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Presidents' day We used to celebrate president Lincoln's birthday on Feb 12, then forefather Washington's birthday Feb 22. To simplify things and honor all our former leaders, Presidents' day was created. It is celebrated on the third Monday in February. Learn more about the accomplishments of our leaders at these websites.The Internet Public Library has organized a terrific resource about U.S. presidents at ipl.org/ref/POTUS. This site's description states, "background information, election results, cabinet members, notable events, and some points of interest on each of the presidents. Links to biographies, historical documents, audio and video files, and other presidential sites are also included." Based on PBS's "The American Experience" movies, pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/indexjs.html covers 100 years of the American presidency between 1901-2001. It offers a snapshot of each president and his general accomplishments while in office, the era of his term, domestic policy, foreign affairs, and politics. It also offers a teacher's guide, screen saver, and links to other resources. Very detailed and complete, it is one of PBS's fine works. The people at kidinfo.com have been very busy working on kidinfo.com/American_History/Presidents.html. They have tons of charts with info such as what presidents appear on money, their pets, favorite sports, hobbies, nicknames and even their favorite foods! For example, did you know John Tyler's nickname was His Accidency, or the Accidental President? You'll also find an incredible list of links to even more sites.If you are more interested in their words than them, visit odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/tj3/tj3.htm (yes, I know it's a tough one). They have online copies of each president's State of the Nation addresses, inaugural address, bills, speeches, biographies, and any other writings available to the webmaster.And for the younger crowd, try primarygames.com/holidays/presidents/presidents.htm. Print out and color pictures of our founding fathers, or play games like "Guess the President".You can visit whitehouse.gov, the official site of the real White House, for facts and trivia such as what children grew up there, and what pets slept in the Oval Office. A cute page at send4fun.com/presidentdancep.htm has all past presidents dancing and clapping their hands to music. On the educational side of things, it lists them with their picture, in the order they served, along with a poem written from one-liners about each person's time in office. There's a lot more to Presidents' Day than just facts and faces. Get to know more about being an American; investigate online. |
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