The Benefits of Homeschooling... for Mamas!

By far the most common reasoning I personally hear for not homeschooling is something along the lines of:

I don't have enough patience to teach my kids.

This is God's sense of humor. Why? Because I am one of the most impatient people you know.

Sure sure sure. I've grown A TON over the years (and homeschooling is a major reason! More on that in a sec) but among those closest to me (husband, kids, parents, siblings) I am actually known for my lack of patience. Seriously, ask Erik.

And yet I have people tell me on a regular basis that they couldn't do what I do because they don't have the kind of patience I supposedly have.

See the irony? God chuckles every time, I just know it.

I've been realizing lately how beneficial homeschooling has been for me personally. I homeschool for my kids and for our family and ultimately in obedience to God. But, true to the way God works, I experience beautiful benefits as the mama. Bonus benefits of homeschooling, if you will. And I am going to share them miscellaneously here:

Benefit for Mama #1

I am a more patient person.

I did not become patient and then start homeschooling. Oh no. I started out as impatient as ever. Trust me there have been some u-u-u-ugly moments... er... days. But I can truly and honestly look back at those early days of pushing academics on my poor 3 year old and see how far God has brought me over the last 8 years. 

It's certainly been through growing in the Lord on a daily basis that I've grown over the years. But God has also used homeschooling in a huge way to mold me more into what He desires me to be. More into the Mom my babes need, the wife my husband deserves, the sister and daughter and friend He created me to be. Homeschooling played a key role.

So next time you want to say to me, "I'm not patient enough to teach my kids," don't be surprised when my answer is, "well, then, that's exactly what you should be doing!"

Benefit for Mama #2

I enjoy my kids.

They can certainly annoy me. I'm an impatient person, remember? It is not entirely uncommon for me to hide. But when I come out of my hiding place, usually after some serious conversations with God, I can see my kids for the joy that they are.

Their hilarity. Their uniqueness. Their constant growing and changing and becoming. Homeschooling gives me abundant opportunity to truly know my babies. What tickles their funny bone. What motivates them. Where their passions lie and what stokes those passions. I get the zoomed in view of God working in their hearts. It is the most beautiful view and I can't get enough of it.

Benefit for Mama #3

I'm a less selfish person.

Derek and I got a weekend away for my birthday. We hiked for hours and miles and miles and hours. We watched too many movies and ate whatever we wanted. We were unhindered by all things small child. It was glorious! In my mind, I was going to return home refreshed and with a heart full of patient compassion for my brood of littles.

Wow was I wrong.

The first day back from our little vaca was reminiscent of a nightmare, and my very own selfishness fueled the disaster. Being with my kids day in and day out has been exactly what I've needed to keep that selfishness in check. Now, I'm not saying don't get away! Absolutely do!! But learn from my foolishness and remember that life almost never goes exactly how you imagined it. I thought we'd come home to kids who were thrilled to have us home and at the ready to serve in any way I desired out of pure love for me. At the time I wouldn't have realized that was my expectation, but after our nightmare day, that became disgustingly clear. I can't even imagine what kind of self-absorbed human I would be if I didn't have a handful of miniatures reminding me on the daily that life isn't all about me.

Benefit for Mama #4

I'm constantly learning.

Who knew I loved learning?! Certainly not me! Sometimes I am convinced that education is wasted on the young. I spent my entire growing up years in school and yet I'm certain I've learned more homeschooling my own kids than I ever did in school and college. Seriously, I look forward to reading our history curriculum every single day. And long division... is actually fun!

I'm also always learning more about how to teach my kids. I've become a little obsessive about reading about reading. The more I learn, the more I crave to learn. Would I have so much opportunity to learn if I didn't have the motivation of teaching my kids? Would I have the desire? Maybe you would but I wouldn't. I know myself and I know that I would be caught up in all the other things that go along with mom life. Learning would take a back seat to doing every time in my world. I'm grateful that learning is a major part of my life, and I thoroughly enjoy doing it right alongside my babes.

Benefit for Mama #5

I'm a more disciplined person.

I'm resisting the urge to laugh out loud at this. I'm entirely too undisciplined. But I am more disciplined than I would be if we weren't living the homeschool life. Having to set the schedule myself for our family is quite the disciplined way of life. I'm the type who would like someone else to tell me what to do and when to do it so I can fight against the system and do my own thing. When I'm the one having to tell myself what to do and when to do it, I'm fighting myself. This is hard. Frustrating. Stretching. And beneficial for this undisciplined human.

With days almost always wide open before us, I'm faced with the constant decision to tackle it with vigor or throw it out the window. And then there's all the options in between. I fail. A lot. And then I learn and grow and become a more disciplined person.

Benefit for Mama #6

The homeschooling community!

I love love love talking curriculum with fellow homeschool mamas. Gleaning tricks and tips for teaching my various littles from women far wiser than me is a favorite. In just about any path of life you can find community. I'm just partial to the homeschool one. We aren't better than the next community. We're just us. And I love us. Spending time with God-fearing, like-minded mamas fills me up to overflowing every single time. Humans were made for community. For fellowship. For connection. If you don't have that, my little homeschooling community always has open arms!

Sometimes the idea of homeschooling feels a little like dying to self for the sake of the children. And, well, it is. But God, in His infinite awesomeness, pours out abundant blessings when we die to self in obedience to Him. And then the dying feels a whole lot more like living than living ever felt before.

This list is by no means exhaustive. I didn't even mention the part about kids doing the chores around the house! But, if you are an impatient, selfish, undisciplined mama like me who is experiencing the tug of the Holy Spirit to pursue this homeschooling thing, I'm here for you! I'm cheering you on toward these benefits and many, many more. And I can't wait to welcome you into the homeschool life with open arms!

How We Survived Washington D.C. with Kids

We have officially reached a new chapter in our lives. Our babiest is 3 and she gets to remain the babiest forever. This means that the actual baby stage of raising kids is behind us. And that Amber will forever be treated like the perfect little princess that she is.

 And this also means that we have just a tiny bit more freedom to travel!

This past Christmas we went out to PA to spend time with family. And since we were already going to be all the way out East, we couldn't resist a trip into Washington DC, which served as the kids' Christmas present.

This was not our first traveling experience with all five babes so we had a pretty good idea of what we were getting ourselves into. But Derek and I both walked away having gleaned wisdom on what to expect on such adventures in the future. It only seems like the friendly things to do to pass along some of that wisdom:

Plan, plan, plan

I am not a planner. In a perfect world of my own making, we would fly by the seat of our pants all day every day. Thankfully, my other half is significantly wiser and is a thorough planner. While my pants may work just fine as a guide if we had all the time in the world and no weary, little feet, a plan is truly your survival guide with kids.

So Derek planned out our time, where we would visit, where we would park, and how to get to each of these places. He scheduled a tour of the Capitol building (the White House is "closed" over Christmas and New Years, FYI) and knew ahead of time what to expect while there (no food or drink!). He had all the places we wanted to hit the most mapped out, with bonus things ready in case we were up for it.

Here's the thing about planning: it has to be flexible! More on that in a sec.

AirBnB will save you

Here's why: 

You'll actually get sleep because you won't all be shoved into the same tiny room.

You'll pay way less for way more.

We really hate sleeping in a hotel. As nice as a pool is (and sometimes we are willing to suffer the hotel thing just for that), sleeping 7 in one room is a nightmare. And to pay for a suite... well an AirBnB is much more economical. 

Ours was fantastic! We had an entire house to ourselves and plenty of space for all! Kitchen. Laundry. Disney+. And it cost the same as a hotel room. So you're welcome for that advice.

So will Uber

We hadn't intended to use Uber but have you ever been to DC? So.Much.Walking! By the end of the day, the littles (and the grownups) just didn't have it in them to walk all the way back to the van. We spent roughly the amount on Uber that we would have on the metro. But we got picked up where ever we wanted and brought directly to our van in record time. 

We ended up calling an Uber 3 times and every time they were super nice and professional. So much safer and less stressful than dragging the kids through the metro system in the dark of night! Which, by the way, begins around 4 in the middle of the winter.

A stroller is a MUST

You probably are aware that DC involves a lot of walking. But let me just tell you, it's more than a lot. It's more than you think. It's always more. Praise the Lord, my MIL had a double stroller that we could plop our littlest two into. And our coats and snacks and water bottles. And bags for throw-up because we happened to need those...

Throw out your expectations

We have learned this over and over since becoming parents. Things will never go as planned with kids. So we went into our trip to DC having already thrown out most of our expectations. Derek had his plan but we knew it was simply a guideline to keep our sanity. Otherwise, it was completely throw-out-able. Flexible enough to be totally different when all was said and done.

Our trip actually went mostly as planned, except...

Get rid of the rest of your expectations

We did a fraction of what we had hoped to do. In spite of PERFECT weather the entire time, there simply wasn't any way to fit everything in. And by everything, I mean the very few things we were determined to get to. 

DC cannot be done in two days. 5 kids or no kids. Can't be done.

So we were very selective about where we went, and still didn't manage all the places. I realized that I had been viewing this as a once-in-a-lifetime trip, but when I let go of that, I could let go of the rest of my expectations. Even if it was the only time we'll ever go as a whole family, I had to recognize that we weren't missing out. Quite the contrary. The entire adventure was purely gift, unmet expectations and all. And that's the perfect segue into...

Treasure your people more than the places

It would have been so easy to lose it on my kids on multiple occasions while we walked (and walked) around DC. I could have ruined the fun for us all by dwelling on the handful of things I had really wanted to do but we simply couldn't make happen. If Derek or I had started grouching about sore feet or gave in to any sort of complaining, the whole trip could have been an utter disaster. But, by the grace of God and the help of each other, we were able to (for the most part!) savor the moments with our littles. Invest in their hearts and souls more than their academic knowledge of all things DC. 

Our kids won't likely remember all the things we saw, did, and learned (I already forget half of it!), but we believe they'll be able to look back on this trip with better memories than the statues and paintings in the Capitol or the pretty First Ladies dresses or the details of the flag of Fort Henry. They'll remember being loved and treasured while learning what it means to honor and respect our great country and those who made it worthy of those things.

That was our ultimate goal, anyway, and I pray it was accomplished!

Go ahead and use this wisdom for your next trip to Washington D.C. or anywhere for that matter. Where have you traveled with kids lately?

  

USA RoadTrip - Florida

We have only been doing RoadTrip once a week at our homeschool co-op which means pictures and creativity are severely limited. 40ish minutes with 15 kids flies by! But I am loving studying, learning, and teaching all about the US of A!

The kids were all excited to talk about Florida because Florida means DISNEY and BEACHES!! Since they all seemed to know all about those two things, we totally skipped them and went to the lesser known aspects that they ended up really enjoying!

1. This is a fun book that has not-as-well-known stories in it from each state. It talks about how Florida became the top producer of citrus fruits, specifically oranges. Hint: A man from China named Lue Gim Gong had a whole lot to do with it! Of course we enjoyed some orange juice while we learned.





2. Manatees (aka Sea Cows): We talked about how these gentle giants are endangered and it is now illegal to hunt them. The kids loved the fact that you can swim with a manatee! We browsed pictures in google images. I mean, how adorable are these huge weird-looking creatures?!

Source

3. This video of the Discovery taking off from the Kennedy Space Center was a huge hit in class!



The fun you can have studying each state, especially a state full of fun like Florida, is limitless! I'm trying to be content with the once a week thing because I really need to be. It's just where we are in life right now! But it's hard because there's so much more we could do! But hopefully the above gives you a good jumping off point!

Next up- Georgia!

USA RoadTrip - Arkansas

We are working through the SouthEast this semester. We actually took a detour through Alabama awhile back so we started with:

1. These videos have been a new go-to for us with every state that they have available:



2. Of course we talked about the Crater of Diamonds Park because how cool is a place that you can search for diamonds and keep what you find?? We checked out some pictures from the website and made our own origami diamonds. We found the how-to on youtube.

3. This semester I'm not spending as much time on this geography class because we've added quite a few other things. So I try to focus on at least one interesting location in each state and a piece of history. For Arkansas we learned about the Little Rock Nine. Here is a good video we found for a summary (we read some miscellaneous books, too! Not all my kids' education comes from YouTube...):



A couple of my favorite resources for planning our "trips"-
Road Trip from COAH
Eight for Each State

Check out HERE for the other states we've studied!

Next up- FLORIDA!

2016-2017 Curriculum

We went to the Great Homeschool Convention this past spring and loved it! It was really the push that I needed to get through the rest of the year and even get excited about this school year! Now we are nearly 50 days into this new school year and we are still very happy with our curriculum choices! So here's the rundown:

Marie: 3rd Grade
Math - MathUSee Beta
Bible - Apologia Who is God?
Handwriting - A Reason for Handwriting/Journaling
Spelling - All About Spelling Level 2
Language Arts - All About Reading Level 3
Science - Apologia Astronomy
Geography/History - RoadTrip USA (using this and various resources)
Extracurricular - Co-op, Bible Quizzing, Dance, Sunday night Kids Club

Jack: 1st Grade
Math - MathUSee Alpha
Bible - Apologia Who is God?
Handwriting - a simple alphabet booklet
Spelling - All About Spelling Level 1
Language Arts - All About Reading Level 2
Science - Apologia Astronomy
Geography/History - RoadTrip USA (from this and various resources)
Extracurricular - Co-op, Bible Quizzing, Soccer, Sunday night Kids Club

Kempton: Preschool
Letter of the Week from COAH

Roger: Nap
Every day during school!

You might've noticed that Marie and Jack are doing a lot of subjects together. I am so grateful that this is possible! It is actually essential for sanity. I highly recommend it.

I would love to know what you are doing this year and what your favorites are!

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USA Roadtrip - Pennsylvania

We did finish out the Northeast last semester but I got pregnant and apparently that not only sapped all of my energy and my ability to function without nausea, it also sucked out any creativity I have! But I've got to share one more state as best as I can remember!

Pennsylvania is my favorite. It's always been a favorite. I had absolutely no idea as a kid that I would one day call it home. Now, not only does it lure me with its beauty and history, its people - my people - make me ache for it!

Pennsylvania

1. Of course I had to share some pictures from a couple of our favorite hidden gems:

Ricketts Glen -

Boulder Field -

2. We spent some time learning about the Amish. We live in Amish country right here in Indiana so it made sense to learn a little extra about their lifestyle.

We read some books...

We made quilts out of construction paper...

They were listening to Kidz Bop while making these...

We watched a barn raising on youtube...



3. The story of Milton Hershey is fascinating and inspirational. He faced many failures before finally finding success. His passion in life was serving people through providing affordable chocolate and lots of jobs. He built Hershey, PA for the purpose of serving people. A great role model for any aspiring entrepreneur! Make sure to look him up!

Visiting the Hershey Factory with the kids is definitely on the to-do list for someday. Meanwhile, we were able to get a taste (no pun intended! ha!) of the factory through some youtube videos. And of course we ate some Hershey Kisses!

4. Pennsylvania is so full of history. We spent a good amount of time learning about the Liberty Bell through various library books. One of my favorite little facts that I didn't know before was it has Leviticus 25:10 inscribed on it: Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.

Unfortunately that is all I have for you of this great state. What do YOU love about my beloved PA??


((Find the other states we have studied HERE))

Our Picture Perfect Life.

Yesterday I shared this fun video full of giggles and happy faces. It was definitely the highlight of the day.

 Because yesterday was rough. Ugly. And as I thought about that post I felt convicted.. like I was straight out lying to the world wide web about life here at the Jacobs' home.

I don't believe in airing out dirty laundry on social media. TimeHop has done an excellent job of reminding me of those times I've done that years ago, embarrassing me to no end. Thankfully it was years ago and I have no intention of starting that back up.

What I enjoy seeing in my social media memories is shots of my now 4 year old all bundled up in his sweet tiny-ness sucking on a paci too big for his face. I love chuckling at quotes said by my mini-me when she was 3, and having to stop for a second to figure out if the pic I'm seeing is of Jack or Roger. It's uplifting to come across a post about how even tho it's been hard, God is good. And my favorite, seeing an old post from a friend that reminds me that I am loved.

After yesterday, though, I realized that in my attempt to stay positive on social media, I'm beginning to portray myself and my life as perfect, well kept, put together, admirable.

Oh boy, it's laughable just to type those things! That is not AT ALL my intention. There is airing laundry, and there is being real. I want to be real.

Because marriage, parenting, homeschooling, this thing called life is HARD. I know that I am not the only one who doesn't even sort of have it all together. The last thing I want to do is cause anyone to stumble - through jealousy or discontentment or hate - because I'm not being real.

This seems especially important right now as school has started up and parents are either facing homeschooling head on or wrestling in their spirit with the whole idea of homeschool. Let me give you some real when it comes to homeschooling around here.

I am going to prove to you that if I can do it, truly anyone can!

And we are only going to focus on yesterday...

I wasn't even all the way out of bed yet and I was already yelling at the kids. When breakfast was finally served, I locked the door to my bedroom so I could eat and vainly attempt some time with the Lord.

We managed a trip to the library which surprisingly is often a nice reprieve. Praise the Lord! But as soon as returning home, the chaos commenced. I hid in a book for as long as I could while letting the kids eat in front of the TV. Screens = sanity.

By the time I finally got up the strength to put the little two down for nap, it was pushing 2:00pm and we hadn't started school yet.

(School has been upstairs the last couple of weeks because I don't have the strength to deal with the mess...)

(Thank you, YouTube, for doing half of Kempton's schooling!)

Jack took an HOUR to read his short story. Aren't homeschool parents supposed to be all patient or something? Not this one. I might've lost it on him... twice. It's a miracle we survived.

Meanwhile, Marie keeps thinking that getting out the iPad or turning on her music or doing anything that isn't school related is acceptable. I may have lost it on her.

At some point it's time to get dinner ready and we are still knee deep in school. I realize that the little boys have been playing in their room instead of napping for the last two hours.

I definitely lost it on them.

Derek calls. I'm pretty sure I motivated him not to rush home from work, although he'd never admit to that. He does return home, though, and saves the day.

It's somewhere between 6 and 7pm and we finally finish the last of school (which I posted on instagram - the happiest part of the day).

And the things I'm not telling you? ...
... I don't plan ahead. I figure out what we're doing next as the kids work on the previous thing.
... crafts stress me out so I avoid them at all costs.
... I do a little school with Kempton maybe twice a week and only manage to do that because he loves it.
... I let Roger color and essentially destroy Jack's math pages after he works forever on them.
... I'm convinced I'm ruining my kids at least once a day.

I am the mom who should not be homeschooling and yet I am because God called me to it and is miraculously bringing us all through it.

Most days do not involved quite as much pregnancy hormones as yesterday, but it's far from picturesque ever. We struggle. We survive. We hate it. But we mostly LOVE it.

I am sorry for portraying our homeschool life as beautiful when it is mostly a, well, mess. But I want to close out this laundry airing realness with the whole point in sharing it all:

Homeschooling (marriage, parenting, life in general) is HARD but oh so worth it. Even after snapping at a struggling reader, my heart (eventually) overflows with joy when I get to experience the light in their eyes when it finally clicks; the giggles still readily available after a long, hard, ugly day; the knowledge that even though their momma can throw tantrums just as well as they can, their day is still infused with Jesus. It has been the most fulfilling calling of my life.

I will continue to post sweet pictures of focused, hard-working, and giggly babies because let's be honest, that's what I want to remember. But if anyone ever tells you that they could never do the homeschooling thing, refer them to this post. And maybe when you're thinking about throwing in the towel, remember you're not alone and HIS mercies are new every morning!!

If I can do it, truly anyone can!

Happy New School Year!

USA Roadtrip - New York

I love this homeschooling thing. Yep, I do.

Here's some of what we did for our study of...

New York

1. Color pages are very common around these parts. We use the pages from the Confessions of a Homeschooler Roadtrip curriculum. You can also find some from a quick google search, but the ones we use are the best I've come across! 

2. We enjoyed looking at pictures of Niagra Falls and New York City. I get all sorts of books from the library but I still don't understand how people ever homeschooled without the internet! We also read some books about the Statue of Liberty but I already returned those books to the library so you're just gonna have to find your own! Sorry!

3. We did a craft! Since New York City is called "The Big Apple," we did some apple painting! Cut the apple in half, paint it red, and dab it onto the apple print. Just be careful that your almost-2-year-old doesn't eat the painted apple...

4. We found a couple of fun living picture books:

In New York by Marc Brown
All the Way to America by Dan Yaccarino

I recommend both! But I loved the simple, cool story in All the Way to America that is about "a big Italian family and a little shovel." I think my attachment to it stems from that fact that I felt like I finally understood the concept of "living books" when I read it. It was like an introduction to a whole new, wonderful world of reading to my kids!

Next up- Pennsylvania!

USA Roadtrip - New Jersey

We lived very near New Jersey for many years. To me, it was what we drove through to get to NYC or our access to the beach. I was surprised to find so many interesting things about our 3rd official state.

New Jersey

1. We have been very pleased with this atlas: National Geographic United States Atlas for Young Explorers. It's a little over the heads of my little babes sometimes but I still read it to them and we enjoy the beautiful pictures. The overview of each state gives me a great jumpstart for planning the rest of our study!

2. We've discussed boardwalks before as we've studied the northeast. We learned that New Jersey has the first ever boardwalk. I came across THIS color page that is actually an incredible drawing of a New Jersey boardwalk that the kids colored while I read to them. We found the perfect book that really brings the boardwalk to life with excitement and mystery: The Boxcar Children, The Boardwalk Mystery.

3. The original game of Monopoly was actually based off of New Jersey streets and places. Enjoying a game of Monopoly is a great way to celebrate this state! We didn't because honestly I don't like the game ha! But I did show them the board and a map of the streets in New Jersey found HERE. There's some interesting tidbits found on that page, too. Probably more interesting for the grownups but hey, isn't that one of the reasons we homeschool? To learn and relearn things we never would have otherwise?

Find HERE

4. Abbot and Costello!  Costello was proud of his New Jersey heritage. So we of course enjoyed their classic: Who's on First?



I also enjoyed learning more about who they were, what they were like, how they came to be the most famous comedians in the US. Do some of your own research and bring these hilarious guys to life.

5. This book was an excellent find- Brothers at Bat: The True Story of an Amazing All-Brother Baseball Team. It's based on a true story of 16 kids, 12 of whom were baseball playing brothers! One page shows all 12 brothers. When the oldest brother was my age (30-something-er-other), the youngest was Marie's (7)! Marie could not believe such a thing was possible! ha. I definitely recommend this book for your New Jersey study, or just because!

Last weekend we went to the Great Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati, OH. We still have a month of school left this year but I'm already excited for next year! We will be adding in science, grammar/writing, and a more in depth Bible curriculum. I'll share exactly what we plan to do when I've got it all worked out and you all care. I realize most people don't at this point in the school year, ha! I highly recommend the Great Homeschool Convention! Derek loved getting to be a part of the homeschool planning and learning along side of me. Solidified our decision to homeschool once again!

Anyway, next up- New York!

USA RoadTrip - New Hampshire

There are lots of little interesting tidbits about New Hampshire (like the fact that they get 10x the amount of tourists as they have residents!) but I couldn't seem to get excited about a couple of big things. Well, I thought The Old Man on the Mountain was fascinating but Derek said the video I found was putting him to sleep. Maybe my brain just needs a spring break. Who knows. The bottom line is, New Hampshire is pretty but not super interesting! Nonetheless, we overall enjoyed studying it!

New Hampshire

1. Be sure to practice the states and capitols and review states you've already studied!



2. Old Man on the Mountain: we looked at pictures online and in books from the library. We also read a book on one of the legends behind the big stone face appropriately called The Legend of the Old Man of the Mountain. I'll warn you, it was a sad story!
We also colored a picture of the Man (found it on google) and talked about how the cold New Hampshire winters finally did him in.

3. Mount Washington is known for having horrible weather at the top. Just another interesting tidbit.  There are also races held on this mountain called Mount Washington Hill Climbs. There are foot races and bike races and car races. There have been races held on this mountain since the early 1900s! Below is a video we watched of a race car taking a trial run. The kids only watched the actual run but older kids interested in how it all works would enjoy watching the whole thing I think.



4. You can't talk about New Hampshire without mentioning Robert Frost. I found a recommendation to read Papa is a Poet but it wasn't in our library. It sounds interesting though! So I'm passing along the recommendation. We got Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening from the library which is an illustrated version of one of Robert Frost's poems about New Hampshire.
We also discussed a little about poetry and wrote our own poems about our favorite seasons.

5. My favorite blog to check out when figuring out what to study for each state is EdSnapshots.com. They have a whole series that covers most of the states, and free scrapbook page printables. We decided to start using those pages to document where we would like to visit in each state so if we ever have the opportunity to go to that state, we can refer to our notebooks! Marie wrote about seeing where The Old Man on the Mountain once stood vigil. Jack wrote about visiting Tuckerman's Ravine on Mount Washington and watching Daddy snowboard down it. They then drew pictures of these places.

Thanks for joining our travels!
Next up- New Jersey!

USA Roadtrip- Massachusetts

Massachusetts is just stuffed full of history! My brain was getting overwhelmed by all of the information! Of course, that's not a super hard thing to do to my brain. Nonetheless, there's much to learn from this little state.

Massachusetts

1. I tell the kids what state we are studying each week before watching this video so they can be watching for it. It has often put Jack in tears when he misses it, requiring rewinding or completely replaying, but he's getting better at paying attention.

2. This video helped give a very quick overview of all the history of Massachusetts along with other bits of info. The kids don't care that the guy in it is a little corny...



3. Because of the loads of history involved in the study of this state, we watched several videos and did lots of reading. This video is a quick overview of the Mayflower and what we call the first Thanksgiving:



4. Some of the books we read related to Massachusetts were:

-Massachusetts Facts and Symbols (great for quick reference and nice pictures!)
-Sisters of Scituate Light (true story of how two sisters save the day!)
-Make Way for Ducklings (super cute story that shows off parts of Boston!)

5. Massachusetts had the very first public park so we looked that up and found THIS website to have some beautiful pictures! The same website walks you through the Freedom Trail in Boston. I'm telling ya, I was tempted to pack us all up and take the day drive to soak it all in for ourselves! Someday we're gonna take a Swan Boat on the lagoon.

6. One of the state foods (that's easy to make) is Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies. So obviously we partook in some of those. Also, cranberries are a state food so we enjoyed some cranberry juice along with the cookies.

7. Finally, Theodore Geisel was born in Springfield, MA. That's right, my favorite Dr. Seuss! Just another excuse to enjoy reading the best children's books of all time!

There are all sorts of other things you could include in this study (We built a miniature Mayflower when I was homeschooled! And my sister had her kids dress up and act out the first Thanksgiving). What ideas have you come up with to learn more about Massachusetts? I'd love the ideas!

Next up- New Hampshire!

USA Roadtrip - Maryland

This past week we continued our travels through the Northeast, specifically...

Maryland

1. We usually begin our roadtrip study with this song:




2. We've found these videos recently and love them! Short, interesting, and to the point:




3. We had fun learning about the Blue Crab - the state crustacean of Maryland. We hung a picture of it on our classification wall. (We don't have a "crustacean" category up so we stuck it with amphibians. Whoops). The kids also colored, cut out, and glued together a blue crab found HERE.

On this day, Marie's shoulders were out of commission :/

4. We found some books at the library:

There's a version of this for every state!

B is for Blue Crab
Maryland Facts and Symbols

5. Learning about the Chincoteague ponies is a must! You can study this for your Maryland study or Virginia study. Here is a great video to see the entire event:



We also found some books at the library on the subject. My favorite is entitled My Chincoteague Pony by Susan Jeffers. Another popular book for slightly older ages is Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry.

6. Finally, we talked about the state wildflower: the black-eyed Susan. We did a simple craft using paper, pipe cleaner, and felt (pictured below) and talked about the legend of Susan and her Sweet William. (Read some about it HERE).

It's been overwhelming and stressful around these parts lately so I wasn't able to get Maine up last week. I do plan to make that happen but I can't make any promises!

Next up- Massachusetts!

USA Roadtrip - Review

Based on timing, we are taking the week off from learning a new state. Instead, we are reviewing.

We have a couple of fantastic United States puzzles! Definitely worth investing in.

The kids worked together to put each of them together, then using a blank map of the US (googled) they wrote in as many states as they could remember that we have studied so far.

We also did a review game using simple questions.

We use region names for team names.

The idea is from our Road Trip USA Geography curriculum. The review covered Connecticut and Delaware. I wrote down questions, giving each a point value based on how difficult I thought they would be. We used a large dice (I know the singular is "die" but modern English is throwing that out so here's to keeping up with the times!) to determine who went first. They chose which card they wanted.

Jack was strategic and went mostly big right away. Marie went the other way and started small. Marie pulled through for the win this week!

Examples for-
5pt: Capitol, locate on map
10pt: state bird, state food
15pt: landmarks, events, region we are studying
20pt: name all 5 regions, name 3 states and capitols from different region

Next up- Maine!