One more special day this month you won't want to miss is Abraham Lincoln's birthday (February 12th). His personal life was more than sad, but he rose above it and left a wonderful legacy for our country.
Abraham Lincoln
(Tune: “Pop Goes the Weasel”)
Abraham Lincoln, past President, (Point to a picture of Lincoln.)
Loved and honored by many.
To help us remember this famous man,
We put his face on a penny.
Hold a penny in your hand (Hold up a penny.)
And his face you’ll see.
He always tried to tell the truth.
He’s Honest Abe to me.
*Download the book to go with the song at drjean.org.
Log Cabin Snack – Give children pretzel twist sticks and a spoonful of peanut butter or cream cheese. Children try to build a log cabin by stacking the pretzels with the peanut butter.
*Use cream cheese if there are peanut allergies in your classroom.
Penny Inspection – Let children look at pennies with a magnifying glass. How are the pennies alike? How are they different? Encourage children to describe the different scenes on the pennies.
Rubbings – Make rubbings of pennies.
Penny, Penny – Three children leave the classroom. The other children cup their hands as if holding a penny. The teacher hides the penny in one child’s hand. When the three children return to the room, they walk around the room and open their friends’ hands. The first one to find the penny gets to choose 3 new friends to leave the room and she gets to hide the penny.
Time Line – Give children a sentence strip. At the left write the year they were born. Write each additional year up until the present. Children take the time line home and try to find a penny with each year’s date.
Penny Inspection – Let children look at pennies with a magnifying glass. How are the pennies alike? How are they different? Encourage children to describe the different scenes on the pennies.
Rubbings – Make rubbings of pennies.
Penny, Penny – Three children leave the classroom. The other children cup their hands as if holding a penny. The teacher hides the penny in one child’s hand. When the three children return to the room, they walk around the room and open their friends’ hands. The first one to find the penny gets to choose 3 new friends to leave the room and she gets to hide the penny.
Time Line – Give children a sentence strip. At the left write the year they were born. Write each additional year up until the present. Children take the time line home and try to find a penny with each year’s date.
Did you know? If you look closely at pennies minted from 1959 to 2008 you can see Lincoln's statue in the Memorial.
In 2009 they introduced four new designs celebrating the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth year.
Birth in Kentucky Formative Years in Indiana
Professional Life in Illinois Presidency in DC
In 2010 the shield design was coined.
