Presidents Day Craft: Presidential Seal and Oath of Office

For the tenth and final question in my craft series based on crowd-sourced responses, I asked my friends to name an under-rated holiday. To choose what to make, I looked at which of the holidays mentioned is most in need of a classroom craft and I decided on Presidents Day (no apostrophe). Yes, plenty of Presidents Day crafts exist already, but they are overwhelmingly about Washington and Lincoln and almost exclusively target early elementary age. I wanted something for upper elementary that focuses on all presidents, not just the two best-known. I decided to create a coloring page of the Presidential Seal, paired with information about the Seal and the Presidential Oath of Office on the reverse. 

I started with this image from the State Department and made a few digital tweaks (specifically to the shield) to turn it into a coloring page. 

The folks from Ohuhu just sent me their new Kaala series dual-tip alcohol markers to try out, so that's what I used for coloring. I've been wanting to try Ohuhu for a long time because I've heard great things. And now I know that everything I've heard is true! I love these markers. The Kaala series has 150 colors (168 pens) in four different sets (Basic Tones, Illustration Tones, Skin Tones, and Landscape Tones). The color range is beautiful, although I only used 8 for this project. Seven are listed below, plus I used a cool grey to shade the E PLURIBUS UNUM banner. 

The Kaalas feature a fine tip for drawing (perfect for coloring in the letters in the seal and the tiny spaces between the stars) and a slim broad tip for coloring larger spaces and making angled lines. The markers are labeled on both the color-coded top and with a sticker along the side, which I loved. 

After coloring, I created a second printable for the reverse. I added some information about the Presidential Seal, then left space for students to write the Presidential Oath of Office. 

Here's how it looks filled in:

After students have colored the front and written on the back, they can turn them into a mobile. Cut out both parts and sandwich them together with a little bit of glue. Punch a hole and add a piece of yarn to hang the mobile. 

I loved trying out the Kaala markers and can't wait to use all of the colors. And that isn't all that Ohuhu sent me! Expect to see a lot of projects using Ohuhu products in 2023!