This Day in History with Benjamin Franklin

On this day in 1706, Benjamin Franklin was born. Anyone who studies science, history, or has frequented a library, has encountered the ideas, the works, and discoveries of Benjamin Franklin.

Whether you find his fascination with electricity equally as fascinating, or his love for books a complete sheer and utter delight; the man accomplished enough in one lifetime to pass on enough material for months of lessons.

Get your kids and students, or you for that matter, involved at a hands-on level with these freebies that will save you time and money. After all, as Benjamin Franklin would say:

Time is money 

Spend your time learning with your children because the legwork of research has already been done for you in gathering this list of information. Following are some links to some awesome sites across the web that deliver free lesson plans and printables to make your job as a parent and/or educator that much easier:

Why Benjamin Franklin Made the History Books
Free Benjamin Franklin Lesson Plans and Printables (There are links to tons of freebies in this one!)
Free infographic memes and quotes to use for handwriting or memorization

Free MLK Day Lesson Plans and Printables

Civil Rights, Black History, Social Studies and Cultural Studies - Whatever you call it, National holidays like Martin Luther King Day are a great time to study about historical leaders.

How much do you know about Martin Luther King, Jr.?

Where was he born?

How old was he when he was assassinated?

What was the name of his most famous speech?

What hotel was he at on the day of his death?

Find the best MLK Day lesson plans and printables from across the web at these links below:

Facts About MLK

Free Lesson Plans/Printables


When you're done learning all there is to learn from the above links, and the links within these links, it's time to write your own narrative about Martin Luther King, Jr.

Begin by writing your own "I Have a Dream" speech.  What is your dream?

Next, make a list of community organizations or people you know who need your volunteer efforts to help out.  Start small, and work up to great things by giving to others.

Freedom on the Underground Railroad: Ghost train to Freedom Book review

If you ever wanted your kids to get excited about history, you have just found your solution. I received the book, Ghost Train to Freedom An Adventure on the Underground Railroad by Faith Reese Martin, in exchange for an honest review. It is part of the JMP History Mystery Detective Agency Series.

The book weaves together a fascinating story of time-traveling teens, Jinx and Max. The adventurous girl and boy travel back in time to the 1800's when slave trading was alive and accepted in America. It was also a time of the Underground Railroad where freedom was found in secret through a dangerous series of trustworthy brave people and hiding, largely at night.

The author knows her history well. Faith Reese Martin is a former fourth and fifth grade teacher who simply desired to spark her students interest in history - a subject that is far too often presented in a dry and boring manner. The author, instead, approaches it with a fictitious story set in a time that really happened, using real facts of history woven throughout the story. The result of combining history with fiction and mystery is that you won't want to put the book down. You will find yourself pulled into the story as if you traveled through time on a time-traveling train with Jinx and Max, the main characters who guide you trough history.

If you're not intrigued yet, you will be the moment you crack open the covers of this book. From the first paragraph all the way through to the end of the 300+ pages, you will be on the edge of your seat asking yourself why you never learned this much details about this important time frame in America's history. It will lead you on a trail of further research. You will discover facts about the past that will make you want to know more.

. Here is something I learned from the book: Making it to freedom took desire, bravery, skill and complicated communication. Some of the trails to freedom were communicated through the use of Freedom Quilts which were scraps of fabric woven together to form a quilt filled with intricate designs of codes and symbols showing the road to freedom. See what you discover when you use the book for summertime reading enjoyment or weave it into a history class and lesson about American history.

You can find the book at Amazon.com I was provided with websites on the information I received, however when I visit the sites I get error messages that will not allow me to proceed. Hopefully, they will be up and running soon for you to discover more. Here are the sites: www.ghosttraintofreedom.com www.faithreesemartin.com

History of April Fools Day

It's April Fools Day! Did you have some fun today? Did you fill up the salt and pepper shakers with cayenne instead? Did you loosen the lid on the milk carton to watch an unsuspecting family member pour milk aimlessly over the entire kitchen floor? Did you come up with a doozy?

Personally, I never have enjoyed this particular day of revelry. Perhaps my personality is simply too serious and realistic. Or, maybe I don't see laughter among pain caused when you play someone for a fool. Maybe I am over the edge and simply need to lighten up on this one. But, this has got to be the worst holiday ever thought up, in my humble opinion. What other holiday allows you to play jokes on someone making them out to be foolish? What other holiday allows you to out right "lie" in the name of a day. I'm paying off all of your debt - April Fools! Look, you get a raise - April Fools! You're the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on? Really! No! April Fools! Hah hah the joke's on you! What kind of fun is found in such cruelty?

O.K., O.K., I get it! April Fools Day is not all that serious. Put on a happy face and buck up and just have some good, clean innocent fun! Somehow the day still bothers me. Where did it come from? Who originated April Fools Day?

In searching for the answer to this question, I came across this write up on April Fools Day!

The best anyone can tell the day either has to do with a Gregorian calendar change, switching the date of January 1, or a Roman celebration to the god Attis. Neither description endears me or encourages me to embrace the day of laughter.

Time for St. Pat's Day Fun!

Do you celebrate St. Pat's Day? Not being raised Catholic or Irish, I only enjoyed the skirt tails of the holiday growing up. All I knew about it was that I was to wear green or be pinched, that some people went very wild on the day, and that it was about a guy who chased snakes out of Ireland.

Well, some of that is true. The more I learned as I grew, about St. Pat, the more I thought the world of him. I understand he used the clover, a simple piece of nature - God's creation - to tell the account of the trinity with each leaf representing one part of the trinity - The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.

I still don't know as much about the history of St. Pat's Day as I would like, but today when we were driving home, I had to laugh. We live near a town that celebrates Irish Catholic holidays. They are ready for a St. Pat's Day run this weekend, so they painted green 4-leaf clovers on the street. As I drove, I pointed this out to my children to which my son quick-wittingly replied: "Hey, let's go this way - It's lucky!"

Whatever your belief, whether it lines up with the original St. Pat or not, I wish you the "luck of the Irish" on St. Paddy's Day! May your day be filled with learning and expanding your knowledge of these historically fictional and non-fictional events.