Obtain several sets of Lincoln Logs and set them up at a learning station. Have students design a log cabin on paper and then individually try to recreate that design with the Lincoln Logs at the learning center. Once they have completed their log cabins, have them take digital pictures of the cabins before tearing them down and putting the logs away. Print out the pictures and have students display the pictures with their original design.
For a fun and tasty log cabin project, have students make a log cabin out of pretzels and peanut butter. First show students pictures of different styles of log cabins and discuss why they were a popular building option in early America. Then give each student an empty, clean pint-sized milk carton. With the milk carton top closed, have them smear the tops and sides with peanut butter. Provide pretzel rods to press into the peanut butter as logs. Then use wafer cookies or graham crackers as doors and windows. Make a chimney with a piece of celery or a carrot stick. Make sure you provide plenty of extra supplies so students can eat their mistakes.
Introduce students to the concept of the Log Cabin quilt block. Demonstrate how it uses symmetry and basic geometry to create a pattern that works together for an overall design. Have them create a quilt block using different colors of construction paper. Have them carefully measure each strip before cutting it and assembling it into a square. Later, discuss how accuracy was important and put all of the blocks together on the wall to form one large "quilt."
Each student should select one of the seven U.S. presidents who were born in log cabins: Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Grant, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, James Buchanan and James Garfield. Have each student research her selected president, then create a profile of him presented in an artistic fashion. This can be through a picture of a log cabin with facts written on logs, a collage of important images from the president's life or a timeline with a log cabin at one end and the White House at the other.