I’m not doing a 50 States study, but I do have a friend planning one. (Our state study is more ongoing, integrated throughout our history studies.) She asked me about this book – which I don’t have (and haven’t seen) but is a good way to approach this – by reading real books from each state. (We somewat do this as we go along.) I’m not vouching for their book choices, since I haven’t seen them, but I like the idea of having a pre-put-together book list for this purpose, and I think they provide several to choose from.
From a couple of homeschool-publisher-internet-friends I know of 2 resources that may be a help to go with this. (One I have, the other I have “part” of.) These are both what I consider “enrichment” type resources. (See my last post – we don’t teach for the sake of information, but for understanding ideas. Information is definitely a by-product though, as ideas always apply to information.) But these present a more enjoyable way of “getting” the information part you may want them to remember – after you’ve presented and they understand the ideas.
The first, State Study Notebooking Pages, is from NotebookingPages.com. It is a set of Notebooking pages for each of the States. That is, a separate set for each State, not a generic set to apply to all. AND at a great price for the whole set. You don’t have to search for each state flag and bird and seal and flower and tree and song, etc. She has them all right there for you! Oh, and they are on sale for the next couple days too!
The second from Homeschool with Index Cards. 50 States Card Set is a set of index cards for learning the states, capitals, abbreviations and flags. Use them for making a game or as flashcards. Dirt cheap, so it isn’t worth making your own.
Both are available by download, so you can have them TODAY!
A few other resources we have used include:
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Map of the United States Sticker Picture By Pat Stewart / Dover PublicationsYour Children can add the state sticker to the map when you study each state. |
United States Coloring Book (also by Dover, but not available through us) This one includes the flower, bird, tree, nickname, on the page. Just one page per state. Dover also has a State Birds and Flowers Coloring Book and a National Parks Coloring Book.
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States & Capitals, Activity Book & CD By Homeschool / Twin Sisters Productions“It’s been shown that singing something helps kids remember facts better than rote memorization. …” My children like these types of songs for learning info. |
I also have an old cassette of a Patriotic musical our church did for the community many years ago with many songs that I still remember, including the names of all the states. I think it was called, “Liberty.” It’s been over 22 years.
Enough for today. For us this all is used in expanding our Geography Foundations within our HisStory studies. Which I’ll tell more about some other day.
