I have wanted to teach my kids more about Ronald Reagan for awhile. I was holding off until they could really appreciate and understand about our 40^th President of the United States. I was really delighted to read to my kids Ronald Reagan: Destiny at His Side from YWAM Publishing and their Heroes of History Series. My family loves reading the many books from YWAM Publishing.

I received a physical book of: Ronald Reagan: Destiny at His Side and a Digital copy of Heroes of History Downloadable Unit Study Curriculum Guide Ronald Reagan.

YWAM stands for Youth with a Mission. They have a large selection of books from famous men and woman throughout history that have made a difference in the world. Their lives are an inspiration which are told as an autobiography of men and women with strong morals and even Christian values that had an impact on individuals and history. YWAM Publishing has two series Heroes of History and Christian Heroes: Then and Now.

Ronald Reagan: Destiny at His Side

The Story starts out with a Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Gunshots are heard as President Ronald Reagan was leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel. Ron was pushed in the limousine, everything looked okay at first but, then suddenly it was hard breathing. That’s when the Secret Service Agent yelled, “Get use to GW!” Ron insisted on walking the twenty feet to the entrance of the emergency room and collapsed on one knee when the doors swished open. He wondered if this was how it was all going to end for a boy from small town Illinois.

Then you’re transported back to 1916 when Reagan, loving named Dutch to when he was five years old. Dutch grew up in a small rural town in poverty. His father, Jack was a shoe salesman and couldn’t keep a job very long and he was an alcoholic. His mother Nelle was the rock of the family that engrained her strong Christian faith, humility, and morals to her two sons Dutch and Neil.

Dutch created a paid job for himself as a lifeguard despite the fact it was even a job for the position. He convinced the city that a lifeguard was was a much needed position. He saved many from drowning for several summers.

Throughout the story you see an amazing story of a young man who went after everything he dreamed of doing. Dutch was able to attend college, despite his family’s poverty, and eventually getting his brother into the same college.

Dutch had his heart set on being a sports announcer for the radio. Yet, he lacked the experience and the prospect of it happening looked pretty bleak. Despite the odds Dutch never gave up on his dreams from being a radio sports announcer, military, an actor, Governor of California, and President of the United States of America.

Ronald Reagan was an impressive man that was smart as a whip, reading at a very early age, could improvise any situation at the drop of a hat. He had the skills to negotiate in several arenas, like a jack of all trades. He was charismatic person. He spoke from the heart and stayed true to what he believed.

Throughout the pages of the story you see why Ronald Reagan was called, “The Great Communicator” his life prepared him for the task of being the fortieth president of the United States of America.

Study Guide:

The Study Guide is 82 pages and covers each of the twenty chapters in the book. You download the Study Guide as a PDF. The Study Guide will enhance your studies with focusing on history, geography, essays, vocabulary, reading comprehension, creative writing, public speaking, drama, and art. The Study Guides are set up easily enough for you to use them in full or to adapt them to your student. The Study Guides can also be used a group setting.

As far as grade levels go you can choose the activities that appropriate for your children. I’ve done the comprehensive questions with my kids from the Study Guides with my children in 1 st grade. The Study Guide will give you suggestions with younger kids.

One activity for elementary kids could be creating a Display Corner which basically is collecting items that are mentioned in the book, like pictures or a model radio, articles of news stories of the events mentioned. You could fill up a jar of jelly beans. The list is nice and something very doable and hands on.

We just finished up Chapter 16. Some of the comprehensive questions include vocabulary like, what does harangue mean and wants you to use it in a sentence. Ronald quite smoking what snack helped him quiet? Another question was, “Why did Ron make signing an executive order to remove government price controls on gasoline his first act as President?” Each chapter has six questions and as you can see there are questions for all ages to answer.

There are many suggestions every subject like, ideals on creative writing like writing your own review on one of his movies, several hands on projects, creating your own screen play, to creating a picture collage of Ronald Reagan’s life. Another activity is building a Crystal Radio. There are also suggested resources for for older students if they would like read more books about Ronald Reagan.

The Study Guide also includes a biography page, timeline of important event around Ronald Reagan’s life, and maps to fill out for Ronald Reagan’s life. Another fun bonus is that you can go online and get word puzzles and coloring pages with your Study Guide.

How did I use Ronald Reagan: Destiny at His Side in my homeschool?

My kids are twelve and fifteen and we read independently and we also read as a family out loud during the school week. That is exactly what we did with Ronald Reagan: Destiny at His Side. After we finish up or devotions and Bible study we read together.

My fifteen year old daughter has special needs and struggles with reading. Reading out loud great books helps her explore her world and she is a sponge and soaks up so much when we read together. Honestly, I love reading out loud to them and we learned so much about Ronald Reagan. I never knew so many facts about one of my favorite presidents. I think my kids and I truly understand what made this man such a great president. We came to see how his life prepared him to be The Great Communicator.

I usually look over the Study Guide the night before to see what we are going to do out of it. Some nights are way too busy and I’m not able to go over it prior. The nice thing is that on those days I can just do the comprehensive questions easily without preparing anything. For the most part we just do the comprehensive questions while reading. I add in other components that fit our busy school schedule. One thing that we had fun doing was watching some of Ronald Reagan’s movies and his TV show that he did for several years. We also enjoy doing the biography sheet, timeline, and maps.

We have read several books from YWAM Publishing and have never been disappointed. My kids learn so much and learn about men and women who have made an impact on the world. They see that being a Godly man and woman of character wherever you are at in your life. It could be in the mission fields, nine to five jobs, or even a kid you can make a difference whether it be one person or millions. YWAM Publishing has spoken volumes to my children’s heart and minds.