May
16

Road Trip USA ~ Kansas

By | Geography, Homeschool

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Welcome to our week on Kansas courtesy my Road Trip USA curriculum!   Here are some of the things we learned about this week: Located Kansas on our wall map Read our National Geographic Atlas and located Topeka, KS using the map coordinates. Worked on our 50 States and Capitals song State bird: Western Meadowlark State fish: Channel Catfish State flower: The Sunflower Classified the animals of Kansas State mammal: The American Bison Famous People: Amelia Earhart Famous Court Case: Brown vs. Board of Education Food: Beef, wheat, corn, BBQ   Here are some of the things we enjoyed: I’ve been putting up a whiteboard review each week. We review the items for each state as we go, then use this board to review the state symbols quickly.   We take turns reviewing the state locations for all states learned so far, then end with locating our new state of Kansas.   We also add our current state to our United … [Read more...]

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May
09

Road Trip USA ~ Iowa

By | Geography, Homeschool

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Welcome to our Road Trip USA week on Iowa. Iowa was named the 29th state on December 28, 1846. It is nicknamed “The Hawkeye State” supposedly after the scout, Hawkeye, in James Fenimore Cooper’s “The Last of the Mohicans” published in 1826. It is the only state in the United States whose east and west borders are almost entirely formed by water; the Mississippi River runs along the east border and the Missouri River along the west border. Iowa is one of our largest producers of corn and soybeans.   Here are a few things we learned about Iowa: Located Iowa on our wall map Read our National Geographic Atlas and located Des Moines, Iowa using the map coordinates. Worked on our 50 States and Capitals song Learned about the state and it’s flag State Bird: The American Goldfinch State Flower: The Wild Prairie Rose State Rock: The Geode Famous People: Buffalo Bill Famous Landmarks: The George M. Verity US President: Herbert Hoover Food: Hogs and corn … [Read more...]

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May
02

Road Trip USA ~ Indiana

By | Geography, Homeschool

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Hi and welcome to our Road Trip USA week on Indiana!   Indiana was named the 19th state on December 11, 1816. It is nicknamed “The Hoosier State” for several reasons, one is in reference to a boat named the “Indiana Hoosier”. Another possibly is that the state was named after a group of nosey Indianans who called out “Who’s here?” to every house they passed. Indiana is also home to one of the largest limestone deposits on earth. The Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, the Pentagon U.S. Treasure and 14 state capitals are built of Indiana limestone! Located Indiana on our wall map Read our National Geographic Atlas and located Indianapolis, IN using the map coordinates. Worked on our 50 States and Capitals song Learned about the state and it’s flag State Stone: Limestone State Bird: The Cardinal State Flower: The Peony Famous People: The Wright Brothers Made a fun airplane craft Learned about the Indianapolis 500 and Motor … [Read more...]

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Apr
11

Road Trip USA ~ Illinois

By | Geography, Homeschool

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Hi and welcome to our Road Trip USA week on Illinois, and our first visit to the midwest region of the United States!   Illinois was named the 21st state on December 3,1818. Illinois was nicknamed “The Prairie State” as most of the state was covered with prairie grasses. Today it still pays homage to the prairie by celebrating the third week of September as “Illinois Prairie Week”. It is one of the nation’s top corn-growing states. It is known for a wide variety of weather including major winter storms, deadly tornadoes and even hot and cold waves are common.   Here are some of the things we learned about this week: Located Illinois on our wall map Read our National Geographic Atlas and located Springfiled, IL using the map coordinates. Worked on our 50 States and Capitals song Learned about the state and it’s flag State Fish: The Bluegill State Bird: The Cardinal State Flower: The Purple Violet State Reptile: The Painted Turtle … [Read more...]

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Apr
04

Road Trip USA ~ West Virginia

By | Geography, Homeschool

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Hi and welcome to our Road Trip USA week on West Virginia!   West Virginia became the 35th state on June 20, 1863. It was given statehood status with the “agreement” that the citizens would phase out slavery. It was named “The Mountain State” due to the rugged terrain of the scenic Allegheny Mountains that cross the state. It is also known as the marble-making capital of the U.S. The state has large deposits of silica-rich sandstone, and has become a major producer of fine glassware and glass marbles!   Here are some things we learned about this week: Located West Virginia on our wall map Read our National Geographic Atlas and located Charleston, WV using the map coordinates. Worked on our 50 States and Capitals song Learned about the state and it’s flag State Bird: The Cardinal State Flower: The Rhododendron State Mammal: The Black Bear State Reptile: The Timber Rattlesnake Food: The West Virginia Slaw Dog, Apple Butter … [Read more...]

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Mar
29

Road Trip USA ~ Virginia

By | Geography, Homeschool

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Hi and welcome to our Road Trip USA week on Virginia! Virginia became the 10th state on June 25, 1788, and was one of the original 13 colonies. It was nicknamed “The Old Dominion” referring to complete ownership of a particular piece of land or territory during Colonial times. Virginia’s Assateague Island is home to a group of wild ponies that claimed in legend to be survivors of a Spanish galleon that shipwrecked along the coast. The ponies were made famous by Marguerite Henry in her children’s book titled “Misty of Chincoteague”. Located Virginia on our wall map Read our National Geographic Atlas and located Richmond, VA using the map coordinates. Worked on our 50 States and Capitals song Learned about the state and it’s flag State Bird: The Northern Cardinal State Flower: The American Dogwood State Dog: The American Foxhound U.S. Presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, … [Read more...]

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Mar
21

Road Trip USA: Tennessee

By | Geography, Homeschool

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Hi and welcome to our Road Trip USA week on Tennessee!   Tennessee was named the 16th state on June 1, 1796. It is known as “The Volunteer State” as thousands of Tennesseans enlisted during the War of 1812. Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee’s largest naturally formed lake, was created when the New Madrid Earthquake of 1811-1812 caused the Mississippi River to fill a low area. Much of it is more of a swamp, with bayou-like ditches. It is noted for its bald cypress trees and nesting pairs of bald eagles. Located Tennessee on our wall map Read our National Geographic Atlas and located Nashville, TN using the map coordinates. Worked on our 50 States and Capitals song Learned about the state and it’s flag State Bird: The Mockingbird State Flower: The Iris State Insect: The Swallowtail Butterfly State Wild Animal: The Raccoon Famous People: Davy Crockett and Elvis Presley. Famous Landmarks: The Great Smoky Mountain National Park Made a mock … [Read more...]

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Mar
14

Road Trip USA ~ South Carolina

By | Geography, Homeschool

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Hi and welcome to our Road Trip USA week on South Carolina! Today we’ll start off by letting the Teeny Tot be our tutor. She likes to point out the states, after showing us where South Carolina was, she went on to talk about all of the others. Some I’d  never even heard of before, I guess she’ll have to write her own curriculum when she gets older.   South Carolina was one of the original 13 colonies, and the 8th state admitted to the union on May 23, 1788. It is nicknamed “The Palmetto State” in honor of the type of trees used in the construction of an American fort on Sullivan Island in Charleston Harbor. During the Revolutionary War, British cannonballs bounced off the spongy palmetto logs used to build the fort. Located South Carolina on our wall map Read our National Geographic Atlas and located Columbia, SC using the map coordinates. Worked on our 50 States and Capitals song Learned about the state and it’s flag State Bird: The Carolina … [Read more...]

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Mar
07

Road Trip USA: North Carolina

By | Geography, Homeschool

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Hi and welcome to our Road Trip USA week on North Carolina!   Here are some of the things we learned about this week: Located North Carolina on our wall map Read our National Geographic Atlas and located Raleigh, NC using the map coordinates. Worked on our 50 States and Capitals song U.S. Presidents: Andrew Jackson, James Polk, Andrew Johnson Famous People: John Coltrane, Miles Davis and listened to some jazz! The state flag of North Carolina Bird: Northern Cardinal Flower: American Dogwood State Mammal: Eastern Squirrel Berry: Strawberry, and also blueberry Food: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Read: If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War by Kay Moore   And here is what I  managed to get pictures of: Here is my white board. We use it for a quick review of our state facts, I usually cover it the first day, then again the next. Then we cover it up and review again a few times to drill the info.   We curled up in the living room and read … [Read more...]

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Feb
29

Road Trip ~ Mississippi

By | Geography, Homeschool

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Hi and welcome to our Road Trip USA week on Mississippi!   Here are some of the things we learned this week: Located Mississippi on our wall map Read our National Geographic Atlas and located Jackson, MS using the map coordinates. Worked on our 50 States and Capitals song Learned about the state and it’s flag State Waterfowl: The Wood Duck State Bird: The Mocking Bird State Flower: The Magnolia State Land Mammal: The White Tailed Deer Famous Landmark: Friendship Cemetery, the birthplace of what we now celebrate as Memorial Day Learned all about the Mississippi River Learned about the Steamboat Food: Made some Mississippi Mud Pie! Yum! Classified the animals of Mississippi Read:  If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine   And here are some things we took pictures of!   Adding our Mississippi animals to our animal classification wall. I’ve had lots of questions on the size of … [Read more...]

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