Blog•Seasonal Learning•February 8, 2026

Presidents' Day Mini Civics Week for Kids

Three gentle, screen-free activities to explore flags, coins, and leadership with ages 3-8.

A Parent-Friendly Plan That Fits Real Life

Presidents' Day often sneaks up on us, so I keep a tiny “civics week” plan ready. It's just three short activities that feel meaningful without needing a big history lesson.

Day 1: Flag Patterns + Counting

Kids build stripes with stickers or crayons, then count totals and compare which row has more.

Day 2: Coin Rubbing Math

Make coin rubbings, sort by size, and create simple “how many coins” stories.

Day 3: Leadership Traits Talk

Read a short story, then choose a trait like kind, brave, or honest and draw a picture.

Mark the Calendar

Presidents' Day is Monday, February 16, 2026. If you only have one day, do the coin rubbing activity and add a quick read-aloud about a leader your child already knows.

Activity 1: Flag Patterns + Counting

Tape a rectangle on paper or print a blank flag outline. Kids create stripes with stickers or crayons, then count, compare, and color as they go.

Make 5 red stripes, then color 3 blue stars.
Circle the smallest stripe. Is it shorter or longer?
Add 2 more stars. How many stars now?

Activity 2: Coin Rubbing Math

Place a coin under paper and rub with a crayon. Kids love the reveal, and it turns into easy sorting and math practice.

Trace 3 pennies and 2 nickels. Which group is bigger?
Build a coin “train” from biggest to smallest.
Tell a story: “I found 4 coins at the park. Two were pennies. How many were not?”

Activity 3: Leadership Traits Talk

Read a short picture book about leaders, helpers, or inventors. Then choose one trait and let kids draw a moment they showed it.

Kind: “What does kind look like at home?”

Brave: “When did you try something hard?”

Honest: “How do we show honesty with friends?”

Helpful: “Who did you help today?”

Printable Tie-Ins From the Site

Flag Coloring Pages

Print a few pages and add stripe-counting prompts.

Coin Counting Practice

Pair coin rubbings with quick counting pages.

Leadership Word Search

Use words like leader, brave, vote, and help.

Gentle Age Tweaks

Age 3-4: Focus on coloring, counting to 5, and one simple leadership word.
Age 5-6: Add pattern challenges and short sentence starters.
Age 7-8: Ask kids to write 2-3 sentences about a leader they admire.

Wrap-Up

You don't need a big lesson to make Presidents' Day feel meaningful. A few hands-on moments help kids connect flags, coins, and leadership to their own day-to-day choices.