First off, I want to say, I love all of you hard-working public school teachers who take your job seriously and put all of your blood, sweat and tears into your kiddos.
My husband was a public school teacher, my bestie is a public school teacher and I had some AMAZING teachers I’ll never forget …
BUT
I did forget about everything I learned about the U.S. presidents.
So, making this U.S. president game was so much fun for me, because I got to learn with my kids, like I usually do on this homeschooling journey.
I designed the Print-and-Go U.S. President BINGO, complete with 44 U.S. President Information Cards, which I researched and wrote. And, boy, did I learn A LOT.
Like what was actually going on while Bill Clinton was being impeached. I lived through that and didn’t know all the details.
But, to be fair, I was spending most of my time watching this:
Or about how Dolley Madison saved a portrait of George Washington from being burned when the British set the White House ablaze (and then the portrait turned out to be a copy). Apparently, the British troops had a fine meal at the White House using all the president’s china and silverware before lighting the first match. I definitely never knew that.
Of course, my insanely smart bestie already knew everything I’d learned.
But she acted shocked when I told her that John Adams’ last words were: “Thomas Jefferson survives.” But what Adams didn’t know was that Thomas Jefferson had died earlier that morning. (They both died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.)
Thank you, friend. Thank you.
Other facts I never knew:
1. Harry Truman never graduated from college. His parents couldn’t afford to send him, and though he took many courses, he never earned a degree.
2. Even Alexander Graham Bell couldn’t save President James A. Garfield after he was shot in the back. Although Garfield survived for three months after being shot and Bell used a metal detector he invented to try to find the bullet, Bell was unsuccessful and Garfield died after the second shortest presidency in history.
3. Gerald Ford was the only president never elected president or Vice President. He became VP when Nixon’s VP resigned and then president when Nixon resigned.
What interesting things have you learned about the presidents recently?
