50 nifty united states how to#

Illinois has a big belly, West Virginia looks like a W, Vermont is a V, and so on.

We added in facts about states where we knew easy facts (like horse racing in Kentucky and music in Tennessee), and all of these little hints helped her store not only state names, but state shapes. Then we talked about really cold states because Henley has a small obsession with snow. We have family and friends or have visited Washington, California, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Florida, and Virginia. We also started to make connections to shapes. I’m sure there are some variations on this, but essentially we made columns of states, and said them over and over and over again. West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas With all of these puzzles and maps, we were off to learn the states! This is how I taught Henley (and the way I learned).

It was more about being a puzzle than about being a map of the united states, which made it frustrating (no link for this one.). They do make it for the continents, which we also have, but it’s more of a coffee table piece at this point. This was THE BEST map I found, and I wish they made it for every country. Every piece was the same color, but also every state was it’s own piece. The second puzzle map we had was even better because it was grey. (Also, the links to all of these maps are at the end of this blog.) Obviously, I went overboard, but in a great way. Then I bought another wooden puzzle map with no names on it, then I bought a regular puzzle that was huge and way too complicated. The first thing I did was buy a puzzle that was a map of the United States where each piece was a state and had its name and capital. That’s how I decided to teach Henley about that 50 states. A teacher or a lesson made an impact on you, and now you have the opportunity to teach that exact, incredible lesson to your child. Something from school stuck with you for years and years and it’s not for no reason. It can be really tough to decide what to teach your child the possibilities are literally endless so for now itwe recommend and think it’s best to stick to something you remember learning as a child. The things that stick with you are really weird! Most importantly though, and also most relevant, I learned all of the states by name, location, and shape. I also learned only to use three squares of toilet paper when you pee.

50 nifty united states how to#

Third, I learned how to spell ‘astronaut’ and I helped (that’s what cheating was called then, right?) a first grader with his spelling test because he didn’t know anything and he was super cute. Second, I remember running laps and learning hurdles by jumping over baskets. First, during lunch one day, I didn’t finish my apple, and my teacher wouldn’t let me come back in until my lunch was complete - as if my parents were supposed to know exactly how much I was going to eat. There are a few shining (and not so shining) moments that I remember from Kindergarten. Is there anything you remember from your early elementary school days that has stuck with you for ever and ever? I do!