Conceptual Drawing of 2001 Mars Odyssey
2001 Mars Odyssey was launched on this date and reached Mars on October 24, 2001. The robotic satellite began to send back data on February 19, 2002. Now 2001 Mars Odyssey is the oldest operating spacecraft beyond earth. Children can learn more at: 2001 Mars Odyssey.
Donald Carrick (born Dearborn, Michigan, 1929; died Edgartown, Massachusetts, June 26, 1989) wrote and illustrated children’s books. His wife, Carol, and he collaborated on 37 books. Their books include Patrick’s Dinosaur and Drip Drop.
El Greco (born Domenikos Theotokopoulos in Iraklion, Crete, 1541; died Toledo, Spain, April 7, 1614) was a great painter. He studied in Venice in 1559 or 1560. Looking for patrons, he moved to Toledo, Spain, in 1577. Named “The Greek” by the Spaniards, he spent the rest of his life in that country. His paintings, especially for the time, were fairly abstract. He used light and dark colors to his advantage, and he distorted figures to achieve an emotional impact. Children could visit a website at: El Greco.
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1915; died New York, New York, July 17, 1959) was an African American singer. Children can learn more about her at: Billie Holiday.
Cheryl Willis Hudson (born Portsmouth, Virginia, 1948) writes books for children. Her books include Hands Can and Let’s Count, Baby. Children can learn more at: Cheryl Willis Hudson.
Corn Flakes
Will Keith Kellogg (born Battle Creek, Michigan, 1860; died Battle Creek, Michigan, October 6, 1951) was a cereal manufacturer. Known as the “King of the Corn Flakes,” he started a cereal company in 1906 and made a $50 million fortune. Idea: Children could make a bar graph of favorite cereals. They could also see a timeline of cereal development at: Kellogg Timeline.
Tony Palazzo (born New York, New York, 1905; died Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, September 10, 1970) wrote and/or illustrated about 65 books for children. He received a Caldecott Honor Award in 1947 for Timothy Turtle. Other works include Animals of the Night and The Biggest and Littlest Animals.
William Wordsworth (born Cockermouth, England, 1770; died Grasmere, England, April 23, 1850) may have been the most significant English romantic poet. He wrote over five hundred sonnets, and he collaborated with Samuel Taylor Coleridge to write Lyrical Ballads. Wordsworth actively supported the French Revolution. Children can read his works at: William Wordsworh.
First synagogue in United States was built. The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue (Shearith Israel) opened its doors in 1654 in New York, New York. The synagogue continues to thrive today.
Fire escape was patented in England in 1766. The system included a wicker basket on a series of pulleys and chains.
Fire escape ladder was invented in 1879 by J. R. Winters. He received patent number 214,224. Children could view his patent at: https://www.google.com/patents/US214224.
Margarine was patented by Alfred Paraf in 1873. The New York resident received patent number 137,564. Children could read about his process at: http://www.google.com/patents/US137564. They could do some research to see which is healthier, margarine or butter.
Hank Aaron
Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run in 1974, breaking Babe Ruth’s record set in 1935. Idea: Children could research the lives of both men and create a dialogue between the two men. Children could learn more at: Hank Aaron.
Kofi Annan (born Kumasi, Ghana, 1938; died Bern, Switzerland, August 18, 2018) was the United Nations Secretary General from 1997 to 2006.
Ruth Chew (born Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1920; died Castro Valley, California, May 13, 2010) wrote and illustrated at least 30 books for children. Her works include The Wednesday Witch and The Enchanted Book.
Linda Crew (born Corvallis, Oregon, 1951) writes books for children and young adults. Her books include Children of the River and Nekomah Creek. Children can visit her website at: Linda Crew.
Betty Ford
Elizabeth “Betty” Bloomer Ford (born Chicago, Illinois, 1918; died Rancho Mirage, California, July 8, 2011) was America’s First Lady from August 9, 1974 to January 20, 1977. She was the wife of Gerald Ford, the thirty-eighth President of the United States. Children could visit a website at: Betty Ford.
Trina Schart Hyman (born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1939; died Lebanon, New Hampshire, November 19, 2004) wrote and/or illustrated more than 100 books for children. She received the 1985 Caldecott Medal for Saint George and the Dragon. She earned three Caldecott Honor Awards: in 1984 for Little Red Riding Hood, in 1990 for Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins, and in 2000 for A Child’s Calendar. Children can learn more at: Trina Schart Hyman.
Harold Keith (born Lambert, Oklahoma Territory, 1903; died Norman, Oklahoma, February 24, 1998) wrote about fourteen books for children. His book Rifles for Watie received the 1958 Newbery Medal.
Lewis Morris (born Westchester County, New York, 1726; died Westchester County, New York, January 22, 1798) signed the Declaration of Independence. He represented New York. Prior to the Revolutionary War, he was a judge in a British court. During the Revolution, he was active in New York politics. Children could learn more at: Lewis Morris.
Julia Sauer (born Rochester, New York, 1891; died Rochester, New York, June 26, 1983) was a writer of children’s books and a librarian. Her Fog Magic, illustrated by Lynd Kendall Ward, earned a 1944 Newbery Honor Award. Her Light at Tern Rock received a 1952 Newbery Honor Award.
Mississippi River Basin
Sieur de La Salle, a French explorer, found the Mississippi River in 1682 and claimed it and the waters draining into it for France. The Mississippi River, 2,348 miles long, is the longest river in the United States. It ranges in depth from nine feet to 100 feet, and its drainage basin includes over one million square miles. Idea: Trace a map of the United States. Color the states whose rivers empty into the Mississippi. Add tributaries, such as the Missouri, Ohio, and Arkansas Rivers.
Peterborough, New Hampshire, created the first free public library in the United States in 1833. The American Library Association states that today the country supports about 121,169 libraries, and 297.6 million people use libraries each year.
McLean House
Civil War ended in 1865 when Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, Virginia. Over 600,000 soldiers died in the Civil War, more than all the wars in total the United States has ever fought. Because most of the war had been waged in the South, many of the southern states suffered severe damages. The war, however, ended slavery and reunited all the states. Idea: The Civil War changed ideas regarding battle. Children could research the new machinery and novel battle strategies were used.
First United States astronauts (Mercury Seven) were appointed in 1959. All seven original astronauts (Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton) were men, and they were all in the military. Children could investigate present astronaut requirements. Who are some of our present astronauts? How have astronaut requirements changed since the beginning of the program? Children could learn more at: Mercury Seven.