Abraham Lincoln

I wanted to write about another president, Abraham Lincoln.

He grew up in a log cabin, He taught himself how to read and write, and then taught himself how to be a lawyer.  He did not like slavery, so he entered politics.  He would go on to become President of the United States. 

In a funny story, when he was running for president, a young girl wrote him a letter and suggested that he grow a beard because his face was so thin.  And so he did!

After he became president, the country broke into a Civil War.  Lincoln did not want the war, but he wanted our country to stay united and so he led the country through that war.  At first the war went very badly, and many people did not believe that the Union would win. 

After several years of fighting, the country would stay united. Lincoln wanted to see the country peacefully reunited.

Unfortunately, Lincoln would not live to see this, he was shot while watching a play and died on Holy Saturday in 1865.

The First President

There are lots of myths about him.
He cut down a cherry tree, but that is not true.
These are true:
He was from Virginia.
He was a surveyor.
He explored the land.
He was a farmer.
He liked to hunt foxes.
He married a widow. 
He led the American Army in the American Revolution.
He won the war.
He had bad teeth.  They hurt, but he kept going.  When they fell out, he made his own teeth.
He helped write the Constitution
He was elected President with all of the votes.
He had to borrow money to travel to New York from Mount Vernon to become President.
He had to borrow a Bible to swear his Oath. 
The First President of the United States was George Washington. 

The Green Island Genius

I have not posted a blog in a long time.  I thought it would be good to try again and start with one of my favorite genius.

St. Patrick was a child but his name was not Patrick then. Some people took him and sold him as a slave.  He became a shepherd.  He prayed to God while he slept under the stars.

He saw a boat and he decided to try to escape because God told him to do this.  He went back to his home after all those years.  His family celebrated.

However, he became a priest (now he is Patrick) and asked to go back to the Irish land.  He would be the bishop for the island.

What made him a genius?

He was smart and was able to teach the people about God in a way that they would understand.  He was also smart and met with one of the great chiefs of Ireland.  When they were friends, the chief asked Patrick to make him a Christian.  They made churches together.

Not everyone was nice to Patrick.  Many wanted to kill him.  One day, St Patrick's chariot driver heard of someone who wanted to kill him.  He asked Patrick to change places with him so the mean king would shoot at the place where Patrick liked to stand.  The driver was killed in the place of Patrick.

St. Patrick also was smart and asked God to help him get rid of the snakes in Ireland.  St. Patrick picked up a drum and beat it until the snakes had to leave because it was so loud.  They went into the sea!

He was well loved by the people of Ireland.  His feast day is celebrated all around the world.  People love to remember this Irish saint.  I hope every one remembers why he was so smart!  He is one of my favorite genius saints!

Children's Book Genius

This week our genius learned about one of his favorite authors, Theodor S. Geisel.  This is what he had to say about genius of children's books:

Ted's mommy sang rhymes to him at bedtime.  This is where he learned his love for the rhymes that made him famous.  Ted began drawing cartoons for his college paper.  This was the first time he would use the name that he made famous, "Seuss."  Then he went to England, and got married.  His wife, Helen, also wrote children's books. 

When he came back to America, he worked in advertising and drew cartoons for newspapers.  He made training movies during World War II. The first book that he wrote and illustrated was And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.  Before someone published it, he was told "no" 27 times.  His most famous book, The Cat in the Hat, was written as a school book to help children learn to read.  He wrote 44 books before he died in 1991.  His books have spread all across the world.

Some of his other famous books are Horton Hears a Who, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and Yertle the Turtle.  I think his books are very nice!

"Today you are You, that is truer than true.  There is no one alive, who is youer than You." - Theodor 'Dr. Seuss' Geisel.

Presidential Genius

My brother dressed up like Washington

This week our genius learned about our first President...George Washington!  This is what he had to say about this genius of our early American history:

George Washington was a good boy.  He loved his father, but his father died when he was a young boy.  He thought his brother, Lawrence, was his hero.  Lawrence was a soldier for the English king.

George Washington went to school in the colonies.  He learned to ride horses along with reading and writing.  He was the best rider in Virginia.  He loved to ride horses with his brother.  He also would visit Lawrence at Mount Vernon.  After school, George became a map maker.

Then one day George Washington found out some sad news.  His brother had died.  George decided to become a soldier like his brother.  He had to fight in a war against the French.  He also had to fight Indians.  George knew how to fight the battles but his leaders would not listen to them.  After a long war, the English won.

My family at Mt Vernon before I was born

After the war, George decided to go back to Virginia.  He met Martha and her children, Patsy and Jack.  George married Martha and they moved to Mount Vernon.  George decided to become a farmer.  However, King George III who was the leader of England, wanted more money to pay for the war.  The more the people bought, the higher the taxes they paid.  Our genius says, "the King wanted them to waste their money!  So, the people in the colony had to fight for their money."

George Washington was asked to go to a meeting about the problem.  He was later asked to stop being an Englishman and lead the soldiers for the war against England.  He became the leader and fought for eight years.  It was a very hard time, but with the help of the French the colonies won the war.

A picture of the Washington Memorial

George Washington went back to Mount Vernon!  He was happy to go back to farming.

Then there was ANOTHER meeting!  In this meeting, the leaders all asked George Washington to become the leader of the new country...the United States of America!  He was the president for another eight years.  He then told the people that he did not want to be the president.  He wanted to go home to Mount Vernon.  After a few short years, George Washington died at his home.  They buried him under his favorite tree.  They named a city after him...Washington, DC.  This is where the president lives.

I liked learning about George Washington because he was a good leader during war and peace.  He sure was a genius!


" It is better to be alone than in bad company."
-George Washington

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin, was the youngest of ten sons.  He also had seven sisters.  He was a very smart boy, he loved to read.  He was a hard worker, and became an apprentice printer for his brother.  His brother was very strict, so he ran away to New York City then Philadelphia.  He worked hard and made many friends.  Benjamin traveled to London and became a master printer.

He came back to Philadelphia, got married and opened his own print shop.  He loved his city and wanted to make it better.  He opened a public library, started a school, created the first Volunteer Fire Department, a night watch to stop crime, and founded a hospital.

Benjamin also liked science and inventing.  He invented a new stove to heat houses, the Franklin Stove.  He experimented with electricity, and proved that lightning was made of electricity.  This helped him create lightning rods to protect houses from lightning strikes.

The people in America were not happy with the King of England, so they asked Benjamin to go to England to help them.  But the King did not listen, so Benjamin came home.  Benjamin helped write the Declaration of Independence.  The Americans needed help to beat the English, so Benjamin went to France to get help.  He was very popular in France, and helped to get the French king to help the Americans.

He came back to America after the war.  He helped to create a new government for the United States, by helping write the Constitution.  After this Benjamin retired to read his books in peace.

The Train Genius

There were a lot of men who could be considered a genius when it comes to trains.  This is what our big boy genius learned this week:

The steam engine was not the first rail car in America.  The first cars on rails were pulled by horses!  

John Stevens brought the idea of steam locomotives to America.  Later a man named Peter Cooper built the first steam engine locomotive.  But, on his first test run he raced a horse and the horse won!  I am so glad he did not give up.  His invention was very important to the creation of the modern train.

I read a book about a cross country train ride.  A lot of people were gathered across the country to build the train track.  When they met in the middle they put a golden spike on the track.  On the journey it started at a rail road station and the train picked the boy up…All aboard!  While the boy enjoyed his trip, the engineer worked hard to keep the train moving.  The fireman threw “chocolate” [charcoal] into the furnace. 

Did you know there was a toilet on the train that was only a hole going out the bottom?  There was also a cool bed that folded down if you stayed on the train at night.  In the winter there was a stove in the corner to keep you warm. 

I would have been scared going over the tall wooden bridges, but the view would have been beautiful.  Maybe it would have been like one of the views we saw on our road trip.  When they were going up the mountains, the conductor had to add an extra engine.  

The best part of the book was finding out how the train helped the boy get to his dad.  I know how wonderful he felt because I always loved get back to my dad when he left home.

"Only fools want to travel all the time. Sensible men want to arrive."
- Metternick