Toddler Activities: Celebrate President's Day

Toddler Activities: Make Lincoln's Hat to Celebrate President's Day

DESCRIPTION

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. He is often remembered wearing a stovepipe hat. Make a little one to commemorate President's Day.

A great pre-school activity or for older toddlers. Simply adjust level of involvement with what your toddler is capable of. Our girls are using glue and scissors well so they could cut the large circle and the rectangle with some guidance, glue the tabs and the rectangular piece with minimal assistance.

1 piece Black Construction paper

1 Toilet Paper Roll

Tacky Craft Glue (faster hold than Elmer's and stronger), or Tape

Scissors

Pencil

Plastic compass (optional)

Black Sharpie for touch ups (optional)

1. Cut the toilet paper roll to make it 2" tall. (Half is 2 1/4" for Charmin so you can trim it down)
2. Cut a rectangle 6 inches by 2 inches.
3. Trace a circle on black construction paper, using a tube as your guide. Draw four small rectangles around the edges of the circle. Cut this out (this will be the top of the hat).
4. Trace another circle using the roll and draw a circle around that about a 1/2 inch larger. If you are using a compass set the compass at 1.25" makes a nice size. Cut out large circle. This is the brim.


5. In the smaller circle you traced, draw 3 lines going across the circle evenly. Cut on these lines to make 6 small triangles. Bend up and secure to inside of roll with craft glue or tape. If using glue hold for a few seconds to keep pieces in place.

6. Place the first circle with tabs on the other end of the roll and secure the four tabs with glue or tape.
7. Wrap the rectangular piece around the main part of the tube to finish you hat!

Explain the activity to your child by showing him or her a picture of Abraham Lincoln and a $5 bill and a penny.

If you can see a bit of the roll, and would like it hidden, simply color with a black sharpie

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery. Before his election in 1860 as the first Republican president, Lincoln had been a lawyer, an Illinois state legislator, a member of the United States House of Representatives, and twice an unsuccessful candidate for election to the U.S. Senate.