American Pride

We started a project last week.  I purchased a bunch of regular white binders (which by the way, if you are bored and need a laugh check out the reviews on Amazon's 3 pack of white binders!).  I decided that in my efforts to teach the kids about geography we would dive a little deeper and learn about each state.  I printed out a blank map of the U.S. and then thought of a bunch of generic questions the kids would be required to answer about each state along with a blank rectangle for them to draw each states flag themselves.  We will go alphabetically and as they get a state done, we will color and label the state on our U.S. map!  We are learning so many things, not just memorizing where each state is!  We are learning history, population, state abbreviations, birds, flowers, economy, etc.And the crazy fun thing is that I am learning right along with them! 

Can you think of what the first state is alphabetically?  I'll help you out, it's Alabama.  Here's how it went.  We went to the library, picked up a book about Alabama.  I read the book to the kids, took pause upon important information all while they took notes of things they thought would be important.  Then they went to the work sheet I had prepared for them.  Some of the information they had written in their notes, some of the information was not given in the book.   Then they had to use their research skills to go to the computer to find accurate information, draw the flag and then neatly color in Alabama on the U.S. map when done!

So now the twins know that Alabama was the first state to join The Confederacy.  And from that they learned about slavery, and that we had a civil war, that Alabama made the first rocket that went to the moon, and that Alabama had to diversify their farming after the Boll Weevil attacked the cotton farms.  And then we listened to the old Boll Weevil song and it made us happy.  And it made me happy to know that my kids knew something I didn't know up until the point we learned about it together!

Who knew that home schooling would be so fun!?