Hello Reader,

This week, my youngest son and oldest grandson are at the Texas State Capitol attending a 4-day, hands-on government class called TeenPact. We dropped them off on Monday and will pick them back up tomorrow.

Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, will be giving his State of the State address this week. And, of course, Biden gave his State of the Union address last week. So, we all have government on the brain right now.

Which works out, since President's Day is right around the corner, and I have a whole list of resources to share with you on that topic. Enjoy!

Free resources for you this week:

• ​Presidential Word Scramble - race to unscramble the names of these 20 US presidents
• ​President's Day Printables - includes a printable chart with all our past presidents
• ​Praying for Our President - God commands us to pray for our leaders; here are my requests
• ​George Washington's Birthday - several worksheets honoring the father of our country
• ​Abraham Lincoln's Birthday - lots of ideas and printables for celebrating our 16th president
• ​National Security Coloring Page - wise words from our 14th president, Franklin Pierce

What we're reading this week:

We read Tim Echol's Real Citizenship aloud on our way to Austin as part of Gabriel and Aiden's preparation for TeenPact. It's a great book, full of solid advice for Christians wanting to be more involved in the political process and make a positive impact on their culture. 🇺🇸

What we're watching this week:

We've continued watching World Watch News as part of our current events study. If you've ever wondered what this program is all about, now is the time to find out. For one week only, you can view any and all past episodes absolutely FREE -- no credit card info or sign up or trial membership required. 👍🏻

Progress on last week's goals:

I finished all but one of my goals last week, including ✅ memorizing James 4, ✅ preparing for TeenPact, ✅ prepping for our camping trip, ✅ teaching a new craft to Grace Girls, and ✅ hanging out with our son's family in San Antonio. The only thing I didn't get done was ❌ visiting with another son's family from Dallas, but that's because their daughter got sick and they canceled their trip. 😢

Personal goals for this week:

• memorize James 5
• survive a 23-mile hike at Colorado Bend State Park
• work on creating a brand new 30-day challenge​
• put together costumes for "Decades Day" at our homeschool co-op on Monday

Another poll for you this week:

Do you have a favorite president? Who was it and what did you admire most about him?