For Purple Mountain Majesties

The new state quarters are out this week and will be celebrating the beauty of America.  The U.S. Mint website has lesson plans and resources for educators here:  http://www.americathebeautifulquarters.gov/for-educators/. 

Hoping to see a little sunshine this weekend

Spring is springing

Our sprouts have sprung--mostly.  The carrot tops are full and green, but very little roots have appeared underneath.  Three of the beans made it to the plant stage, but the sweet potato only got moldy.  You can see the little bean halves on the stems under the leaves on the bean plants.  We've moved them outside to get more sunshine now that the frosty nights are over.  We are mostly just observing these plants, but in the past, we've gotten more detailed with out seed/plant study and actually measured and graphed their growth each day.

If you want to get fancy, here is a download for a neat Germination Stencil Art Activity to accompany a study on seeds and plants:
http://www.ellenjmchenry.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/germinationstencilsactivity.pdf. 

These books provide simple background information and pictures so kids can see what is happening under the soil.  (These are especially good for younger kids.)

These TOPS books are great, too.  We did this one a few months ago, and the experiments were easy to follow, and Bubba enjoyed watching and tracking the progress of his seeds.  There is also one on Corn and Beans, but we haven't done it yet.

Happy Earth Day!

Is there a Moon Day too? 

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear...

April is National Poetry Month.

  This compilation includes poems by Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg, and Nikki Giovanni among many more.  It is a really nice celebration of our country and includes beautiful illlustrations by Stephen Alcorn who said his "improvisational approach" allowed him  "to surrender to the magic of each poem," and you can see this in each meaningful painting.

The book is divided up into regions and includes colorful maps and state facts, so it is easy to tie this in with a study of the states.

For more information and downloadable lesson plans, go here http://edsitement.neh.gov/monthly_feature.asp and here http://teacher.scholastic.com/poetry/index.htm.

The National Poetry Month website is here http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41.

"O beautiful for spacious skies..."

Do you know the role Colorado played in the creation of America's "other" anthem, America the Beautiful?

Katherine Lee Bates was inspired to write this song while traveling to Colorado Springs.  Each stop along the way became her muse for writing the poetry that became a national treasure, from the "Columnar mist and glistening rainbow play,/A spendid thrill of glory and of peril" at Niagara Falls to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and the "amber wheat fields" of the Great Plains.

After arriving in Colorado, a visit to Pike's Peak led to "For purple mountain majesties/Above the enameled plain!  America!  America!  God shed his grace on thee..."

More Great State Stuff

I found these resources at the library to accompany our 50 states study and the Great American Postcard Swap.  My kids are keeping up with their state notebooks each week, and they have had fun learning some state trivia.  Their favorite activity is drawing the state bird and the state flower on each notebook page. 

If you missed How the States Got Their Shapes on the History Channel, you may want to check out the book--really interesting stuff.

Celebrate USA has some cute hands-on activities about the history of America.  There isn't any specific state-related stuff in here, but it has some good background information and simple crafts about the founding and forming of the US as well as our national symbols.  Only basic supplies are needed for most of the activities.

Colorado's Anasazi

Here are some nice resources if you want to explore further:

http://www.gorp.com/parks-guide/travel-ta-mesa-verde-national-park-archaeology-colorado-sidwcmdev_067311.html

http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/lessonplans/theme/ancient01.htm

Great American Postcard Swap # 6--Colorado

The colors on the Colorado flag stand for the red soil, white snow-capped mountains, blue skies, and golden sunshine.

In the Centennial State's southwest corner you can stand in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado at the same time.  Colorado's state flower is the white and lavendar columbine, the bird is the lark bunting, and the tree is the blue spruce.  You can download a labeled coloring sheet of the lark bunting here http://www.kidzone.ws/geography/usa/colorado/lark.htm.

You can find a complete Colorado Unit Study with links galore here http://homeschooling.about.com/cs/unitssubjgeog/a/susco.htm.

The Royal Gorge Bridge, 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River is the world's highest suspension bridge.  You can learn more about it and see breathtaking images here http://www.royalgorgebridge.com/History.aspx.

The Santa Fe Trail runs through the state, and after gold was discovered near Pikes Peak in 1858, covered wagons nicknamed "prairie schooners" began displaying the slogan "Pikes Peak or Bust."  The Story of the Conestoga Wagon is a good resource for learning more about these covered wagons.

Learning about US

Homeschools are eligible to register for a free DVD from The History Channel.  America The Story of US — premiering on HISTORY™ April 25 at 9pm/8c — is a six week event that provides a fascinating look at the stories of the people, events, and innovations that forged our nation. It will provide you with an unprecedented opportunity to bring our nation’s history to life for your students. This 12-hour series will be supported by educational materials tied to curriculum standards and is copyright cleared for Fair Use in the classroom by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities.

Go here to fill out your request http://classroom.history.com/america-dvd/event/form .

Every little bit helps...

Homeschoolers are eligible for a free educator's discount card at Barnes and Noble.  You can register in-store by showing an educator's ID (association or support group membership card, HSLDA membership card, etc.)  As far as I know, the discount card can be used in the store, but it cannot be used online.

EUREKA!

If you want to explore more about the California Gold Rush, this site is loaded with resources, including lessons plans and a virtual tour--
http://museumca.org/goldrush/index.html.





To answer some questions about the geography of America, check this out tonight
 on The History Channel at 9:00 PM:  How the States Got Their Shapes

We are so familiar with the map of United States, but do we know why our states look the way they do? Every shape on the map tells a great story about our past. Why is California bent? To cling on to gold. Why does Oklahoma have a panhandle? Because of shifting borders for slavery. Why does Missouri have a boot? Because of a massive earthquake. This special examines how every state is a puzzle piece ultimately revealing the unique geography, political and social history of America.

Great American Postcard Swap # 5--California

California- The Golden State

The home of the only mobile national monument, the cable car, and home to the highest point in the continental United States (Mount Whitney, 14,491 feet above sea level) and the lowest point (Death Valley, 282 below sea level!)


The "uniform" for gold prospectors, blue jeans, were invented in California in 1853 by Levi Strauss--and we are so happy they were invented :)

Here is a link to all the California state symbols http://www.library.ca.gov/history/symbols.html#Heading4.

I love these Cornerstones of Freedom books--we have several we have accumulated on our bookshelves, and they are a nice supplement to history studies.  The photographs and illustrations are so good.  This one on The California Gold Rush is perfect for learning more about the history of California.  It also includes a glossary and timeline, making it quite kid-friendly.

Hands and Hearts has a Panning for Gold kit here http://handsandhearts.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=159 which is also part of their Westward Expansion History kit.