You know the drill. February rolls around and every parenting site suggests gluing cotton balls to a paper plate. Not today.
We’re skipping the George Washington wig clichés and diving into crafts that actually keep kids engaged. Think less “historical cosplay” and more “sneaky learning with scissors.”
1. Cherry Tree Collage
Use torn red paper and brown twigs to build a cherry tree. No cotton balls were harmed in the making of this craft.
2. Penny Rubbing Art
Grab a handful of pennies and some thin paper. Place a penny under the paper and rub a crayon sideways to reveal Lincoln’s profile.
Do this with pennies from different years and talk about how his face changed. Then arrange the rubbings into a timeline on poster board.
Your kid will think they’re doing magic. You’ll feel like a history-teaching rockstar for about four minutes.
3. Log Cabin from Cardboard
Cut a milk carton into a cabin shape and glue on pretzel sticks. The kids will eat half the pretzels, but that’s the cost of doing business.
4. Presidential Portrait Parade
Print out small headshots of all 46 presidents (yes, 46). Have your child arrange them in order on a long strip of butcher paper.
Add one fun fact next to each face like “John Adams had a pet alligator” or “Teddy Roosevelt was shot during a speech and kept talking.” This craft kills an entire rainy afternoon.
My oldest once insisted on drawing tiny hats on every single president. I did not stop her.
5. White House Shape House
Cut a large rectangle from white cardstock for the main building. Add a smaller rectangle on top for the center section and two tiny triangles for the pillars.
Glue on cotton swabs (not cotton balls!) for the columns. Draw little windows with a blue pen.
This takes patience but the result looks shockingly good. Hang it on the fridge and pretend you have your life together.
6. Cherry Pit Counting Game
Paint dried chickpeas red and let them dry overnight. Hide them in a bowl of dry rice and have your child “find the cherries” with tweezers.
Count each one aloud. Turn it into a math race against a sibling or timer.
My five-year-old demanded we play this four times in a row. I regret nothing.
7. Lincoln’s Hat Shadow Box
Decorate a shoebox lid to look like a tall black hat. Cut a slit in the top and insert index cards with laws your kid would make (like “ice cream before dinner”).
8. Mount Rushmore Rocks
Find four smooth stones roughly the same size. Paint them with simple face shapes using white and black paint pens.
Stack them on a small clay base. Each rock gets a president’s initial (W, J, T, L).
This is messy but satisfying. Do it outside or on a dollar store tablecloth unless you enjoy scrubbing granite off your kitchen island.
9. Campaign Button Factory
Cut circles from white craft foam. Write slogans like “Vote for my mom” or “Pizza for president” with permanent markers.
Glue on a safety pin or tape to a shirt. Your child can wear their “campaign” all week.
One year my son made a button that just said “Snacks.” He won the election in our living room by a landslide.
10. Cherry Blossom Branches
Collect fallen twigs from your yard. Scrunch up pink and white tissue paper into little flowers and glue them onto the branches.
Stick the whole thing in a small pot filled with play dough. Set it next to a printed photo of the DC cherry blossoms for comparison.
The petals will shed everywhere. Vacuuming is tomorrow’s problem.
11. Presidential Pet Parade
Research the weirdest presidential pets (like John Quincy Adams’s alligator or Coolidge’s raccoon). Have your child draw each pet on a strip of paper.
Fold the strip into a fan or accordion. Line up the pets in a “parade” across the living room floor.
My kids still talk about the time we learned that Wilson kept sheep on the White House lawn. That’s a win.
12. Log Cabin Snack
Spread peanut butter on a celery stick. Press pretzel sticks into the peanut butter to look like logs.
Add a few raisins for “windows.” Eat it before your kid changes their mind about celery.
13. Penny Spinner Game
Tape a penny to the center of a paper plate. Spin it and see which president lands face-up.
Keep a tally chart for Washington versus Lincoln. The loser has to do a silly dance.
14. Quill Pen Practice
Dip a feather or a toothpick into black paint. Write your name or “February 22” on brown paper bag cut into scroll shapes.
Compare how long it took to write one sentence versus using a marker. Your kid will gain instant respect for the typewriter (and also for their teacher).
This works best with washable paint. Ask me how I know.
15. Three Corner Hat from Newspaper
Fold a sheet of newspaper into a triangle hat shape. Staple the edges and flip up the brim.
Decorate with stars and stripes using red and blue markers. Wear it while watching a short video about Valley Forge.
The hat will last about twenty minutes. That’s nineteen more than a cotton ball wig.
16. Presidential Seal Cookies
Bake simple sugar cookies in round shapes. Mix powdered sugar with a little milk and let your kid draw an eagle or shield on top.
Use a toothpick for fine lines. Don’t worry about perfection—lopsided seals taste exactly the same.
I once used a raisin for the eagle’s eye. My child called it “abstract.” I chose to take that as a compliment.
17. Cherry Tree Bark Rubbings
Find a tree with interesting bark. Hold a piece of white paper against the trunk and rub a brown crayon over it.
Cut out leaf shapes from green construction paper and glue them onto the “bark” paper. Add red pom-poms for cherries (pom-poms are allowed, cotton balls are not).
18. Honest Abe’s Measuring Stick
Cut a long strip of cardboard. Mark inches from 1 to 72 and let your child color each foot in alternating red and white stripes.
Measure everyone in the family against Lincoln’s actual height (6 foot 4). My husband came up short, and the kids have never let him forget it.
19. Voting Booth Box
Decorate a large cardboard box with a slit on top. Cut a smaller box into a “ballot” tray.
Use folded index cards as ballots for family decisions like movie night or dessert. The suspense is real.
20. Cherry Pie Suncatcher
Press red and pink tissue paper squares onto contact paper cut into a circle shape. Add little green triangles for leaves.
Stick it on a window. The sun turns it into a glowing cherry pie without the oven or the mess.
My toddler tried to eat it anyway. Toddlers gonna toddle.
21. Dollar Bill Origami
Fold a real dollar bill into a simple shirt shape (YouTube has a ten-second tutorial). Place it next to a photo of George Washington.
Talk about why his face is on the one-dollar bill and not the five. Then let your kid keep the folded dollar as a reward for listening.
22. Presidential Job Application
Print a blank job application template. Have your child fill it out as if they were running for president.
Ask questions like “What’s your experience with compromise?” and “Can you handle a cat running through an interview?” Hang it on the wall for laughs.
My daughter wrote “I am good at sharing toys sometimes.” She’d have my vote.
23. Log Cabin Math
Give your child ten pretzel rods and ten mini marshmallows. Challenge them to build a cabin using exactly eight rods and six marshmallows.
Count leftover materials and discuss subtraction. Then eat the evidence.
24. Cherry Bomb Popcorn Balls
Mix popped popcorn with melted red candy melts. Form into small balls and add a green candy leaf on top.
Let them cool on wax paper. These look like giant cherries and taste like a sugar rush from 1776.
25. George Washington’s Dentures Model
Roll white clay into small pegs and arrange them in a horseshoe shape on a pink craft foam base. Add a few brown spots for “wood” (historically accurate-ish).
Explain that Washington’s dentures weren’t actually wood but hippo ivory. Your kid will never forget the word “hippo ivory” and neither will their teacher.
26. Presidential Biography Flip Book
Fold three pieces of paper in half and staple the spine. On each page, write one president’s name and draw a small symbol (cherry, hat, penny, log).
Limit it to five presidents so the project doesn’t take three weeks. My rule is Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Lincoln, and whoever is current.
27. Cherry Scented Play Dough
Mix flour, salt, cream of tartar, water, oil, and red food coloring. Add a few drops of cherry extract for smell.
Shape it into little cherries or just let your kid squish it. The scent alone makes February feel less gray.
28. The White House Garden Labels
Paint small wooden popsicle sticks green. Write vegetable names on them like “lettuce,” “carrots,” and “spinach” (the Obamas’ actual garden choices).
Stick them into a pot of dirt or a foam block. Pretend you’re the presidential chef deciding tonight’s menu.
My son insisted on a label for “chocolate.” I let it slide.
29. Cherry Tree Story Stones
Paint small stones with red circles (cherries) and brown lines (branches). Add a few green leaf stones. Use them to retell the cherry tree story in your own words.
Toss the stones into a bag and pull them out one by one. Each stone triggers a sentence of the tale.
We did this at a playdate and three other moms asked for the instructions. That’s the highest compliment a craft can get.
So there you have it: 29 Presidents Day crafts that won’t make you want to hide the glue sticks. Pick two or three that fit your kid’s attention span (or your remaining sanity). The goal isn’t a perfect project—it’s a five-minute story they’ll retell at dinner.
Now go raid your recycling bin and pretend you planned this all along. And if anyone asks about the cotton balls, tell them they’re on vacation.