January is a great time to learn about Benjamin Franklin.  He was born on January 17, 1706 and was one of the most influential of our Founding Fathers.

You could spend a year studying his amazing life and not do him justice.  

He loved to learn, work, create, and serve.  He developed an ingenious system for self improvement that he said was the secret of his success.  

Here's a one minute overview of his life, with other resources listed below.  

There's so much to learn from this great patriot!  

For Adults and Older Kids

• Biography of Benjamin Franklin
  
• Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
  
• Founders Fridays: Benjamin Franklin  (39:40)
  
• Drive Thru History  (7:43)
• 27 Interesting Facts about Ben Franklin
• Benjamin Franklin Quotes

For Younger Kids

• Benjamin Franklin For Kids
  
• Stories of Benjamin Franklin for Children
  
• Ben and Me  (21:05)
  
• The Animated Hero Classics: Benjamin Franklin, Scientist and Inventor  (24:49)
• Ben's Interactive Games
  

For All

• Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World  (Great bio and wonderful activities)
  
• The Miracle in Philadelphia  (3:52)

Possible Activities

• Ben learned to read at a very young age and loved reading!  Read together.
• As a boy, Ben worked in his dad's candle shop. Make a candle or read a story by candle light.
• Ben loved to swim and created his own fins.  Go swimming.  Use fins if you have them.
• Ben kept a personal journal all his life.  Keep a journal.
• Ben helped publish a newspaper.  Publish a family newsletter.
• Ben set goals for self improvement.  Set a goal for self improvement and work to accomplish it.
  
• Ben made kites to perform his experiments.  Make a kite and fly it when the weather permits.  (Don't use your kite to experiment with electricity.  It can be dangerous.)
  
• Ben created the first lending library in America.  Visit a public library.
• Ben made inventions that solved problems.  Create something that solves a problem.
• Ben wrote his autobiography and epitaph.  Write your autobiography or epitaph.
  

“If to be venerated for benevolence, if to be admired for talents, if to be esteemed for patriotism, if to be loved for philanthropy, can gratify the human mind, you must have the pleasing consolation that you have not lived in vain.”  ~George Washington to Benjamin Franklin  

Martin Luther King Day is the perfect time to learn about his life and work.  Here are some suggestions and resources.  Choose a few and enjoy them with your family!

1. Learn about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life.  The Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King  has a short video biography you can watch, and some cool stories about him.  Discover how Martin Luther King made a better world in just 10 years.  

2. Listen to and discuss Dr. King's speeches.  Here is a link to an excerpt from his  I Have a Dream speech.  (The text of the full speech is there too.)

3. Make posters / pictures of your dreams for America. Discuss how you can make them come true.

4. Read Martin Luther King's Pledge.  Talk about how he and his followers agreed to govern their lives with love.  Point out that they were able to change the world because they were willing to change themselves first.  

5. Create your own Family Pledge.  Discuss rules and principles your family would like to live.  Talk about how those rules can help your family and those around you.  Write up your Family Pledge and review it regularly. 

6. Read (or listen to) all or part of  Dr. King's earliest recorded sermon in which he said, "Now that’s what we’ve got to do in our world today. We’ve left a lot of precious values behind; we’ve lost a lot of precious values. And if we are to go forward, if we are to make this a better world in which to live, we’ve got to go back. We’ve got to rediscover these precious values that we’ve left behind."

7. Find out about other people who worked for equal rights, including  Rosa Parks,  Harriet Tubman, and John Newton.

8. We can learn lessons about leadership and entrepreneurship from the life of Dr. King.  Love these insights on how great leaders inspire action.  And here's a great article on four lessons entrepreneurs can learn from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  

9. Explore other activities your family might enjoy at Apples4theTeacher.

10. Choose a way your family can make a difference in your neighborhood or community.  Talk about people who could be struggling, how they might feel, and how you can help.  You could help an immigrant family, befriend an elderly neighbor, help a child who is struggling in school, or assist at a local shelter.  

If we each make a difference in our own unique way, we can make the world a better place!
 

BONUS ACTIVITY  

An inspiring article, The Wrath of a Great Leader, tells how Dr. King had to wrestle with his anger and what we can learn from his example.  You might want to read the article with your family, or tell a few stories from the article and discuss the principles and some of the questions at the end.  

The article shares a very valuable perspective on how we can transform anger into a powerful and positive source of motivation  It's a very useful skill for us all to learn!  And it's a good opportunity to teach our children that if we seek Him, God can transform our weaknesses into strengths!

Did you know that January 16th is Religious Freedom Day in the United States?  Surprised?  
Few people are aware of this important day because, unlike many in other parts of the world, Americans have long been blessed with abundant freedom to live and worship as we desire.

Thanks to the faith, vision, wisdom, and courage of the Pilgrims, our Founding Fathers, and others, America is a beacon of hope for countless immigrants who have fled to her shores because they longed for the freedom to worship God as they believed was best.

An important foundation was laid for religious freedom when on January 16, 1786, as President Obama recalled, "the Virginia General Assembly took a bold step toward preserving this fundamental liberty by passing the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which brought to life the ideal of religious tolerance from the texts of the Enlightenment in the laws of state...

"Drafted by Thomas Jefferson, the Virginia Statute formed the basis for the First Amendment, which has preserved religious freedom for both believers and non-believers for over 220 years."

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, says about Thomas Jefferson's legacy:

"If you've ever toured Monticello, then you know that Thomas Jefferson had very strong opinions about what his legacy should be. 

"He wanted to be remembered as the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence and as the 'father' of the University of Virginia. 

"Both are inscribed on his tombstone, along with his second proudest achievement--authoring the Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom.

"That might surprise Americans today, who wrongly believe that our third President wanted to divorce the government of all religious expression. On the contrary, what Jefferson wrote in Fredericksburg some 230 years ago was such a groundbreaking defense of freedom that the men who drafted our Constitution relied on it for the framework of the First Amendment. 

"'No nation,' the third President said years later, 'has ever existed or been governed without religion. Nor can be.' Thomas Jefferson understood then, as we do now, that religious freedom is fundamental to every other freedom on earth. Maybe that's why, despite all of his other accomplishments, Jefferson considered the statute one of his greatest legislative feats."

Many of us have taken our legacy of religious liberty for granted -- like the air we breathe, it has always been abundant.  Lately, as our rights have been questioned, it's more important than ever for us to appreciate the sacrifices so many have made to preserve religious freedom in America, and to take our turn to protect and pass on this noble heritage.


Learn More

• Religion is Essential for Freedom  (Clayton Christensen - 1:39)
  
• The Importance of Religion in America  (Ronald Reagan - 15:17)
  
• The Genius of Thomas Jefferson  (David McCullough - 9:20)

"Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports.”  ~George Washington


"Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."  ~John Adams


"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."  ~Benjamin Franklin 
 

"Statesmen, my dear Sir, may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone, which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand.  The only foundation of a free Constitution, is pure virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our people, in a greater measure, than they have it now, they may change their rulers, and the forms of government, but they will not obtain a lasting liberty.”  ~John Adams