GOVT 1 – Basics, Family Councils, & the Tuttle Twins – Online

NOTE: Even though this is a FIRST GRADE COURSE, it is WORTHY of the TIME of OLDER STUDENTS, and MOM and DAD, because of its content.

This is a Reprise of Government PreK & K (in case you missed them), plus the Introduction of the Tuttle Twins and their Adventures in learning about Government and Economics.

Requires: The Family Council Journal by M. Russel Ballard, $15.99 at deseretbook.com,(If you don’t already own it) and the 13 Tuttle Twins titles. The 13 books are $110, the accompanying workbooks are downloadable and are free.

Course Contents:

Section 1: Reprise of Basic Concepts & Memorizations
If you know the following – SUPER!
If you do not know the following or have forgotten, please see Govt PreK & K.
1 – The Definition of government
2 – The Meaning of “To Rule.”
3 – The Declaration quotes.
4 – The first basic type of government.
5 – The meaning of self-government.
6 – The purpose of AGENCY.
7 – The 2nd type of government
8 – The 2 kinds of family government.
9 – The 3rd basic kind of government.
10 – The types or levels of civil government
Time Required: One to Day to Four Weeks

Section 2: Understanding and Practice of Family Councils

Lessons 1-4: Family Councils – Introduction (1 Week)
Begin using the Our Family Council Journal by perusing the Introduction. Space it out over the four lessons.

Lesson 5-8: Hold four or more preliminary Family Councils. (4 Weeks) In each of the Council meetings, discuss and determine at least 1 item below, thus setting-up your form and format for your Family Council.

Determine
1 – What type of Family Council you will have?
2 – What format to use?
3 – What types of things will be discussed in Family Council?
4 – How often you will meet?
5 – General Rules for the Council.
6 – Who is in charge? Who presides? Who conducts?
7 – What business may be brought before the Council? ANYTHING or
must it be on an agenda before hand? Are there certain things
that are NOT OK to decide in Family Council?
8 – Who is going to keep the record? Do you want photos?
9 – How will you keep order in the Council?
10 – AND MOST IMPORTANT – Does Family Council time mean treat time???

Lessons 9-12: Council Charter (One Week)

When your family has decided upon the type, form, etc. for your Family Council, write-up what was decided as your Family Council Charter or Rules. Copy on plain paper under which a lined sheet has been placed that allows you to write as if on lines. You could embellish this somewhat like an “Illuminated manuscript.” If you do Not know what an “Illuminated Manuscript” is – hmm – look it up! Make it look nice, in your best penmanship. A copy should be filed in the Family Council Journal and another copy laminated for quick reference during meetings.

Section Three: The Tuttle Twins

Question: What are the TUTTLE TWINS books?
Created by Connor Boyack and published by the Libertas Institute, the Tuttle Twins is a series of 12 books designed to introduce children ages 5-10 to a variety of real world social studies concepts. Covered are economics, history, government, business, civics and more. The concepts are presented in a simple, easy, and fun to understand way. They are written from libertarian point of view.

Book 1 – The Law –
Based on the Classic by Frederic Bastiat, this book will lead young readers to an understanding of the principles of liberty and the proper role of government.

Book 2 – The Miraculous Pencil – This is based on the classic, “I, Pencil,” by Leonard Read. Here the student learns economic principles. These include: spontaneous order, trade,
competition, division of labor, and the free market.

Book 3 – The Creature from Jekyll Island – Edward Griffin wrote the classic by the same name to introduce the history and nature of money, banking, inflation, savings, and bartering.

Book 4 – The Food Truck Fiasco – Learn from the mimicked writings of Henry Hazlitt, Economics in One Lesson. Here are great lessons about business, economics, regulation, competition, and protectionism. Also covered, how government harms the economy and what one or two persons can do about it.

Book 5 – The Road to Serfdom – The rights of private property, social goals, and the enchainment it can bring. A take-off of F. A. Hayek’s classic by the same name, find-out how what some people wished for disrupts a whole community. What is the dominoes effect here?

Book 6 – The Golden Rule – The alternative to aggression, revenge, and blowback, the GOLDEN RULE has stood the test of time. This book highlights why peace and friendship are so important.

Book 7 – The Search for Atlas – Are you familiar with Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand? Then you will understand this tale. It shows in no uncertain terms what happens to a society, like ours, when socialism gets a foot hold.

Book 8 – Spectacular Show Business – What’s required when you ‘go into business’? This may very well be a real eye-opener for a lot of people. (As my husband says, if you really want to
work half a day, just go into business. You will be working 12 hour days for sure.) What does it really take to make a business a success?

Book 9 – Fate of the Future – This is a simple tale of Satan’s way versus Heavenly Father’s ways. From the back cover: “SHOULD WE COERCE OTHERS TO GET WHAT WE WANT? The history of the world is tale of some people bossing others around. But brave thinkers have always offered ideas for a better future where people use persuasion instead. And after (the Tuttle Twins) Ethan and Emily watch a dystopian film portraying a future full of coercion, they realize that they need to learn how to avoid it. Enter Murray Rothbard, author of Anatomy of the State, whose book teaches the Tuttle Twins that the fate of the future – and all humanity – depends on thinking of ways we can work together peacefully, to build a better society without relying on coercion.”

Book 10 – Education Vacation – Is school the best way to get an education? I think anyone reading this already knows the answer. MUST READ: John Taylor Gatto’s, The Underground History of American Education. It is part of a trio by Gatto. Read all three, if you can. It is truly enlightening. This take-off Shows how the twins learn that “education works best when we have the freedom to discover our interests and develop our abilities, rather than being shaped into what somebody else wants.” This is one reason we encourage participation in a READING CLUB: the students get to pick books about their interests, and learn what they want to learn.

Book 11 – The Messed Up Market – The Tuttle Twins have some money to invest. Here they find-out how choices some people make can really mess-up the economy for everyone. What are those not-so-good choices?

Book 12 – The Leviathan Crisis – Here we learn that truth overpowers fear; that ignorance makes us targets for despots who want to control us, and that politicians want us to be scared so we will surrender our freedoms by asking them to grow government. Based on the book, Crisis and Leviathan by Roberts Higgs. (Remember the fear mongering of the government over COVID? Were all the lockdowns really necessary? What have been the results of a lack of schooling for a generation of kids?

Book 13 – The 12 Rules Boot Camp – Inspired by the popular 12 Rules for Life written by Jordan Peterson, this story sees the twins organize a boot camp for their Uncle Brock to help him
see the power of these ideas—and how each of the ideas is like an ingredient that, when mixed together, can lead to great results!