While in Austin for Agrilife 4-H Day at the Capitol
(Bleed Maroon! Bleed Green!) we stopped at the LBJ library and museum on the UT campus. Compared to the other two presidential libraries I've seen (there are 3 in Texas) this was a little dated, but it still had some really neat exhibits.
One of my favorite things was the telephone calls on any and everything, from Johnson's wife Lady Bird correcting his speech to him offering Jackie O advice.
The museum focused a good bit on the decades in Johnson's life- a room filled with 50's, 60's or 70's mementos, etc. It was very interesting to see what was popular at different times, and what news and wars impacted life.
Johnson's presidency was deeply overshadowed by the Vietnam War, and he hated the fact but knew he could do nothing to change it. More than anything, he wanted to use his Presidency help the underdog - poor, minorities, children - anyone who didn't have a voice or say at Congress. A few years teaching at an impoverished school on the Texas- Mexico border instilled this desire to help in him early on.
This table showed how events in Johnson's presidency affect our lives today.
You have to give it to him- it was a pretty good idea to get people to care about who their senators are. He had some pretty snazzy tactics- while running for President, he handed out toothbrushes and razors so people would remember him 'first thing in the morning and/or before they go to bed' as he felt those were important decision- making times.
Today I made a replica of some good old deoxyribonucleic acid.
Mmm. More commonly known as DNA, it is hidden in tiny, long structures called chromosomes. During cell division these chromosomes are duplicated in the process of DNA replication, providing each cell its own complete set of chromosomes. It grows something like this: One cell makes two, two makes four, four makes eight, etc.
I first chose a sequence, and then placed adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine in that order. Those are just four types of nucleobases (aka, bases).These four nucleobases, along the backbone, encode biological information, like your eye color or your hair color. Marshmallows were my base pairs, and a Twizzler was the backbone. The backbone is made up of a residue of chemical sugars.
Yum! Cytosine!
Labelling my base pairs.
Adenine always pairs with thymine, and cytosine with guanine.
It's pretty safe to say everyone knows who Isaac Newton was. You've probably heard about his laws of motion, his research in optics, or his discoveries through calculus. Either way, Sir Newton is hailed as a successful genius.
But did you know he had a very hard life? His father died before he was born, and after his mother got him financially situated, she left him with his grandparents. She remarried a rich man and spent tons of money on her other children's educations.
Isaac returned to live with her and his new stepfather at age 10. Around this time his mother pulled him out of school as it cost to much. She spared no amount of money on her other children, but she was unusually stern when it came to Isaac. His school teachers noticed the potential in him and offered to teach him free of charge if she'd let him return to school.
He was friends with the younger children and the girls, making fully-functioning miniature watermills (he was fascinated with those) and doll furniture. He did hot, however, fit in with the other boys, and they teased him for spending time with girls and smaller children.
When he left for college he had to pay his own way by working as a sizar, a highly undesirable position. Sizars were servants for richer students. It was embarrassing for Isaac, who was from a wealthy family, to serve in this position. His friends' fathers and mothers paid for their sons' education, parties, and clothing- Isaac could barely buy food.
Petty and jealous all his life, he had few friends at college. One friend, a boy named John, assisted him in the lab and during his discoveries. Isaac could be secretive- he practiced alchemy, something he could've been thrown in prison for at the time. Anyone who has read the Harry Potter books is familiar with the Philosopher's Stone; Newton truly believed this stone existed and much of his alchemy work was devoted to trying to find this. He also kept his discoveries hidden from John. He was often seen wandering the college campuses all alone.
After graduating from Trinity College, he would write the Principa and go on to complete his famous discoveries, but it was his lonely childhood and troubled college experience that set the basis for his adult life.
In a later memoir, Newton wrote:
"I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me."
We've been reading Oscar Wilde's works for our homeschool literature , particularly The Happy Prince and Other Stories. The book pictured above contains 9 stories. The first story, The Happy Prince, is the most famous. The story: A golden statue of a prince sits high above the city. Everyone looks up at it and thinks that it seems so happy. A swallow meets the statue ,which is of the late "Happy Prince". The statue houses the soul of the original prince, who in reality has never experienced true happiness. He explains to the swallow that he is very sad, as he can look down and see the suffering of the people. He never understood their suffering before. The statue convinces the swallow to help him by picking of his golden cover and taking pieces of gold to the poor. I won't ruin the ending for you, by but I can assure you it is (very,very) sad, yet strangely beautiful. My other favorite story from the book was The Remarkable Rocket. It is a wonderful example of personification, as Wilde does an amazing job making a group of firecrackers seem real. In the story, a bunch of fireworks are chosen to be set off for an enormous celebration of the prince's wedding. The smaller firecrackers are happily visiting amongst themselves when a large firecracker arrives. He brags about himself, what a great noise he will make when he is shot off, etc. When the time comes for him to be shot into the air, things don't go as planned. What make this story so enjoyable is the attention to detail Wilde puts into all his stories. He does not use so many words that it seems like overkill, but he uses just enough so you can picture it in your mind's eye. Below is an animated video from YouTube that follows the story EXACTLY. We enjoyed it very much.
Image credit : http://www.wordcandy.net/files/2012-05-22-another-one-ill-be-skipping.jpg
Video credit:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NZ0-TrP06I
I've been a big fan of BTH magazine for a year now, and I write many articles for it. But today, I realized something very important. I forgot to tell my lovely followers of this! :)
The magazine is free, and sent straight to your email bimonthly. It's filled with stories, book, movie, and game reviews, jokes, poems, essays, and educational articles all written by homeschoolers JUST LIKE US! You can submit anything you've written to it. I write for the magazine's writer's board, which is a neat oportunity.
One of the main reasons I recomend it is that there is a wide variety of articles. The magazine always has a theme- fairy tales, sports, famous people- so there's always something for everyone. To read back issues before subscribing, click here. The magazine is totally free, and there are no ads.
Math.Where shall I begin? Math and I go way back, but we are not exactly friends. We don't really understand each other. ;D Okay, so maybe Math isn't a real person. But I think if we could meet face-to-face, we might get along a little better.
However, I've had a bad attitude about math. Declaring "I don't understand this!" and bursting into to tears isn't going to help me. : ) We've been reading the book Do Hard Things, by homeschooled Christian teens, Alex and Brett Harris, and it is an amazing book. The book explains that if you quit something just because it is hard, you're not living up to your God-given potential. People often focus on things that are easy - "I'm good at _______( insert skill here), but I just don't understand _____ ....." -That's the wrong mentality, and it's one I've had about math. The world tells you to focus on your strengths, and that's a great idea, but what happens to the things you aren't so good at? You'll gradually get worse, and slowly even forget some skills. The cover of the book explains the purpose is to encourage "a teenage rebellion against low expectations." How many time have you heard "You're just a teen." OR You're homeschooled, you wouldn't understand what I mean."OR "This generation is going nowhere" ? Even worse, have you noticed people expect very low things from teens? Have you ever heard: "You're so much better that the rest of the kids here,"? The book says: if being better than those kids means you don't do all the bad stuff they do, are you really doing anything to be better? Alex and Brett explain "Be known for what you DO, not what you DON'T do." To go to their blog click here.
I strongly suggest you read Do Hard Things . It's changed the way I look at math, compliments, other people, and the world in general. And, even better, the book is filled with diverse real-life examples of teens
( including homeschoolers too, which is nice) that have done hard things. And the examples aren't always elaborate. It might be that someone simply got out of their comfort zone by calling a stranger on the phone, or it might be that a boy campaigned against human trafficking and spoke at the White House. It teaches small steps to big change. Well, that's my spill. Have you read this book? Did you enjoy it? Comment! :D
This is a little haiku I wrote about a chocolate chip. I was making cookies the other day, and I spent a little too long observing a chocolate chip... We've been learning about a haiku in my language arts- you know, first you use 5 syllables, then you use seven syllables, then five again. I had to write about a common cooking ingredient, so I picked a chocolate chip: One chocolate chip so smooth, tiny, round. but now it's melted in my hand
In what state
can you ski on a snow-capped peak, surf at a sandy beach, and attend a rodeo,
all in the same day? Hawaii! Aloha, friends! My name is Hawaii. Maybe you've heard of me? Well, today I’m going to be telling you some of the lesser known
facts about me.
A lot of the other
states tease me because I’m the youngest. It’s hard being the newest person in
a big family like mine - 50 states in all, you know. I was adopted into the
U.S. on August 21, 1959. Just because I’m the newest doesn’t mean I don’t have
some claims to fame, however. For starters, I’m the only state made up entirely
of islands. Some facts about me are: I have 8 main islands. The biggest island
on me is also known as Hawaii. To avoid confusion, it’s often called “The Big
Island.” I have two national parks, and three state historical sites. I’m a bit
of a rebel (younger siblings can be like that!) in that I don’t observe
daylight savings time. Did I mention I have a GREAT tropical climate? I’m the
only U.S state that’s never had a sub-zero temperature recorded. Among the
other things that make me unique is the fact I’m the only U.S. state with a
palace. Pretty special, huh? It’s known as Iolani Palace. My highest mountain,
Mount Mauna Kea, would be taller than Everest if you could lift it out of the
ocean.
The palace
I’m also home to many volcanoes, including Mauna Loa, which
you can hike on. You can even eat food cooked over the volcano! I’m famous
for my Hawaiian Shave Ice, among many other delicious foods. One last fact-
Aloha means hello, goodbye, and love in my language. Aloha for now!
Did you find me interesting? Then check out these great
resources about me!
Aloha, Kananiby
Lisa Yee
High Tide in Hawaii
by Mary Pope Osbourne
Hawaii Life , a
new reality TV Show(rated G) by HGTV about homes in Hawaii
The Secret of the
Golden Pavilion (a Nancy Drew Mystery) by Carolyn Keene
I participated in my second fashion show ever, winning first in my category and first overall! The fashion show was held at the Academic Rodeo. You're probably wondering, "What is Academic Rodeo?!" It's where people from public, private, and homeschools all over East Texas come and participate in the Fashion Show, writing and art contests, agriculture products identification contests,one act play, Lego mindset etc. The Fashion Show is broken into 3 main categories- elementary,(K-5) middle,(6-8) and high school(9-12). Then there are 3 categories within those; such as constructed(you sewed your outfit) designed(you made it out of duct tape or a material like that) and smart buying(you compared outfits and filled out a worksheet about them. Within smart buying, which I competed in, there are sub-categories- casual, formal, specialty, dressy, I was in specialty, with my candy-striper outfit.I won first in specialty, and first in middle school smart buying! This means I'm eligible for scholarships! I had a good time at the show and met tons of new people!
I'm learning the layers and functions of the skin. The four main functions are:
Skin cools your body with sweat from your sweat glands.
It protects your bones and major organs-if it weren't for your skin, you'd constantly break your bones every time you tripped. Another reason it's important it protects your bones is that your bones contain calcium.
It warms your body.
It senses things such as extreme heat-say you touch a hot pan-and sends a message to your brain for you to let go.
There are many, many layers of skin, but the main layers are the dermis, the epidermis, and the fatty glands directly below them. To keep your skin healthy, eat a balanced diet, cleanse your skin daily, and get lots of vitamin D.
Yesterday I started work. Well, not really "work." I'm a teen volunteer at ETMC. (That's a hospital in our area.)I'll be working with the Ladies' Auxiliary. I had to take a really hard quiz on patient confidentiality and information on DHHS rules, but I passed, (yay me!:-) and so now I'm official. I got my picture taken for a professional badge that lets me go anywhere in the hospital. This way I can take lab samples and progress charts anywhere. I also get to help wheel patients to their cars. Soon, I'm going to buy some scrubs to go with my Candy Striper smock so I look official. I'm so excited! I want to be a pediatric nurse, so being able to volunteer in a hospital environment is really fun for me. I'll be working four hour shift once a week.
Will Page's life and family was ruined by the Yankees. The war has destroyed everything he knew and loved. So when he must stay with his Northern relatives, he's not happy.He loved his home in the Shenandoah Valley and doesn't want to live with relatives he has never met, people struggling to make a living on their farm in the war-torn Virginia Piedmont area. But, worst of all is that Will's uncle Jed had refused to fight for the Confederacy. How could his Uncle be a Union sympathizer? Uncle Jed is cowardly, not fighting for either side and saying he's for the Union-or so Will thinks. Will refuses to call him "uncle". Aunt Ella, the peacemaker is kind, reminding Will of his mother, and she tries to help Will. And then there's Meg, his cousin, who could care less about the war and just wants to be Will's friend. Still, she's a bit silly and she doesn't seem to understand Will's pain-even when he tells her the Yanks are responsible for the death of his whole immediate family. Just as Will starts to understand Meg, she brings home an injured Yank! Will is furious! However, the Yankee, Jim, is interested in befriending Will. He tells Will he never wanted to obey Sherman's orders of destroying the Confederate countryside. Still, Will is suspicious. Besides, he has his own troubles with bullies. He doesn't need a Yankee friend! Just as Uncle Jed, Jim, Meg, and Will begin to get along, Will's friends from the South offer to take him in. How can he choose between the family he's grown to love and his good friends?
I gave this book 5 stars because I think it really explains the Civil war from the perspective of both sides in an unusual way, and it teaches you that someone you might think of as an enemy could be your friend. I also think the author did an amazing job of describing the characters so you felt like you knew all of them. Plus, the book is great for a Civil war study or a Virginia study, because it teaches about both.
I've been learning about Langston Hughes in my Reading workbook. Langston Hughes was born in 1902. He was one of the most famous African-American poets in the whole world. His mother and grandmother raised him in several places throughout his life. He was born in
Joplin, Missouri and spent most of his childhood in Lawrence, Kansas, being
raised by his grandmother. When she died, he moved to Lincoln, Illinois with his
mother, then went to high school in Cleveland, Ohio. After graduating, he spent some time in Mexico with his father, he attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. The rest of his life was spent in New
York. His poetry talks about African-Americans in America.Langston was very close to his mother and grandmother. He saw his college educated mother work as a maid and a waitress because of her color. Langston’s grandmother was very proud of heritage. She told Langston stories of his ancestors who were involved in politics and education. She also told Langston Bible stories and read passages from the Bible aloud to him His mom found a good job in Topeka, Kansas. She moved there with Langston. It was in this city that Langston discovered the library and its children’s section. He spent much time in the library, often to escape teasing from other kids at his school. When Langston was twelve his grandmother died. She told him to never feel sorry for himself even when things were difficult. So when the ticket seller at the movie- theater told him she would not sell a ticket to a "colored boy" he found the Opera House. He was able to see the books he'd read come to life on stage. He honored his grandmother’s memory by taking her advice and not feeling sorry for himself and letting his anger get the best of him. Langston Hughes wasn't just a poet, he was also a war corespondent during the Spanish-American War, and an author of several books and plays. He died in 1967. This is the poem that was in my reader:
This is Langston Hughes.
Mother to Son
By Langston Hughes
Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now—
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
-Langston Hughes
About the poem:
The poem is an expanded metaphor. That simply means that the metaphor expands throughout the poem. The metaphor is(can you guess?) life is a staircase!
I had to write a news article for school, so I decided to write about our new bunnies!!
Baby Bunnies Barrage Home!
On Friday, May 11, 2012, Sherry was in her kitchen washing dishes when, suddenly,"My daughter Laura Ashley ran in and told me our mother rabbit had given birth. I said "Let me get my shoes on and I'll be right out," she recalls. "I was overwhelmed-scared some of the baby bunnies might have died but so thrilled that the kids would have bunnies to show in 4-H."
Christopher, Sherry's son, says of the incident,"I was feeding our dogs when my sister ran and told me that our rabbit had had babies." Next, he says "Sadly, one of the baby bunnies had died, so I removed it from the cage." Mrs. Childress called her husband and informed him of the news. Around this time, a neighbor stopped by, and he too was told of the birth.
The baby bunnies currently reside in a nesting box in their mother's cage. They are Californian Rabbits and will eventually have white fluffy fur and red eyes. Currently, their eyes are shut, they have no fur (they look somewhat like naked mole rats) and they are asleep. No pictures are available at this time.
I am learning about the Sumerians. They were a group of people that descended from Ham, Noah's son. Until archaeologists discovered the land of Sumer in the 1800's, they didn't know that an educated people who had a writing system had lived as long ago as 2,500 B.C. (or even before!) Scholars who doubted the Bible didn't believe Moses wrote the first 5 books of the Old Testament- until they realized he lived after the Sumerians- so yes, he had a writing system. Never doubt the Bible! The main city archaeologists focus on is Ur. My textbook calls it the "Queen city of Sumer!"
In 2,100 B.C., Ur was one of the most powerful and wealthy cities in Sumer. A king named Ur-Nammu ruled it. He was the king of Sumer and Akkad. Akkad is an ancient name for an area of Mesopotamia. He built a ziggurat called the temple-tower. It contained businesses, temples, and it was dedicated to the "moon god" who, of course, wasn't real. The Sumerians planted trees and flowers inside the shrine at the top. They built an artificial forest for their imaginary gods. While everybody in Ur worshiped these false gods, their religion didn't change their behavior. They were still very sinful.
A British archaeologist named Sir Leonard Woolley discovered a tomb of a wealthy Sumerian, Lady Shub-ad. This gave insight to the Sumerian way of life, because many artifacts had been buried in the tomb also. Where the Sumerians intelligent? You decide: They invented the plow, a kind of wheel, envelopes, irrigation systems, a number system we use today, a calendar system, and libraries. They also invented a way to barter using barley, sewer systems,how to put fireplaces and fountains indoors, and much more. Around 2,000 B.C, Sumer was invaded by the Amorites. The rule of the Sumerians had come to an end.
By Laura Ashley “I have a dream today!”-Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born Michael King Jr. on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His father changed his name to Martin Luther after the German Protestant reformer. Martin, or M.L. as he was called, was a very bright child. He entered 1st grade at the age of 5. Martin first experienced prejudice when his white neighbors refused to let him play with their son, who had been Martin’s best friend. When Martin asked the boy why they couldn’t play together anymore, the boy told him it was because he was black. Martin never forgot that day.
M.L‘s father was a Baptist preacher, and he taught his three children Christine, Martin Luther, and A.D, to love God and obey him. Martin’s mother taught the children songs, and all 3 took piano lessons from a strict teacher. Their teacher would rap their knuckles if they made a mistake, so all of the children hated the piano. One night A.D snuck downstairs and tried to break the piano with a hammer! (It didn’t work. You can still see the piano when you tour Martin’s house.)
Martin entered college at the age of 15, having skipped the 9th and 12th grades. At first, he rebelled against his Christian teachings by drinking and partying, but after taking a Bible class he realized how wrong he’d been. While in college, he read a book on Gandhi and was inspired by his peaceful tactics. At the age of 19 he graduated. Deciding to become a minister, he entered Crozer Theological Seminary. After becoming a minister, he met Coretta Scott, whom he married. Martin joined the NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, but he didn’t become famous until 1955, when Rosa Parks, an African American seamstress, was told to give up her seat on a bus to a white man, as was the law. She refused, and was arrested. E.D. Nixon, a key founder of the NAACP, paid her $14 bail.
Outraged that Rosa had been arrested, Martin organized a peaceful bus boycott. It was simple-no one rode the buses! The bus company lost a lot of money. To trick the boycotters, they called the newspapers and told them a false story.”The boycott’s over!” they said. “Ride the buses!”But Martin and others found out about the trick and told people the true story-the boycott wasn’t over. Eventually, in 1956, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on public buses wasn’t legal. The boycott was really over.
But many other places were still segregated. So Martin started peaceful protest marches and sit-ins. He was a good leader/speaker, and people listened to him. Martin was jailed 30 times, even though he’d done nothing wrong. Police brutally attacked marchers-even children. But Martin kept working for civil rights.
In 1966, he gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington, which he led. Over 200,000 people attended. Martin was opposed to the Vietnam War. He felt that money spent on the war could’ve been spent on civil rights or helping poor people. Martin started a war on poverty. It was called the War on Poverty! He moved with his family to a Chicago slum and lived there for a few weeks to draw attention to the horrible living conditions there. He accomplished many great things.
Martin was assassinated by James Earl Ray on April 4, 1968, on a hotel balcony. Many influential people attended his funeral, including Robert Kennedy and future president Richard M. Nixon. Martin Luther King ended segregation. Now anyone can eat in any restaurant, can watch a movie in any theater, and drink from any water fountain. They can sit on any bus, and they can go to any park-all because of Martin Luther King, a man with a dream.
On September 7, 1860, Anna Mary Robertson was born. She would become Grandma Moses, a famous painter of American folk art. As a girl, Anna Mary loved to paint. She called her little pictures "lambscapes" which made her brothers laugh. Mr. Robertson, Anna Mary's father was sick and unable to work. Bored, he asked his wife if he could paint murals on the living room walls. Ms. Robertson agreed. Anna Mary learned a lot about painting by watching him. She loved to draw and make maps in school. Anna Mary attended school six months every year till she was 12.
Then she worked as a hired girl. She attended some school with her employer's kids.When she was older, but still working as a hired girl, Anna met Thomas Moses, another hired hand. When she was in her 20's they married. They had 10 kids, but sadly only 5 lived. Anna Mary was busy cooking, cleaning, and raising children. She had no time to paint.
It was not until her 70's that she turned to art. First she made "worsted pictures"made out of yarn.When her arthritis became too bad ,she switched to painting,which was easier on her hands. Some of her paintings were sold at a local drugstore for $2 each. Once she became famous they sold for $8,000 to $,10,000 a piece. Her first speech/exhibition was called "What a farm wife painted".
Grandma Moses was very modest and very dedicated to her work. She didn't care if other liked her work-she sprinkled snow scenes with glitter and used toothpicks for details. She died at the age of 101. Grandma Moses once said "I look back on my life like a good day's work. It is finished and I am done with it." She was original. She was Grandma Moses, who said "If I hadn't started painting, I would've raised chickens."
On January 17, 1706 on Milk Street in Boston, a baby boy was born. His name? Benjamin Franklin. Only he wasn’t famous then. He was just Ben. Ben was the youngest boy of seventeen children, and he was always getting into mischief. Ben went to school until he was 10. After school, he often went fishing with friends. The boys didn’t like how muddy it was around the pond, so Ben suggested they take some workmen’s stones from a nearby building site. The boys built a wharf under Ben’s direction, even though several boys mentioned that they shouldn’t.
Then they all had a great time fishing from their new wharf. The next day, some angry workmen came to see Ben’s father, a candle maker, about Ben and his friends. Quickly and angrily they explained about the theft of their stones, and then they all turned to Ben. Ben said to his father, “You always tell me to do useful things. The wharf was useful!” his father replied “It’s true, Ben, that usefulness isgood… Nothing is truly useful that isn’t honest. But the stones didn’t belong to you. Nothing is useful if it is not honest.” Ben and his friends had to but all the stones back!
When Ben was 12, he decided he wanted to be a printer so he was apprenticed to his older brother James, who was a printer. James and Ben didn’t get along, and Ben thought he could write better than James did. So he wrote several funny letters to James’ paper and signed them “Silence Dogood”. James thought they were witty and clever so he published them. Ben finally told James he wrote them and James was very mad. He and Ben argued all the time, so Ben ran away when he was 17. He went to a print shop in New York, hoping to find work, but the kind elderly man who owned the shop had no work for Ben. He told Ben to see his son in Philadelphia, who also was a printer. The son couldn’t give Ben a job, but he found him a job at a local printer’s and let Ben board with him. It was there that Ben met Deborah (Debby) Read, who he would later marry. Later Ben opened his own printing shop/ store.
By the time he was 25, he was married to Debby, had a son, and ran a printing shop. He also published a newspaper, and Debby ran a store next to the printing shop. When he was 26, he published Poor Richard’s Almanac under the pen name Richard Saunders. It was full of facts, funny sayings, recipes, and more.
Eventually Ben and Debby had 3 children, William, Sarah (she was called Sally) and Francis (who died when he was 4).When Ben was 42, he decided to stop working. This gave him time to work on experiments, especially the study of lightning. When Ben’s son Will was 21, he and his father went into a pasture and conducted their famous kite-and lightning experiment. Ben invented many things, such as bifocals, the Franklin stove,
a glass armonica, the lightning rod, and an odometer.
Later George Washington sent him to France to ask for financial aid for America in the Revolutionary War. The French hailed Ben as “the man who tore the lightning from the sky.” The ragged old fur hat that he wore was called “charming”, and women styled their hair like it! Everyone in France loved Ben, and this helped him get millions of francs from the King of France. Ben played a crucial part in the War, and he was proud of this. He was the oldest man to help write the Constitution, and he helped with the writing of the Declaration of Independence. One of the last experiments was to help a friend hear better. He discovered if you pushed on your ear, you could hear much better than if you hadn’t. Ben died on April 17, 1790, in Philadelphia. You can still go to Franklin Court in Philadelphia, and see museums, Franklin’s home site, and many other things related to Ben.
