Collecting Postcards

My girls are doing a cursory study of the United States. We have put a wall map up and are eagerly awaiting postcards from around the country. Last summer we took a road trip from our then-home of California to Florida where we stopped for a week, then to Missouri where we spent another week, and then back home to California. I think we visited 14 states all together. I prepared a packet before the trip so that we could learn about each state as we drove through. As we drove, the girls followed our journey on an atlas, finding the highways, points of interest, and major cities. Because they love art, I had them draw things they saw along the trip as well as taking photographs. I am pleased with how much the girls still remember from the trip. Another thing I do to help the girls learn the states (and a few countries) is to point out the places on a map where our friends live. When letters or emails arrive, I have the girls find the location of origin on the map. It is helpful as we begin this study. Our lesson had us label California, Hawaii, Alaska, Florida, Maine, Washington, and our home state. With all of our casual studying of the map in the past, I only had to point out Maine. Mission accomplished!