Polishing Pennies for President's Day

President's Day offers a great opportunity for teaching your kiddos not only about the men who have helped shape our country, but about the money and coins that are adorned with their images. Check out this awesome penny polishing activity from Deb Chitwood over at Living Montessori Now! It's fabulous for developing fine motor skills and learning about cause and effect, as well as providing exposure to the scientific process.

We love how Deb set up the experiment tray - the eye dropper of lemon juice, the petri dishes of ingredients, the polishing cloth - making it easy for your preschoolers to explore the process. Before beginning, show your students the 'dirty' pennies and invite them to hypothesize what will happen when they use the ingredients with the pennies. Then let them explore! Invite them to test the materials separately {i.e try to polish the pennies using just the cloth, just the salt, etc.}, then together, reporting which method works best!

Deb includes several other president and money themed activities in her post, so be sure to visit Living Montessori Now for the full lesson plan!