Happy Constitution Day!

9/17/2013

As we commemorate the signing of our great constitution (here in the United States of America), I wanted to share with you some of my favorite resources for teaching our founding documents to my children and family.

A free pdf booklet from the 1987 Bicentennial of the Constitution. This includes 3 lessons for families to learn together the importance of the constitution. I have broken it down further into 7 lessons that I teach over a 12 week period for my third grade curriculum.
Lesson 1 The Hand of God: Plan of America Revealed to Nephi
Lesson 2 The Hand of God: The Lord Guided the Preparation of the Constitution
Lesson 3 In Order to Form a More Perfect Union: Preamble to Constitution
Preamble Cards 1 and 2
Lesson 4 In Order to Form a More Perfect Union: Branches of Government
Lesson 5 In Order to Form a More Perfect Union: Bill of Rights
Lesson 6 May Those Principles...Be Established Forever: Protect Our Liberties
Lesson 7 May Those Principles...Be Established Forever: Obedience = Freedom

Take Your Hat Off When the Flag Goes By: A musical introduction to the constitution. My children love this cd! I am amazed at how much little ones can be taught by singing along to songs that teach about our founding fathers, the revolution, and our founding documents.

Proclaim Liberty: Discussion Guide. This is the newest study guide in my constitution collection and I am reading it along with my 11 year old as part of his school curriculum. So far we are both enjoying it and learning a lot. I highly recommend this one, and actually anything the NCCS puts out.

Great American Documents for Latter-Day Saint Families. This book has 18 different documents along with commentary and study helps with each document.

The Great Prologue by Mark E. Petersen: This book chronicles the hand of God in establishing our great nation, the constitution and eventually the restoration of the gospel, which would not have been possible without the constitution.

What could be more important than the Constitution itself. I make sure each person in my family has a pocket constitution and knows the preamble by heart. With the older children we actually open these up, read from them and mark them. Even the little ones that don't understand know that this document is important!

For those that are local here in Utah there are two events we attend or volunteer to help with each year. Patriot Camp, which is a week long camp that takes place in the summer and teaches elementary aged children about our founding fathers, the constitution and freedom and liberty. The other is Freedom's Light: A Celebration of the Constitution of the United States of America. This takes place during the week of constitution day. It is an event for the entire family where there are interactive events, food, entertainment and visits from prominent people of the past that have influenced America's independence.