As a University of Virginia alum and former research intern at Monticello, I have a soft spot for Thomas Jefferson. All right, that’s probably an understatement. Most of us who went to “The University” pretty much revere the man, who founded the school. Creating the University and its academical village was one of Jefferson’s greatest accomplishments. Here’s what he had engraved on his grave marker:
“Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, Author of the Declaration of American Independence of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom and Father of the University of Virginia.” (You’ll notice that he omitted his two-term presidency as one of his key accomplishments.)
At his heart, Jefferson was a scholar, a lifelong learner. He was a Renaissance man who was passionate about farming, architecture, applied science and math. His personal library formed the nucleus of the Library of Congress’s collection. And he designed his university so that professors lived alongside students providing endless opportunities for interaction and discussion outside of the classroom.
We celebrate Jefferson’s birthday on April 13th. In honor of what would be his 269th birthday, here are a few resources for children.
- A Day in the Life of Thomas Jefferson from Monticello.org
- Help TJ explore the modern world through the Travelin’ TJ Project (much like Flat Stanley)
- UVa History for Kids (Yes, this will be required reading in my house.)
- Apples4theTeacher has coloring pages, activities, a timeline and more about Thomas Jefferson.
Kirsten W. Larson 
What an interesting human being. Thanks for sharing Kirsten! 🙂
It always amazes me how “Renaissance” our founding fathers were.
Happy Birthday TJ!!! That Monticello website is very interesting.
There is a lot of great information on the site. And it’s such a beautiful place.
Can’t wish im a happy one til tomorrow – goes aginst my German grain! (Though I only adopted it!) Thanks for all the info, I too am a fan of any man who can!
Well, I had to run it today because tomorrow is PPBF, of course. 🙂
I’ll excuse it this time! lol
Phyllis is finally here, but she will have to get dragged around town before I can post (coffee house – first stop!)
Kirsten… have you seen this book: http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-Kids-Times-Activities/dp/1569763488/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334288090&sr=8-1 written by Brandon Marie Miller — a great, local nonfiction writer. There are some great activities in the book for kids. We love this series. Thanks for the info! I didn’t realize his birthday was tomorrow.
Thanks Colleen! It seems I always have a stash of books in my Amazon cart. I’ll have to add this one!
Cool! I didn’t know it was his birthday today! I am going to check out the websites you listed!!
Enjoy, Erik.