Free George Washington Quote to Frame

This quote is particularly appropriate for George Washington. I learned about his love for farming in George Washington Plants a Nation. This artwork is available here for you to print out and frame. Hang it along side these quotes by Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin.

Free Abraham Lincoln Quote to Frame

Happy belated birthday President Lincoln! He was born 202 years ago on the 12th. Here is an 8" x 10" image I created that you can print out and frame. It matches the Benjamin Franklin quote I posted awhile ago.

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011

Happy New Year to you all. 

It’s resolution time! In 2011, I resolve to:
1. Blog more
2. Redesign my blog
3. Discover more great history for children.

As we say goodbye to last year,  I thought I'd look back on what history titles the publishing world offered children in 2010.  This assortment includes one written by the President. It’s a clever introduction to thirteen famous Americans. As a whole, the group is not concentrated on any one era or theme. Titles range from the age of dinosaurs to the invention of the Apple computer.  

It will be interesting to see what 2011 offers. What are your resolutions?

FIRST LADY WEEK: Martha Washington

TITLE: Martha Washington: America's First Lady

AUTHOR: Jean Brown Wagoner

WHAT WAS HER BACKGROUND? Martha Dandridge, who was called Patsy by her family, was the oldest of eight children. She grew up on a Virginia plantation and spent her days sewing, riding, reading and playing with her siblings, cousins and even a pet bear cub. This book portrays a positive relationship between young Martha and all the people in her life, including the house slaves. Her’s was an isolated existence with little travel beyond the borders of the plantation, so the highlight of the year was the arrival of a supply ship that anchored near her home. This was a cause for great celebration as guests came from miles around for feasts, dances, horse races and fox hunts.

HOW DID SHE AND THE FUTURE PRESIDENT MEET? Martha lost two children and her first husband to illness and was managing a plantation alone. She was visiting friends who lived on a river near a ferry crossing. Her host noticed George Washington on the ferry and hurried out to invite him to dinner. Washington was already a French and Indian War hero and was commander in chief of the armies of Virginia.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: She was capable at a wide array of skills, from riding a horse to weaving cloth and sewing clothes. She had four children from her first marriage. Of these, two survived into early adulthood and made her a grandmother. She visited George Washington at Valley Forge and aided the sick, the hungry and the needy. After seeing that these men hardly had enough clothes to cover themselves she kept fifteen spinning wheels going day and night at Mount Vernon and pleaded with friends to also make cloth for the soldiers’ clothes.

Ages: 9-12

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This was a pleasant way to learn about Martha Washington. I was glad to discover that this book is in a Childhood of Famous Americans series that contains nearly 50 titles. What a great way for children to relate to those who have made history! Other titles in the series include:  Milton Hershey: Young Chocolatier, Albert Einstein: Young Thinker, Crazy Horse: Young War Chief and Paul Revere: Boston Patriot.

Activity: Martha Washington had an unusual childhood pet. Can you match these out-of-the-ordinary pets with one of the following first families?

Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge or Hubert Hoover

A.     Silk Worms
B.     Opposum
C.     Racoon
D.     Mockingbird
E.     Badger
F.     Ram
G.    Turkey

You also might want to check out this interesting resource on presidential pets.

FIRST LADY WEEK - Ladybird Johnson

TITLE: Miss Lady Bird's Wildflowers: How a First Lady Changed America

AUTHOR: Kathi Appelt

WHAT WAS HER BACKGROUND? Claudia Alta Taylor whom we know as Lady Bird Johnson, was born in Karnack, in eastern Texas in 1912. Her nanny proclaimed one day, “She’s as purty as a ladybird,” and the name stuck. A ladybird is another name for a ladybug. She had an enchanted, well-to-do though isolated childhood. Her mother died when she was only five. An aunt came to help raise her, and it is she who inspired Lady Bird to appreciate nature's beauty. Lady Bird enrolled in the University of Texas in 1930, at a time when it was unusual for women to attend college, and earned a degree in journalism.

HOW DID SHE AND THE FUTURE PRESIDENT MEET? While she was attending the university in Austin she met Lyndon Baines Johnson who was working as a congressional aid. He proposed on their first date.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: She had two daughters, Lynda and Luci. She introduced them to gardening but worried about other children playing in concrete parks and having no connection to growing plants. When her husband became president she poured her energy into the Highway Beautification Act. Highway landscapes changed because of that law. Road signs and depreis were better managed and native wildfloweres were planted. Later, when she was seventy, she helped establish the National Wildflower Research Center.

Illustrations filled with rich and vivid colors compliment the copy. This would make a great gift for the child with an interest in flowers.

Ages 9-12

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Activity: Here’s a great mother’s day gift idea. Print out this seed packet template, color it, glue up the sides and fill it with seeds. Your mother will love it!

FIRST LADY WEEK: Eleanor Roosevelt

TITLE: Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery

AUTHOR: Russell Freedman

WHAT WAS HER BACKGROUND? Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the first child born to wealthy socialites in New York in 1884. Her father was President Teddy Roosevelt’s younger brother. Gawky and glum as a child, her mother died from diphtheria when she was only eight. Her dad, an alcoholic, died less than two years later. Eleanor and her younger brother were raised by her maternal grandmother, whose hands were already full with four unruly grown children.

HOW DID SHE AND THE FUTURE PRESIDENT MEET? They first met at a gathering for children from prominent families. Eleanor was fourteen and feeling unattractive, unfashionable and generally miserable when Franklin, her fifth cousin, asked her to dance. Three years later they met again by chance on a train and continued to run into each other at various parties, including the New Year’s Eve soiree of the recently elected Teddy Roosevelt.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Eleanor had a busy life. She raised five children, was a teacher, and a delegate to the United Nations. Unique to her time and position, she earned her own money by writing columns, lecturing and broadcasting, usually topping the president's salary. She gave most of this income to charity. She thrived being among the suffering masses and bringing their plight into the spotlight.

This is a well told account of a very interesting and influential woman.

Awards: Newbery Honor Book

Ages: 9-12

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Activity: Here is an Eleanor Roosevelt crossword puzzle.

FIRST LADY WEEK - Dolley Madison

TITLE: Dolly Madison: First Lady

AUTHOR: Cynthia Fitterer Klingel

WHAT WAS HER BACKGROUND? Dolley Payne was born in what is now Guilford County, North Carolina in 1768 to Quaker parents. Quakers educated their daughters along with their sons, and Dolley was a bright student. The family eventually gave up the farming life and moved to Philadelphia where Dolley married a Quaker lawyer and had two sons. During the 1793 yellow fever epidemic, her husband and youngest son died.

HOW DID SHE AND THE FUTURE PRESIDENT MEET? Dolley was a looker and possessed an effervescent personality. In other words, she was a bit of a man magnet. James Madison, a congressman at the time, fell for her and proposed. She had misgivings...he was only 5'6" tall, was getting up there at the age of 42, and was Episcopalian. The first First Lady, Martha Washington, talked Mr. Madison up to Dolley because she and George were really rooting for this pairing. Dolley married James Madison in 1794.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: America adored her. She had a knack for entertaining and for soothing tensions between political parties as well as between foreign dignitaries. Not only was she the hostess with the mostest during her husband’s eight year presidencey, but also during the previous eight years for Jefferson, who was a widow when he was elected. During the war of 1812 she gained hero status. The British invaded Washington D. C. while James was away. Dolley had the wherewithal to gather important papers and a large painting of George Washington before fleeing. Soon after the British plundered the presidential residence and set the place on fire.

Ages: 9-12

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Activity: Dolley was the only First Lady that was raised as a Quaker. Numerous Quakers from many walks of life have become world-renowned. Can you find the Quaker in these groups?

Actor:  A. Clark Gable  B. John Wayne  C. James Dean   D. Paul Nueman
Suffragist:  A. Elizabeth Cady Stanton  B. Susan B. Anthony  C. Lucy Burns  D. Margaret Mitchell
President:  A. Hubert Hoover  B. Grover Cleveland  C. Warren Harding  D. Richard Nixon
Musician:  A. Bonnie Raitt  B. Taylor Swift  C. Bruce Springsteen  D. Alice Cooper
Scientist:  A. Stephen Hawking  B. Carl Sagan  C. Jacques Cousteau  D. John Bartram
Journalist: A. Edward R. Murrow  B. Ann Coulter  C. Ann Landers  D. Elijah Lovejoy
Author: A. James Michener  B. Stephen King  C. Michael Chrichton  D. John Grisham
Founding Father:  A. Benjamin Franklin  B. Paul Revere  C. Thomas Paine  D. Thomas Jefferson
Religious Leader:  A. Billy Graham B. John Wesley  C. Max Lucado  D. William Penn

   

FIRST LADY WEEK - Abigail Adams

From Martha to Michelle, America has had more than forty fabulous first ladies, as evidenced in Our Country's First Ladies. This National Geographic book is full of interesting details from the lives of Martha Washington on down to Laura Bush (it was published in 2007). The book dedicates a spread to each First Lady in chronological order that includes a full page portrait and a perfect amount of well written copy. Learn about the influence these women had on their husbands, about the different causes they took on as well as lots of other interesting tidbits. For instance, did you know that Lou Hoover was the first woman to get a geology degree from Stanford University or that Elizabeth Monroe played a pivotal role in saving the wife of Marquis de Lafayette from the guillotine? You’ll also discover that Julia Grant once hosted a White House dinner featuring 29 courses of food and that 21 year old Frances Cleveland was the youngest First Lady. This book is a pleasurable read and an appropriate choice for this week’s theme....First Ladies!

Ages 9-12
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I notice that for the same aged reader, DK published a book in 2008 that includes our newest First Lady, Michelle Obama. It has been my experience that you can always count on these Eye Witness books to be fabulous. This one is titled First Ladies and it includes a clip art CD.

Many of you have gotten to know Abigail Adams through the amazing HBO miniseries, John Adams. Following is an introduction to Abigail for the younger set....

TITLE: Abigail Adams

AUTHOR: Alexander Wallner

WHAT WAS HER BACKGROUND? The daughter of a reverend, Abigail was born in 1744 in Weymouth, Massachusetts near Boston. She was bright and wanted to attend school, but school was for boys in her mother’s opinion. So she spent a great deal of time in her father’s library reading and listening in on adult talk of current events.

HOW DID SHE AND THE FUTURE PRESIDENT MEET? When she was seventeen, she met the 26 year old lawyer, John Adams, who was a friend to her sister’s fiance. He was very impressed with her knowledge. They married a couple of years later.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: She gave birth to six children. Of those, four reached adulthood and of those, one became the sixth president of the United States. She was often responsible for managing the family’s farm and finances while her husband traveled. She was directly effected by the brewing storm between the colonials and Britain. She boycotted goods that carried British taxes by making them herself, sheltered Boston residents who were fleeing the city after the Boston Tea Party and tried to influence her husband’s opinion regarding rights for slaves and women in the new laws he was helping to create. Unfortuanetly one reply he gave was “I cannot but laugh.” Believing strongly in education she sent her daughter to school and taught a black servant, who was not allowed to attend school, how to read and write.

Illustrated in a folk art style, this book is an excellent way to acquaint your child with a strong and bright woman who was present during our country's founding.

Ages: 4-8

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Activity: Color Abigail and John Adams

Learning to Read While Learning History

This is what I was reading in 1st grade:

Given the choice, I would rather have been reading this:

Today we are bombarded with more choices than ever, whether we are in the shoe store, on the car lot or in the cereal aisle. In my day everyone was wearing saddle shoes, driving station wagons, eating Wheaties for breakfast and, of course, learning to read with Dick and Jane. Well, happily, that whole variety of options thing has carried over to beginning readers! Step Into Reading offers a batch of entertaining and educational titles on five levels. Step 1: ready to read (preschool to kindergarten), Step 2: reading with help (preschool to 1st grade), Step 3: reading on your own (1st to 3rd grade), Step 4: reading paragraphs (2nd to 3rd grade), Step 5: reading chapters (2nd to 4th grade).

Step 3 is a collection of over seventy books about nature, action heroes, princesses, witches, folk tales and familiar characters like Arthur. And I'm drooling over all the history titles available at this beginning reader level. Here they are:

• Abe Lincoln's Hat
• Babe Ruth Saves Baseball!
• Barack Obama: Out of Many, One
• The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto (my review)
• Christopher Columbus
• Dinosaur Days
• Eat My Dust! Henry Ford's First Race
• The First Thanksgiving
• George Washington and the General's Dog (my review)
• The Great Tulip Trade
• Johnny Appleseed: My Story
• Lewis and Clark: A Prairie Dog for the President
• Listen Up!: Alexander Graham Bell’s Talking Machine
• Man O'War: Best Racehorse Ever
• The True Story of Pocahontas
  
• Paul Revere's Ride
  
  

Great Blogs

Discovered some new blogs recently. Ryan is learning his countries in Africa and when I googled "blank African map" for him to fill in for practice I discovered the Free Printable Maps blog. Wow. We’ll be visiting this place again and again. And to show just how thankful I am for this site, here's Ryan's graded test:

While there I noticed a link to Free Coloring Pages. Though most of these are very juvenile, the site did offer a link to several pages of Barack Obama and the Statue of Liberty if any of you happen to need them.

Library of Books, Links & More offers links to loads of topics, including my two favorites, history and geography. Look on the left hand side, eighth subject down. There I spied the Best of History Website. What a treasure trove!

I also enjoyed coming across Karen’s History Project blog this week. She has collected many great history links as well. One that looks particularly interesting is called Picturing History.
Under the Lessons in Looking section of that site I read a thought provoking analysis of how slaves have been depicted in art.

SNOW WEEK - Crossing the Delaware

TITLE: When Washington Crossed the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots

AUTHOR: Lynne Cheney

WHO WAS WHERE IN THE SNOW? George Washington and his dilapidated army crossed the Delaware River from Pennsylvania to attack the Hussians (German fighters hired by the British) in Trenton, New Jersey on December 25, 1776.

AMAZING FACTS ABOUT THIS EVENT: The downtrodden, ill-equipped, rag-tag Americans took by surprise the best trained army in the world. They were rallied by the words of Thomas Paine, “these are the times that try mens souls,” as they prepared for the crossing. 2,400 men and eighteen cannons moved over the ice-laden Delaware that night then marched the nine miles to Trenton where they captured nearly 900 unsuspecting Hessians. They regrouped and took on thousands of British and Hessian troops near Princeton, miraculously gaining the upper hand there as well. Among the American soldiers were Alexander Hamilton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and James Monroe, who was injured in the fight and later became our nation’s fifth president.

What a well written, designed and illustrated way to introduce children to this pivotal moment in American history. The book is punctuated with many quotes including this one:

I remember reading in my youth a small book – The Life of Washington—and of all his struggles none fixed itself on my mind so indelibly as the crossing of the Delaware preceding the battle of Trenton...I am exceedingly anxious that the object they fought for —liberty, and the Union and Constitution they formed—shall be perpetual.

—Abraham Lincoln, February 21, 1861

Ages 9 to 12
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Activity: The Mount Vernon web site offers a nice coloring page of Washington crossing the Delaware. You'll find it through this link.

FREE CLIP ART - Washington & Lincoln

In honor of President’s Day, here is complimentary clip art
of George Washington, and here is Abraham Lincoln.

Presidents’ Day

Presidents' Day is a charming book to share with little ones. It is an introduction to the presidents depicted on Mount Rushmore (Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt) in the guise of a school play. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it inspires children to put on their own presidential production. Introduces the election process and provides a little information on each of these four men.

Ages 4-8
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For this age group I also highly recommend the books George Washington and the General's Dog, Abe’s Fish: A Boyhood Tale of Abraham Lincoln and Abe Lincoln's Hat. This last title contains little known facts about our 16th president, including how he stored letters inside his hat! And speaking of his hat, have fun with these activity ideas:

Activity: Make a hat like George Washington’s using this template or a stovepipe hat like Lincoln’s.

My presidential prodigies

George Washington: General, President AND Farmer

Near and dear to his heart were his troops, the new nation and his wife and family. Also at the top of George Washington's list was his beloved Mount Vernon. In Farmer George Plants a Nation you’ll learn how the operation of this plantation was never far from his mind, even when he was filling his obligations as general and president. It's also a great lesson in analysis. You can practically see his cogs turning as he designs a plow that does the work of three men, experiments with different fertilizers to improve the soil and dreams up a unique wheat threshing barn. It's a refreshingly different view of George Washington that is punctuated with actual notes from his diaries. The wonderful illustrations depict Washington as a very involved large estate holder and do not hide the fact that he was a slave owner as well. I recommend this book to everybody, but especially to the child who is into gardening and composting.

Ages 9-12
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Activity: Here is an amazing free online virtual game, George Washington's World for Kids. I found it at the George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate and Garden website. I really felt like I was walking around Mount Vernon and talking to the people there. You can go into the main house and through it and around the grounds. My heart about stopped when I bumped into George Washington himself on his front porch. In order to play I had to download some free software (Unity Player) but it was easy to install and well worth it.

“Am I not destroying my enemies
when I make friends of them?”

—Abraham Lincoln

The Lincolns

I really enjoyed reading about Abraham Lincoln's wife and her dearest friend in An Unlikely Friendship: A Novel of Mary Todd Lincoln and Elizabeth Keckley, by the ever so talented Ann Rinaldi. This well written historical fiction will especially appeal to teenage girls as well as adults with an interest in history.

It is organized in a unique way:
1. The day Abraham Lincoln was shot (starting with breakfast)
2. Mary Todd's upbringing in Lexington, Kentucky
3. Elizabeth Keckley's upbringing as a slave
4. The friendship of these two women.

You could certainly say that Mary and Elizabeth (Lizzy) were opposites. Priviledged Mary Todd grew up waited-on by slaves while Lizzy endured the wretched life of a slave. Mary lost her mother early in life and was then subjected to a loathsome step-mother. Lizzy on the other hand was raised in the company of her mother, the plantation's seamstress. And thankfully, her mother taught her how to sew, a skill that eventually earned her freedom and an introduction to the upper-crust of the nation's capitol.

Readers will come away from this story with empathy for those trapped in slavery and a true sense of what Antebellum life was like. A great read.

Ages 12 and up
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Another Lincoln title caught my eye this week. The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary is a thick "scrapbook" containing 156 pages of newspaper clippings, photos, political cartoons and letters from the couples lives all arranged in chronological order. It's chock-full of information making for interesting browsing. Here is one of the many little gems it contains...an account of the first time Abraham met Mary:

Tall and gawky, wearing a swallowtail coat that was too short, shabbily patched trousers, and mismatched socks, Abraham made his way to Mary's side. "Miss Todd," he said, "I want to dance with you in the worst way." And, as Mary remembered it, "he certainly did."

Ages 9 and up
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Activity: How well do you know the 16th president? Try this Abraham Lincoln Crossword Puzzle.