Teddy Roosevelt's Letters, Games for Girls, Quotes from Cicero
By Heather Idoni
Added Thursday, July 09, 2009
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The Homeschooler's Notebook
Encouragement and Advice for Homeschool Families
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Vol. 10 No 49 July 9, 2009
ISSN: 1536-2035
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Copyright (c) 2009 - Heather Idoni, FamilyClassroom.net
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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Guest Article
-- TR's Letters to His Kids
Helpful Tip
-- Quotes from Cicero
Winning Website
-- MisterMaker.com
Reader Question
-- Computer Games for Girls?
Additional Notes
-- Newsletter Archives
-- Sponsorship Information
-- Reprint Information
-- Subscriber Information
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Guest Article
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Theodore Roosevelt's Letters to His Children
by Barbara Frank
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We all want to make history come alive for our kids. We remember
the dry textbooks and boring lectures of our youth that left us
with little to remember in the way of historical facts, and we don't
want to repeat that method with our own children.
There's plenty of great curriculum available to teach history in an
interesting way; the trouble is finding something that works for us
and our children.
In over 20 years of homeschooling, I've found that there were a few
books and curriculum we used that really stand out in my mind as
being wonderful. One was a book I stumbled onto; I happened to see
it at the public library and took it out because I wanted to read it.
But once I began, I decided to read it aloud with my kids and they
enjoyed it as much as I did.
The book is called Theodore Roosevelt's Letters to His Children.
President Roosevelt (or TR, as he was often called) led an exciting
and interesting life, full of accomplishment. But he considered his
greatest accomplishments to be his children, and he loved them very
much.
He wrote most of the letters in this 250-page collection to them,
complete with adorable illustrations that he drew. Other letters
were written to close family members and friends about his children.
Reading through these letters gives the reader an intimate look into
the life of a presidential family at the turn of the 20th century.
Throughout the book, it's clear that TR made his family his top
priority. Here's what he wrote to his son, Kermit, who was away at
school, in November 1903:
"To-night while I was preparing to dictate a message to Congress
concerning the boiling cauldron on the Isthmus of Panama, which has
now begun to bubble over, up came one of the ushers with a telegram
from you and Ted about the football match. Instantly I bolted into
the next room to read it aloud to mother and sister, and we all
cheered in unison when we came to the Rah! Rah! Rah! part of it. It
was a great score. I wish I could have seen the game."
Knowing history makes some of the funnier letters quite poignant.
For example, here's TR's description of evenings at the White House:
"Archie and Quentin are really great playmates. One night I came
up-stairs and found Quentin playing the pianola as hard as he could,
while Archie would suddenly start from the end of the hall where the
pianola was, and, accompanied by both the dogs, race as hard as he
could the whole length of the White House clean to the other end of
the hall and then tear back again. Another evening as I came up-stairs
I found Archie and Quentin having a great play, chuckling with
laughter, Archie driving Quentin by his suspenders, which were fixed
to the end of a pair of woolen reins. Then they would ambush me and
we would have a vigorous pillow-fight, and after five or ten minutes
of this we would go into Mother's room, and I would read them the book
Mother had been reading them, 'The Legend of Montrose'."
(Quentin was the president's youngest son (and said to be his favorite)
who would die a hero's death in World War I at the age of 20. TR
would die a mere six months later.)
The book leaves you with a clear picture of TR the family man, and
includes many true stories that my children loved. While there are
a few books currently in print that include these letters along with
forewords written by their editors, you can also read the entire book
of letters free online. Just go to:
http://books.google.com/books?id=Xx4TPsZcdPEC
---
Copyright 2009 Barbara Frank/Cardamom Publishers
Barbara Frank is the mother of four homeschooled-from-birth children
ages 16-25, a freelance writer/editor, and the author of "Life Prep
for Homeschooled Teenagers", "The Imperfect Homeschooler's Guide to
Homeschooling", and "Homeschooling Your Teenagers". You'll find her
on the Web at:
http://www.cardamompublishers.com and http://barbarafrankonline.com
---
Do you have comments to share? Please do!
Send your emails to: mailto:heather@familyclassroom.net
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Helpful Tip
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My 19 year old has been quoting Cicero a bit lately, so I thought
I'd read some of his sayings for myself. I came across a few
that made some sense to me in application to our children -- so
here they are for your contemplation as well! -- Heather
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"When you wish to instruct, be brief; that men's [children's] minds
take in quickly what you say, learn its lesson, and retain it
faithfully. Every word that is unnecessary only pours over the side
of a brimming mind."
"Natural ability without education has more often attained to glory
and virtue than education without natural ability."
---
Do you have an idea, experience, or tip to share? Please write!
Send to: mailto:HN-ideas@familyclassroom.net
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Winning Website
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"I just found this great website that has really nice craft ideas
for preschoolers." -- Karen
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Last Issue's Reader Question
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"I have five daughters – the oldest is eight – and they have never
attended any 'school'. In the past, we have let the older two use
our old computer for some internet play, like PBS Kids and other
vaguely educational but mainly fun sites. However, some recent
comments have made it clear to me that they are getting some
non-Biblical ideas from this that we would rather protect them
from. So I'd like to get some recommendations for computer games
that come on CD, since their content should be easier to monitor.
Our computer is about five years old, so we can't use very demanding
media, and our budget is limited. Also, since we have girly girls,
a nice pink theme would be helpful. We already have two of the
Reader Rabbit games, which they do enjoy, but have pretty well
exhausted over the past two years." -- Carrie
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Our Readers' Responses
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Carrie -- this was a tough question, obviously, because we didn't
get any answers from our readers!
I did some research, however, and the following games seem to fit
your criteria well. The first one looks fantastic -- you need to
read the reviews!
-- Heather
Bookworm Deluxe (same game, but with lots more reviews)
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Answer our NEW Question
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Unschooling High School
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"I have always unschooled and enjoyed the freedom. But this year
my oldest is starting High School and I have become nervous about
my choice. I have always had to defend my choice and the questions
are getting harder the older they get. For example: How do they
graduate and get into college (if they choose to)? How do you
know they are learning if you do not test them? I have never had
a lot of support around me -- all the homeschoolers I know do not
unschool. I don't want to stop unschooling; I just want to make
sure I am doing all I need to. Any advice?" -- Telia
---
Do you have some wisdom or some experience to share with Telia?
We'll share your answer in our next issue - HIGH SCHOOL EDITION #6!
Please send your reply to: mailto:HN-answers@familyclassroom.net
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Ask YOUR Question
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