Friends, I am so excited to share with you the brand new February set of On This Day in American History Calendars!
For the past two years, I have had an idea rolling around in my brain to create a calendar for each month that highlights one event from American History. Unfortunately, I have not been able to complete this idea until now. I have had bits of ideas jotted on scrap pieces of paper floating around my school room for 2+ years.
2023 will be the year this idea all comes together! Yahoo!
The goal of these On This Day calendars is to expose our children to American History in little bite-size chunks. We have a fascinating history here in America, and it is our duty (and joy!) to teach that history to our children.
If you are new here or missed the January Calendars, let me show you how I picture these calendars being used.
On This Day in American History Monthly Calendars
I believe it is valuable and a worthy use of our time to study American History in our homeschools. Whether or not you are studying American History as a formal subject this year, you can use these monthly calendars in your homeschool to discover interesting facts about our United States.
Each day, I will share an event that occurred in U.S. History. It might be the birth of a famous American, a notable event during a time of war in which America was engaged, an American invention, an event related to music or art, or state specific.
I will then list several activities that you can do to supplement the idea presented for the day.
Only one American History event is lister per day, despite having a multitude from which to choose.
This is a picture of the January Calendars. Each month is similar in style.
You might choose to do this monthly calendar activity with your children, where you all talk about, research, and/or ponder the event. There might be a quick video to watch or a paragraph to write answering an opinion question. There might be words to define or research using the given links, which you call all do together as a group.
If you choose to do this as a group project, I would encourage you to place all of the written work in one notebook. How fun it will be to look back on this project in the coming years!
This would make a wonderful Plus 1 for after your Bible time each morning!
You might also choose to assign the On This Day in American History activities to your child for independent work. Again, I would encourage you to have your child write all of his answers in one notebook which will serve as a “Notebook of Knowledge.”
You can print the pdf or send it to your child in an email for them to access, or you can send them straight here to Mama’s Learning Corner each day.
A note about links used in these posts: While I have carefully reviewed every site and video to which I am linking, please use your own parental discretion. I cannot be responsible for material found on other websites.
Here is an Example:
Note that the whole activity is designed to take less than 10 minutes. Of course, you and your children might find the day’s event fascinating and want to explore it even more. Please go down all of those fun rabbit trails if that is enjoyable for your homeschool!
February 23, 1845, marks the day that our U.S. Marines Raised the American Flag in Iwo Jima. This is an example of what you would see in the blog post (and the calendar) for February 23rd:
EXAMPLE ⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇
February 23 – U.S. Marines Raise the American Flag on Mount Suribachi
On February 23, 1845, the United States Marines raised the American Flag on Mount Suribachi, where Marines fought one of the fiercest battles in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Mount Suribachi is the highest point on the island of Iwo Jima.
To do:
1.) Use a world map or map app (Google Maps, Apple Maps, etc.) to locate the island of Iwo Jima.
- If you are standing on the island of Iwo Jima, what country is to the north? What are the countries to the west? What country is to the southwest?
- In what body of water is Iwo Jima?
2.) Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press photographed Marines raising the American flag in victory. This photograph became one, if not the, most iconic photographs of the war. The image was later used by sculptor Felix de Weldon in designing the Marine Corps War Memorial near Arlington National Cemetery.
Look at the infamous picture of the Marines raising the flag. Answer the following in complete sentences in your notebook:
- When you see this photograph, what emotions do you feel?
- How do you think the Marines raising the American flag felt?
3.) Do you have relatives that are serving or have previously served in the Marine Corps? Ask them about their job and to tell you about the Marine Corps. After talking with them, write down a few of the facts and experiences they tell you.
Make sure you thank him for helping keep America the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.
Semper Fidelis.
How to Access On This Day in American History
There will be two ways to access the On This Day in American History monthly calendars:
1.) You can stop by Mama’s Learning Corner each day to find the event and the activities for you and your children to complete. You will find only that day’s event listed and there won’t be access to a cumulative calendar or the answers.
OR
2.) You can purchase the monthly calendar, which contains the activities for the entire month including any needed downloads, as well as the answers to the applicable questions that are asked each day.
Should you buy the .pdf at the beginning of the month?
Yes, you should IF:
– You are a planner and would like to know what days and events will be listed for the month.
– You would like a hard copy of the calendar to put in your Homeschool Mom Notebook or print and give to your child to work through independently.
– You would like to pre-load the links into your child’s device for him to access throughout the month.
No, you should not IF:
– It is not an inconvenience for you to come to my website each morning to see the day’s selection.
– You do not mind “flying by the seat of your pants” when it comes to planning. You desire to use this in a much more loosey-goosey way (which is totally fine, of course!).
– You are not sure you want to commit to using the calendar throughout the month. (Again-totally fine if that’s the case! Some seasons cannot bear One. More. Thing. no matter how worthy it is.)
If you’re an All Access Pass member, you can log into your account, and then click on the Famous People, History, and Geography Page.
You will see all of the On This Day in American History calendars at the very top of the page.
On This Day in American History February Calendar
If you would like to get started in January, you can purchase the February Calendar so you can plan your homeschool days.
With your purchase, you will have access to a webpage that includes the entire month. It is behind a paywall, so you will have to log in to your account to access the page.
You also have the option of downloading a .pdf version that will have clickable links. The .pdf version also includes the downloads that are needed for February as well as the answers to the questions that are asked each day.
You can purchase the whole month of February here:
On This Day in American History: January 31 – U.S. Enters the Space Age
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