Living history with Abraham Lincoln and George Washington for President’s Day comes alive by reading interesting stories and including hands-on activities.
After reading stories about these historical figures, include having your child retell the story in his own words. If he is old enough, after he has told you what he remembers, have him write a summary down on a notebooking page and draw a picture related to the summary. These are great activities to help your learner make this information his own and he will be more likely to remember it.
My son (in a coop class) retelling Abe Lincoln’s Hat wearing a stove pipe hat we made together.
Explore and read about other historical figures that interacted with the person you have already learned about and the time period and events that occurred during your person’s lifetime. In this case, you have a large number of figures who worked alongside George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
Next, include hands-on activities related to your person and his time period to make your learning really come alive and spark interest in your children about History. Crafts, dioramas, costumes, re-enactments, and handicrafts from the time period are all ways in which to make history more hands-on.
My son holding a log cabin he made out of popsicle sticks and painted and a poster about Abe Lincoln.
Field trips are also excellent opportunities for some hands-on learning. They can include museums or exhibitions, but make sure they include some kind of interactive opportunities. Local, state and federal parks always have something going on in regards to historical re-enactments. Also, private clubs and groups that re-enact their own encampments and battles are excellent interactive opportunities.
My boys at a Civil War Re-enactment by local groups
Our family vacations and day or overnight trips always included stops along the way or destinations that involved historical parks or attractions. The memories we made are priceless to us.
As we traveled by Williamsburg, we stopped for the day. And another time took a trip to Valley Forge.
I’ve included pictures of local actvities as well as day and week long vacation trips to give you examples of our hands-on history experiences.
Comment in the comment box any interesting places or experiences you would like to share with everyone that helped your family make history come alive! Also, please share this if you found it valuable so that others may glean ideas too!
I have compiled a small history study ebook to get you started in making history come alive with a study about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln for President’s Day or any day! I hope you enjoy!
