Recent research concludes that eating one meal as a family everyday can increase a child’s ability to stand up for what they believe. It also is a fabulous place to talk to your kids about your moral views, and discuss each others passions. One of my passions is American history. I got it from my dad.

I think my dad should have been born on the Fourth of July! He knows everything (and I mean everything) about the Revolutionary War and the founding of our country. Our dinner  tables were laden with good food (thank you mom) and history. Stories were a regular happening and they always had something to do with our Founding Fathers. Major battle days were celebrated  and money even awarded for correct answers to facts. My patriotic traditions stem from his. I raise my flags (just as he does) and think about those who died and how blessed we are to live in this nation. I am so grateful for the passion my father conveyed. It will always be a legacy that has enriched my life and now is being passed to his grandchildren. 

Through his stories, I learned just how cyclical history really is. Without learning from past mistakes, we are inviting those mistakes to repeat in our posterity. We must know our history to make these corrections. We must teach our children. And it’s just plain fun when you learn history through stories.

So each month I will post a calendar with a few Revolutionary War dates and heroes to celebrate, along with their stories.

Bite size pieces of history, a dinner at a time.