out “George Washington” or “Abraham Lincoln” across the top of a sheet of paper, and to see how many words the family can make out of the letters in the name. Kids often find these activities fun, particularly when there is an element of competition introduced!
• Make some red, white and blue crafts. I like this idea, because typically patriotic crafts are related to the summer, when we’re celebrating Memorial Day and Independence Day. Sometimes it’s fun to do things “out of season.” The kids might be sick of Valentine’s Day decorations by now!
• Go shopping! If you have the day off, you might be able to find some great buys, because many retailers offer special Presidents’ Day savings. Don’t forget about online savings! Go to the websites of your favorite stores and see what they have on sale today only.

Did your kids have off from school today? Did you do anything special to observe Presidents’ Day?