We picked up our pace a bit with the Midwest. Not because I appreciate those states any less than the others, but because they share a lot of common themes, such as agriculture, weather, and how the areas were settled. The boys have also been reading through the Little House series as bedtime read alouds. We referred to these books multiples times, since the Ingalls lived in several Midwest states over the years. The books provide rich detail of the dangers they faced, how they accomplished every aspect of daily living, and the geography. As always, we enjoyed cooking, crafts, videos (the Tornado Alley videos were especially popular), etc. along the way.
The boys also loved watching footage of the Indy 500!
Michigan: Cherry Crumble
We spent a lot of time looking at the state map, talking about the towns where
Paul and I went to college, the Great Lakes, where dear friends live, etc.
Gooey Butter Cake (Missouri)
Sunset Kool-Aid Punch (Nebraska)
Apple Kuchen (South Dakota)
Log Cabins (Wisconsin)
Not pictured:
*Sunday Sauce with Pork (Iowa)
*Beef Fajitas on Whole Wheat Tortillas (Kansas)
*Baked Honey Crisp Apples (Minnesota)
*Cream of Wheat (“Yuck!” Sorry, North Dakota)
*Tomato juice (Awful drink, Ohio! But we enjoyed watching Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.)
For the Southwest, we took a break from cooking and focused on crafts. We also read If You Lived at the Time of the Hopi Indians, which lead to many interesting and sometimes difficult conversations. Albuquerque, New Mexico hosts the annual International Balloon Fiesta (Who knew?). The pictures and videos from the event were so colorful, and the boys enjoyed learning about how hot air balloons fly.
Hot Air Balloons (New Mexico)
Covered Wagons (Texas)
I promise that we will finish all 50 states, even if it requires us to work into June! Thankfully, it has been school “work” that is pure fun!
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