Homemade Coins

What You Need:

• Colored construction paper
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Paste or glue
• Picture of presidents or a penny and a quarter

What You Do:

1. Help your child draw and cut out two large circles—one out of orange construction paper, and one out of grey paper. Remember: It's okay if it isn't perfect!
2. Using real coins, show him what the profiles of both Abraham Lincoln and George Washington look like. Encourage him to draw his best interpretation of each president on black construction paper, using a pencil.
3. After your child has drawn each presidential profile, have him carefully cut along the traced lines. If he's having trouble, help him out with a bit of the cutting!
4. Once he has cut out profiles of both presidents, encourage him to paste that picture onto each respective coin.
5. Once the paste has dried, he's free to play around with the jumbo coins! To practice adding and grouping coins together, challenge him to make a few more. (Thomas Jefferson is featured on the nickel, and Franklin D. Roosevelt can be seen embellishing the dime.) Encourage your little counter to practice making different combinations and adding up the totals. When he's finished with his math play he can hang up these artsy coins to decorate for President's Day!