George Washington’s Birthday and Presidents' Day in the Montessori Classroom

The first US President, George Washington, was born on February 22, 1732. Today, George Washington’s birthday is celebrated as a national event annually on the third Monday of each February. Many US citizens also know this as Presidents' Day- to recognize all past US presidents- although the name of the holiday has never been officially changed.

In the days leading up to this national holiday, there are many opportunities for your Montessori students to learn more about this aspect of US history, and to participate in related cultural activities. Here are a few ideas to kick start your plans,
and below are some web resource links for your further research, including lesson/activity ideas from Scholastic.

Ideas for activities for President's Day in the Montessori Classroom:

• Discuss/introduce George Washington with your students, and some of the significant elements of his life and legacy, using stories/images for visual support.
• You may wish to do the same for Abraham Lincoln, whose date of birth was February 12, 1809.
• Ask your students why it may be important to have a holiday to recognize US presidents.
• Ask your students if they know who the current US president is, and what they may know about him.
• Discuss the role of the US president, and encourage your students to think about what it would be like to be President of the United States.
• Encourage your students to research and write stories/poems/short articles about a US president of their choice.
• Encourage your students to create a timeline for a chosen US president and/or a timeline depicting all US presidents and their time in office.
• Create a DID YOU KNOW? poster about George Washington and/or any other US presidents to display in the culture & science area of your Montessori classroom. Review it with your students in small groups.

Further Resources:

• http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents
• answers.usa.gov - Washington's Birthday/Presidents' Day
• http://usa.usembassy.de/holidays-presidents.htm
• http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/collection/presidency-united-states
• http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/presidentsday/
• http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/presidents-day/past-presidents-of-usa.html
• http://familycrafts.about.com/od/presidentsday/Presidents_Day_Craft_Projects.htmycrafts.about.com/od/presidentsday/Presidents_Day_Craft_Projects.htm

The NAMC elementary programs and material provide a rich cultural curriculum, with step-by-step instruction for presenting activities to your Montessori students. Link to Lower Elementary and Upper Elementary.

As much as possible, NAMC’s web blog reflects the Montessori curriculum as provided in its teacher training programs. We realize and respect that Montessori schools are unique and may vary their schedules and offerings in accordance with the needs of their individual communities. We hope that our readers will find our articles useful and inspiring as a contribution to the global Montessori community.
© North American Montessori Center - originally posted in its entirety at Montessori Teacher Training on Thursday, February 16, 2012.