I have a new favorite president. No wonder this guy is on Mount Rushmore! I can’t remember ever studying Theodore Roosevelt in school. Where was I? Did we just skip all the interesting things in history? Surely we did because I was a “good” student. If it was taught, surely I heard it. But I only remember a few times in all my years of school when history was interesting, and it was never American history.
We read a very simple book —Time For Kids: Theodore Roosevelt: The Adventurous President — from our Winter Promise American Story 2 curriculum. I love how it was full of photos and quotes.
In fact,the quotations inspired me to make the copywork pages that are a part of my notebooking set. I love it when Sprite’s handwriting can be meaningful and tie into what we’re studying.
Of course, I’ve included his famous quote, “Walk softly and carry a big stick.” Historically, at least, that is very important. But listen to this one:
The lack of power to take joy in outdoor nature is as real a misfortune as the lack of power to take joy in books.
Isn’t that beautiful and true? This one resonates with me because it values 2 things I revel in — books and nature. Most everyone admits that reading needs no defense, but in our nature deficient culture, many people need to be reminded of the value of time spent outdoors.
And two quotes about working hard (something I feel very strongly about instilling in Sprite):
When you play, play hard. When you work, don’t play at all.
Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.
That last one reminded me of King Solomon in Ecclesiastes, so we pulled out the Bible and compared.
Of course, the notebooking set also includes some basic pages for recording history. Sprite focused on the Spanish American War and the Teddy Bear (no surprise there).
I hope that you find them helpful when you study Roosevelt or need some cursive copywork.
For some Roosevelt minibooks, see Learning by Living for photos. The printables are actually at Homeschool Share. And this PDF has notebooking pages for many presidents, including Roosevelt.
I am constantly learning things during homeschooling that I never learned as a student. I love it!!
Indeed, no week passes without asking the same questions…’What did I learn in school?’ and ‘How come I can not remember even one schoolbook?’ I like to second the remarks on the importance of spending time outdoors by stating that I do remember the backyards in detail of all the houses I have lived in as a child, but I can not remember how the schoolrooms looked.
My oldest son loves good old Teddy. He quotes him often. I was a “good student” too and never learned most of this stuff until I was homeschooling my kiddos. I did pick up some more interesting stuff in college. It is a sad tale to tell.
Blessings,
Dawn
I think our history classes focus so much on pre-Civil War that by the time it gets past it there’s not enough time to really study the rest, so we fly through the last half of our history.
I gave you a blog award. Check my blog to see it 😉 I just love your blog and I have learned so much reading your posts. Thanks for sharing it with us all!
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Thank you for sharing all that you do with your homeschooling, Jimmie.
I saw a photo of the mini office you did that had a list of presidents with their photos, etc. Do you by chance have the link to the so that I may print it off for my children’s mini office?
Laura
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@Laura — The printable can be found HERE. I had to play with the print settings quite a bit to finally get it to print on one sheet of paper. So just be aware.
I was reading on another blog from Australia that the government is planning on implementing a filter to block certain internet websites for security reasons for children, etc. and that alot of blogs from American would be blocked. She also mentioned that China did the same thing. Do you have trouble viewing blogs from America?
Blessings
Diane
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oooh I really needed this, we’re doing a “Night at the Museum” themed week, so this is perfect:)
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I wish I knew about all these great resources when I was teaching history! It’ll be a few years before my preschoolers are ready for a President Unit
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Oh, how I agree with your comment when if ever did we cover this in school LOL Teddy and Time book will be part of our history studies for next year. I really enjoyed your post, the quotes you selected and your thoughts on them. Thank you for sharing the notebook pages too! You’re the best! – Marstar