With the lockdown, and the slower lifestyle imposed on us from these circumstances, I decided to work on a project. I missed homeschooling my kids for several reasons but one was the joy of learning new things for me. One of my favorite years and projects in our homeschool year was a year of geography, or travel without going anywhere. We designed our own passports, picked a country and figured out how long of a flight it would take to get there. We read history, culture, natural history and drew out maps of each country, ending the study with a meal and art project. It was one of the most enjoyable activities for all of us.
I like to draw with colored pencils, and a couple of times I have purchased those adult coloring books, but I quickly become bored with them. Coloring in maps is so much more fun. So, I decided to home school myself, and color maps and study and travel all on my own. First I started with our 50 states. I printed off an outline of a map and filled it in with the capital city, interesting points, rivers and smaller towns. Then I researched interesting facts for each state. I finished the last state today. Now my journey will move to the other countries on our continent, and if I still keep my interest, all over the globe.
My first two states were Alaska and Alabama. The first state I want to visit but never have, and the second state is now my home, and has been for almost 4 years. I learned that Alaska is the largest in size of all our states, but the smallest population. It contains 17 of the 20 highest peaks in the USA. Juneau is the only state capital of the US that has no road access and dog mushing is the state sport. The largest National Forest in the USA is in Alaska, the Tongass. My new home state couldn’t be more different. Alabama is called the Yellowhammer state for a bird called the common flicker, or Yellowhammer bird, as well as during the Civil War soldiers wore uniforms decorated with yellow cloth. The soldiers were called yellowhammers, and long after the war veterans from Alabama wore yellow feathers in their hats.
Arizona has 22 National Parks and monuments, and 22 Native American tribes living in the state. It includes the Grand Canyon and the Sonoran Desert. Arkansas is the only state where diamonds are actively mined in the US and this state produces ½ of the nations rice. California has the lowest place as well as the hottest place in the US, Death Valley, the largest tree, and the oldest tree, and is the avocado capital of the world. Colorado claims 75% of all land over 10,000 feet above elevation. The 13th step of the capital building in Denver is exactly one mile above sea level. All the Beulah Red Marble in the world is in the state capital building. Connecticut has the oldest public funded library in the USA, the Scoville Memorial Library founded in 1771, and Delaware is too small to have any National Park system Units. Delaware is only 35 miles wide at its widest point.
Florida is the southernmost state, and the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles live together, in the Everglades. Georgia is the next state I have lived in, and the first state to charter a college for awarding degrees to women, Wesleyan College. Hawaii is our only state formed from a series of islands. It’s only native animal is the Hawaiian Hoary Bat. Idaho has the only capital building in the union powered with geothermal energy. Shoshone falls drops 52 feet further than Niagara Falls and the state has more miles of rivers than any other state. Illinois is over 80% farmland and is the state where the term Jazz was first used. Indiana produces 25% of the nations popcorn. And Wabash was the first city in the USA to use electric streetlights, in 1880.
Iowa has more hogs than humans in the state with 92 % of the land as farmland. It also has the highest literacy rate in the US at 99%. The first female lawyer allowed to practice was in Iowa, and they desegregated their schools 85 years before Brown vs. BOE. Kansas is home to a grasshopper church. The First United Methodist Church is located in Hutchinson. Because it was constructed during the grasshopper plague, there are a number of them mixed into the foundation. Kentucky has the Mammoth Cave system and Fort Knox.
Louisiana is home of the Mardi Gras, and one of the largest alligator populations in the USA, as well as home to the Frog Festival. Maine produces 90% of US lobster, 99% of our blueberries and 90% of our toothpicks. Maryland has the oldest continuously published newspaper, founded in 1727. The first school in the US opened there in 1696. Massachusetts was the first state to write and adopt a constitution. Michigan is the only state divided into two peninsulas and Detroit became the first city in the US to have phone numbers. Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes and has the most recreational boats and the most bike trails than any other state. Mississippi is the home of Blues Music and Root Beer. More residents go to church than in any other state. Missouri was the start of the pony express and has the tallest man made monument in the US, the St. Louis Arch.
Montana is the state my parents moved to for retirement, and I claim it even though I never lived there, just visited. It has the largest grizzly population in the US and the largest migratory Elk population. It is also beautiful and wild. Nebraska is the corn husker state and home to Carhenge. Nevada is famous for deserts and casinos. Most of the US gold comes from here. New Hampshire was the first of the 13 colonies to declare independence from England. The first free public library was opened here, and the first alarm clock was invented in this state. New Jersey has the highest population density in the US and is the car theft capital of the world. New Mexico has three UNESCO World Heritage sites and they built their state capital in the design of a “Round House.” New York has the statue of liberty, is and was the entry point for millions of immigrants and has the city that is most populated in the USA.
North Carolina is my home state. I was born and raised there. It has beaches, mountains, plains, universities and farmland. The Wright Brothers first flew in NC, and the University of North Carolina is the oldest state university in the USA. Go Heels! North Dakota is mostly covered by the great plains and is our nations number one producer of honey. The first hot dog, stop light and ambulance service came from Ohio. Oklahoma has 30 Native American tribes, and was the end point of the trail of tears. The people of Oregon love mushroom hunting. Pennsylvania had the first baseball stadium, first gas station and first daily newspaper, the first zoo garden, first presidential mansion, and the first American flag. The With the lockdown, and the slower lifestyle imposed on us from these circumstances, I decided to work on a project. I missed homeschooling my kids for several reasons but one was the joy of learning new things for me. One of my favorite years and projects in our homeschool year was a year of geography, or travel without going anywhere. We designed our own passports, picked a country and figured out how long of a flight it would take to get there. We read history, culture, natural history and drew out maps of each country, ending the study with a meal and art project. It was one of the most enjoyable activities for all of us.
I like to draw with colored pencils, and a couple of times I have purchased those adult coloring books, but I quickly become bored with them. Coloring in maps is so much more fun. So, I decided to home school myself, and color maps and study and travel all on my own. First I started with our 50 states. I printed off an outline of a map and filled it in with the capital city, interesting points, rivers and smaller towns. Then I researched interesting facts for each state. I finished the last state today. Now my journey will move to the other countries on our continent, and if I still keep my interest, all over the globe.
The states we have lived in
My first two states were Alaska and Alabama. The first state I want to visit but never have, and the second state is now my home, and has been for almost 4 years. I learned that Alaska is the largest in size of all our states, but the smallest population. It contains 17 of the 20 highest peaks in the USA. Juneau is the only state capital of the US that has no road access and dog mushing is the state sport. The largest National Forest in the USA is in Alaska, the Tongass. My new home state couldn’t be more different. Alabama is called the Yellowhammer state for a bird called the common flicker, or Yellowhammer bird, as well as during the Civil War soldiers wore uniforms decorated with yellow cloth. The soldiers were called yellowhammers, and long after the war veterans from Alabama wore yellow feathers in their hats.
Arizona has 22 National Parks and monuments, and 22 Native American tribes living in the state. It includes the Grand Canyon and the Sonoran Desert. Arkansas is the only state where diamonds are actively mined in the US and this state produces ½ of the nations rice. California has the lowest place as well as the hottest place in the US, Death Valley, the largest tree, and the oldest tree, and is the avocado capital of the world. Colorado claims 75% of all land over 10,000 feet above elevation. The 13th step of the capital building in Denver is exactly one mile above sea level. All the Beulah Red Marble in the world is in the state capital building. Connecticut has the oldest public funded library in the USA, the Scoville Memorial Library founded in 1771, and Delaware is too small to have any National Park system Units. Delaware is only 35 miles wide at its widest point.
Florida is the southernmost state, and the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles live together, in the Everglades. Georgia is the next state I have lived in, and the first state to charter a college for awarding degrees to women, Wesleyan College. Hawaii is our only state formed from a series of islands. It’s only native animal is the Hawaiian Hoary Bat. Idaho has the only capital building in the union powered with geothermal energy. Shoshone falls drops 52 feet further than Niagara Falls and the state has more miles of rivers than any other state. Illinois is over 80% farmland and is the state where the term Jazz was first used. Indiana produces 25% of the nations popcorn. And Wabash was the first city in the USA to use electric streetlights, in 1880.
Iowa has more hogs than humans in the state with 92 % of the land as farmland. It also has the highest literacy rate in the US at 99%. The first female lawyer allowed to practice was in Iowa, and they desegregated their schools 85 years before Brown vs. BOE. Kansas is home to a grasshopper church. The First United Methodist Church is located in Hutchinson. Because it was constructed during the grasshopper plague, there are a number of them mixed into the foundation. Kentucky has the Mammoth Cave system and Fort Knox.
Louisiana is home of the Mardi Gras, and one of the largest alligator populations in the USA, as well as home to the Frog Festival. Maine produces 90% of US lobster, 99% of our blueberries and 90% of our toothpicks. Maryland has the oldest continuously published newspaper, founded in 1727. The first school in the US opened there in 1696. Massachusetts was the first state to write and adopt a constitution. Michigan is the only state divided into two peninsulas and Detroit became the first city in the US to have phone numbers. Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes and has the most recreational boats and the most bike trails than any other state. Mississippi is the home of Blues Music and Root Beer. More residents go to church than in any other state. Missouri was the start of the pony express and has the tallest man made monument in the US, the St. Louis Arch.
Montana is the state my parents moved to for retirement, and I claim it even though I never lived there, just visited. It has the largest grizzly population in the US and the largest migratory Elk population. It is also beautiful and wild. Nebraska is the corn husker state and home to Carhenge. Nevada is famous for deserts and casinos. Most of the US gold comes from here. New Hampshire was the first of the 13 colonies to declare independence from England. The first free public library was opened here, and the first alarm clock was invented in this state. New Jersey has the highest population density in the US and is the car theft capital of the world. New Mexico has three UNESCO World Heritage sites and they built their state capital in the design of a “Round House.” New York has the statue of liberty, is and was the entry point for millions of immigrants and has the city that is most populated in the USA.
North Carolina is my home state. I was born and raised there. It has beaches, mountains, plains, universities and farmland. The Wright Brothers first flew in NC, and the University of North Carolina is the oldest state university in the USA. Go Heels! North Dakota is mostly covered by the great plains and is our nations number one producer of honey. The first hot dog, stop light and ambulance service came from Ohio. Oklahoma has 30 Native American tribes, and was the end point of the trail of tears. The people of Oregon love mushroom hunting. Pennsylvania had the first baseball stadium, first gas station and first daily newspaper, the first zoo garden, first presidential mansion, and the first American flag. The Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia. Every person who lives in Rhode Island lives within a ½ hour drive to the beach. Anne Hutchinson founded one of the cities in this state in 1640.
South Carolina is another state we lived in. It had more Revolutionary battles than any other colony, and was the start of the Civil War, with the firing on Fort Sumter. Tennessee has a life size replica of the Parthenon, and a smaller replica of the Eiffel Tower. Texas had over it’s history six different flags flying over the state, and has more birds than any other state. Utah also claims the highest literacy rate, and has the least religious diversity with 60% of the population as Mormon. Vermont is the number one producer of maple syrup. Virginia was the birthplace of eight US presidents. It is the Internet capital of the world. Washington is the only state named after a president and is home to Mt. St. Helens.
We also lived in West Virginia It is completely covered in mountains and became a state after seceding from Virginia. It is not Western Virginia. Wisconsin has more than 15,000 lakes and has one of the oldest mammoth bones with marks made by human tools, dated from 14,500 years ago. Wyoming is the equality state, and was the first state to allow women the right to vote, serve on juries and to hold public office. I ended up learning quite a lot about the Women’s Suffragist movement from after reading my facts on Wyoming. The first National Park, Yellowstone, and the first National Monument, Devil’s Tower, are found in Wyoming.
I learned that several states claim to have the highest literacy rate, or to be the first at different things. These facts are the ones I found, and they may be wrong. All the same, reading the histories of the states, and descriptions of the wildlife, plants and landforms was quite fun. I feel like more of an American by reading and learning about my country. So, where do I go next? We will see.
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