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

Marco Polo

Marco Polo was an explorer and a merchant.

He was born in Venice where people travel through canals in boats instead of on streets in cars. He went to several countries including China where he met Kubla Khan and gave him gifts.

When he got back home from his journeys he told stories about all his adventures. He was a genius adventurer.

I think I am an explorer like Marco Polo.  I hope to travel all over the world.  So far, my favorite place to travel is in South Dakota, especially in the Badlands!  I felt like I had gone to the top of the world there!

"I have not told half of what I saw."
-Marco Polo

Kublai Khan

Kublai Khan was a Mongolian leader that took over China and most of the rest of Asia. The time when he ruled was considered the Golden Age of China.

Marco Polo met him. He was a military genius because he was able to conquer almost all of Asia.  However, he was also a genius because he was interested in learning about other cultures and bringing the best of civilization to the territories he conquered.

I feel the same way, but I hope to conquer the world by learning about every place I can go.  By learning about other cultures, I can conquer the fear of people who are different then me.

St. Catherine of Siena

St. Catherine was a doctor, but not a not a medicine doctor.  She was a Doctor of the Church, and the only woman one.

She had a lot of brothers and sisters, twenty-four! She was nice to all her brothers and sisters...so that makes her a saint to me because I know how hard that is to do.

When she was little she could see her Guardian Angels and angels for other people too.  I wish I could see my special angel...I would talk to him all the time.  My mom says I can do that with out seeing him, like when I pray at night.  I will try that.

St. Catherine was very smart about God things.  She even went to the Pope to try to change his mind about living in France.  He finally listened to her and went back to Rome.

Her feast day is in April and we like to celebrate with a special Italian meal.

"One who knows more, loves more."
-St. Catherine of Sienna

Percy Julian

Percy Julian was a scientist. He made chemicals out of soy beans that helped us to be healthy. This was good.

He was the son of slaves and he had to work hard to go to school and learn. His house was burned down because of the color of his skin.

He will always be remembered for his experiments and his perseverance.  He is known as the "forgotten genius."  My DAD did not even know he was!

I like to do experiments also.  I love helping my brothers with their science projects.

The Genius Playwright

William Shakespeare wrote plays.  He wrote death plays, love plays, and a lot of different plays.

He lived a long time ago, but we remember his plays.

My brothers read a Shakespeare play, The Merchant of Venice.  I listened to them read it, and I liked it.  Shakespeare was a genius because his plays are still good.

No one knows a lot about Shakespeare himself, but he was still a genius.

"We know what we are, but know not what we may be."
-William Shakespeare

A Laboratory Scientist

I wanted to learn about someone that worked in a science lab. Marie Curie was a scientist from Poland.   She did a lot of science things.  Her mother died from 'burculosis. She studied hard in school.  Marie was a teacher to help her sister go to doctor school.

Marie moved to France to become a scientist because she could not go to school in Poland.  In France she found special chemicals and won the Nobel Prize for scientists.  She got to work with the person she loved everyday, her husband Pierre. During the war (WW1) she created X-Ray equipment to help the French army men.  She closed her eyes and died.



"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less."
-Marie Curie

The Airplane Girl: Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart flew a red airplane.  She flew it across the Atlantic Ocean.  She was the first woman (and only the second person) to fly it alone.  She took off from Harbor Grace in Canada, and said goodbye to all her friends.

She ran into a storm of lightning.  She tried to dodge it, but ice on her wings pushed her down, almost into the water.  Then she smelled a fuel leak, and was afraid she would run out of gas.  She scared baby cows out from their field so she could land.

Amelia was a very brave woman, who believed that she could do anything.  She disappeared trying fly around the whole world.  Her red airplane is in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.  I was able to see it when I was there a few summers ago, but I was only a year old so I probably should go back to really enjoy it!

Here I am doing my honorary airplane dance.  I love pretending that I am an airplane or helicopter!

"Adventure is worthwhile in itself."
-Amelia Earhart