Primary – October 24

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, who helped perfect the microscope, was born on this date in 1632. He said, “Whenever I found out anything remarkable, I have thought it my duty to put down my discovery on paper, so that all ingenious people might be informed thereof.” Describe what you do when you find out something remarkable, and whether van Leeuwenhoek’s habit will change yours.

Primary – October 23

At what age do you think children should be allowed to do whatever they want to do, and what do you think would happen if children younger than that age were allowed to do whatever they wanted to do?

Primary – October 22

Daniel Boone was born on this date in 1734. Explain why you think it’s OK or not OK to celebrate a person’s life for exaggerated ideas about things she or he may or may not have actually done.

Primary – October 21

“The only questions that really matter are the ones you ask yourself.” -Ursula K. Le Guin, born on this date in 1929. Ask yourself a question you don’t want to answer.

Primary – October 20

If you could change one of your family’s rules, how and why would you change it?

Primary – October 19

Movie camera inventor Auguste Lumière was born on this date in 1862. He once said, “My invention can be exploited … as a scientific curiosity, but apart from that it has no commercial value whatsoever.” Explain who someone who is very smart can also be very wrong.

Primary – October 18

On this date in 1851, Herman Melville published Moby-Dick. Think about something who is so important that you would travel around the world for years to get it. Then explain why it’s so important to you.

Primary – October 17

“Let all the time you can get be spent in trying to learn to read.” -Jupiter Hammon, the first published African-American writer in the United States, who was born into slavery on this date in 1711. Describe the most important difference between someone who can’t read and someone who can.