Welcome to Day 2 of our series "Road Trip United States". For those of you who are just joining us, we have been learning about the history of the United States and how states were formed. We are taking a learning road trip from the comforts of our own home. Today we learned that Maine was the twenty-third state.


We are loving Kids Learn America! by Patricia Gordan & Reed Snow. They have made it most enjoyable to remember the capitals of each state. Does anyone enjoy learning these capitals? Well, my kids have embraced it due to the fun way it is presented in Kids Learn America! It can be difficult to remember the capitals of all the states, so I was delighted when I found this fun way to remember them. To remember Maine's capital they recommended imagining a lion with a shaggy mane with a gust of wind blowing it. The mane will help you remember Maine, and the gust of wind will help you remember Augusta. This is a cute way to remember the capitals.

Here are some things we learned about Maine:

Maine is home to more than 60 lighthouses. The oldest lighthouse is Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth. Visit PBS for a fun lighthouse craft.

Did you know that Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge is the nesting grounds to Puffins? Color the Puffins "Parrots of the Sea" with these coloring pages. You will find some interesting information about them here.

Guess where 90 percent of the lobster comes from? You guessed it Maine. Watch this interesting video about lobster.

Maine has more moose that any other state. Watch this informative video about moose.

On a fun note, don't blow your nose in public in Waterville, Maine, it's illegal.

I love the free printables from USA-Printables. I print them out and my 3rd grader colors them for his USA Notebook. It shows the capital, the state bird, and the state flower. Here is the link for the Maine coloring page.

Download my free PDF notebook cover to keep all your coloring pages in. It makes a nice keepsake memory too!




Learning is supposed to be fun, right? It is all about how you present the material and allowing kids to be hands on while learning. Children love being read to. If you find interesting things and present them in a fun way, they will love what they are learning. Allow your kids to learn what they are interested in. Don't feel like you have to do everything. A page here and there will enhance their learning without overwhelming them. Be hands on, do a lighthouse craft or imitate lobsters. These are things that they will retain.

Have fun creating memories with your child. This is a special cherished time.

Blessings,
Bridget 

What is the history of the United States? How were states formed? We are learning all about it this year as we study the United States. It is like taking a road trip from the comforts of our own home. Today we learned that Alabama was the twenty-second state. It can be difficult to remember the capitals of all the states, so I was delighted when I found this fun way of learning it from Kids Learn America! by Patricia Gordon & Reed Snow. They recommended imagining a mountain made out of gum and a owl sitting on top of the mountain. The owl will help you remember Alabama (owl/al) and the mountain of gum will help you remember Montgomery (mount gum).



I love the free printables from USA-Printables. I print them out and my 3rd grader colors them for his USA Notebook. It shows the capital, the state bird, and the state flower. Here is the link for the Alabama coloring page.

Download my free PDF notebook cover to keep all your coloring pages in. It makes a nice keepsake memory too!

We learned that Helen Keller and Rosa Parks were born in Alabama. That the Tuskegee Institute  is where George Washington Carver found all those interesting uses for peanuts.

You will find some free printables on Rosa Parks here.
There is a free resource and activity pack if you would like to learn more about Helen Keller here.
Also, you'll find a free resource from George Washington Carver here.

We laughed at funny things we read in books. Things like, it's illegal to wrestle a bear in Alabama.

Learning is supposed to be fun, right? It is all about how you present the material and allowing kids to be hands on while learning. Children love being read to. If you find interesting things and present them in a fun way, they will love what they are learning. Allow your kids to learn what they are interested in. Don't feel like you have to do everything. A page here and there will enhance their learning without overwhelming them. Be hands on, grow a peanut plant. These are things that they will retain.

Have fun creating memories with your child. This is a special cherished time.

Blessings,
Bridget

My high-schooler has been observing the process of osmosis this week. What is osmosis anyways? According to the Biology Dictionary, "Osmosis is when a substance crosses a semipermeable membrane in order to balance the concentrations of another substance."



We did a fun experiment to learn about osmosis. This experiment takes three days to complete. Here is what you will need.

1 coffee mug
1 uncooked egg
1 3/4 cup measuring cup
1 tape measure
3/4 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup Karo Syrup
3/4 cup distilled water

Start by measuring the widest part of the egg. Then pour 3/4 cup vinegar in the coffee cup and place the egg in the mug. Allow it to sit for 24 hours. (Hint: the shell should start dissolving).

After 24 hours remove the egg from the mug and carefully rinse it off. The egg shell should have dissolved. Measure the egg again around the widest part. (Hint: your egg should measure a little larger). Wash out the mug and add 3/4 cup Karo syrup. Place the egg into the Karo syrup and let it sit for another 24 hours.

Remove the egg from the Karo syrup. (Hint: the egg should look a little dimpled). Rinse the egg and measure it around the widest part. It should have gotten smaller. Clean the mug and add the 3/4 cup distilled water and allow it to sit for another 24 hours.

Then remove the egg and measure it. (Hint: It should measure larger). What you have just experienced is osmosis. This would make a fun science fair project, just create a hypothesis, take some photos, and make some graphs. I have included a free downloadable PDF for you to record your results. You will find it here.

I hope you get a chance to try out this fun experiment and connect with your teen.

Happy experimenting!
Bridget

P.S. If you have boys like me, they will love throwing the egg after the experiment and watching it splat!

Every year on March 2, we celebrate Dr. Seuss' Birthday. Dr. Seuss was my favorite authors as a child, and I don't pass up the chance to read Green Eggs and Ham to my boys. Our day starts out with green eggs and ham (aka organic turkey bacon). The best thing is, you don't have to use food coloring to achieve this green color. Simply add a little spinach and eggs to your blender, and you have a delicious, nutritional breakfast. Then ask your kids, "Would you Eat Green Eggs and Ham?"

I always enjoy celebrating this fun day!  Today, we celebrated with the stories How I became a Pirate by David Shannon and Pirate Pete's Talk Like a Pirate by Kim Kennedy.    Both books were really cute and both the boys enjoyed them. 

We learned some fun pirate lingo.

Aaaarrrrgggghhhh! - sound of unhappiness
Ahoy, Matey! -  Hello, my friend!
Ahoy, me Hearties! - Hello, my friends!
Blimey! - exhortation of surprise
Blow me down! - expression of shock
Booty - treasure
Heave Ho - use some muscle & push it
Lad, lass or lassie - a younger person
Me - my
Savvy - do you understand/agree?
Ye - you

We made pirate hats, eye patches, spy glasses, and captain hook hand pieces out of construction paper, plastic cups, towel rolls, and aluminum foil.



Then, we made pirate boats with a free printable from Crayola out of card stock.



The boys created their own treasure maps from paper bags.  This is a great way to practice directions, such as right, left, north, south, east, and west.  We like to remember it as, never eat soggy waffles.   A few years ago we learned this fun saying and have never forgotten it. It works!

We used a free printable pirate board game from ESL Games Plus to practice our math facts.  Poppy cat practiced counting by counting steps while walking the plank.  I used masking tape on the floor as the plank.

I created a sensory bin for Poppy Cat with rice dyed black, coins, beads, and some rocks.  He had a great time playing and by the time he was through he looked like a true pirate.  If you have made the colored rice before, you will find that your hands get powdery from the rice.  Since our rice was dyed black he got powdery black hands and face.  Adorable!



Poppy Cat completed several worksheets, puzzles, and clothes pin math activities using the pirate printables over at 2 Teaching Mommies.  Check them out, they are awesome printables and free!

Finally, we made paper swords out of newspaper.  Check out Alpha Mom for these instructions.  This one is super fun and a great way to make something out of nothing.  I love it!



I look forward to celebrating this day again next year.  It was so much fun and a great way to learn.

Enjoy!

Bridget