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!

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))

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!

USA Roadtrip - Delaware

We have been studying our way through the United States this school year. I'm pretty sure the kids like it. But I'll be honest - I love it!! I'm a proud American and have always dreamt of traveling to every state. I'm enjoying doing just that with my babes, using the internet and Confessions of a Homeschooler's Roadtrip USA curriculum!

Okay, not exactly the same as being there, but definitely more than nothing. I love this country!

I thought since I have gotten so much help from fellow homeschool mommas and generous teachers, I would offer up some of my own help by sharing what we're doing with each state. Why not start with the very first official state, Delaware?

((Besides the fact that it happens to be the state we are doing right now ha))

Delaware

1. This is our favorite states-and-capitols song.



2. Each week we color the color page from COAH's curriculum and usually one other page that I find on google. This week we colored a picture of the state bird: Blue Hen Chicken.

3. The kids are still very young, so instead of spending too much time on all the geographical and historical details, I pick out a handful of things I think will peak the kids' interest. Or at least mine! So we talked about the Storm of 1962 that began on Ash Wednesday (It happens to be Ash Wednesday today!) and lasted 3 solid days. We looked at photos of the aftermath HERE. I loved how this got my usually not curious child to ask questions! She has such a love for people (answer to many prayers!) and was very concerned about where the people went and what happened to all of their stuff.

4. We also discussed and looked at pictures of the Delaware Memorial Bridge that connects Delaware to New Jersey.

5. Delaware is known for its Horseshoe Crabs so we watched this cute home video of a little girl picking one up! She's much braver than me!



Don't forget to say the Pledge of Allegiance! We also review previous states we've covered and the 5 regions of the US: Northeast (what we are currently studying), Southeast, Southwest, West, and Midwest (studied last semester).

Next up: Review of Connecticut and Delaware!