Happy President's Day! In honor of some of our greatest presidents, and my own personal favorites, I thought it would be fun to celebrate with some TRIVIA and VIDEOS!!
How much do you know about our presidents? We always refer to them as our country's "Forefathers," but what do we really know about them? The more I learn about our early presidents, the more they become my heroes! I want to teach our children about the character qualities of great men like Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson. I want our children to be inspired by their stories of perseverence, bravery, ingenuity, faith.
Start some great conversations about our presidents with your kids at breakfast or dinner today--see how many of these answers they know!
1. Who was the tallest American president?
2. Who was the shortest American president?
3. Which 2 presidents died on the very same day--same year? (You HAVE to read this explanation! I get chills every time I read about these great men who loved our country so much!)
4. Which president had wooden teeth? (Trick question!!)
5. Which president served the shortest term?
6. Who was the first president with a beard?
7. Why did he grow a beard?
8. Who was the only unanimously elected president?
9. Whose inauguration speech was the shortest--only 133 words? (and took him only 90 seconds to deliver!)
10. Which president was related to 11 other presidents (by blood or marriage)?
This is a really FUN way to see all the presidents from Washington to Obama in less than 4 minutes!
Resources to Share With Your Family
1) Hands-down, the very best storyteller I have ever heard (besides my dad, of course!) is Jim Weiss. I have had the pleasure of hearing him at a denim jumper convention tell stories about the first 5 presidents, and it was one of the best lessons in history I have EVER heard. He made early American history come ALIVE for me that day! I highly recommend any of his Greathall Productions, which are audiobooks he has recorded on cd. We don't own his Abraham Lincoln and the Heart of America, but I'm sure it is as amazing as his other titles.
2) I cannot recommend this enough: Take your kids on a family vacation to see Mount Rushmore! Not only will your kids learn so much about our country's history, but they will have a BLAST! I've outlined our family's trip to Mount Rushmore, and have given lots of helpful tips!
3) Animated Hero Classics, Nest Family Entertainment - We have collected some of these faith-based videos/dvds for our daughters through the years, and they are wonderful! Why not WATCH some of these cartoons with your family today--to celebrate President's Day! It looks like the George Washington ones and Abraham Lincoln ones are posted on YouTube. You can watch 1 part at a time. Here they are, to get you started! Enjoy!
And now, some resources for YOU! Two historical fiction books about these great men and their wives that I read and enjoyed! They both are considered well-researched, which is important to me.
Mount Vernon Love Story by Mary Higgins Clark
and The Emancipator's Wife by Barbara Hambly
In closing, I leave you with one of the greatest speeches in our nation's history--the Gettysburg Address....delivered by perhaps the youngest in our nation's history!!
How will YOU celebrate our greatest presidents today?
