CHRISTEPHI

I saw this pretty United States panel print at JoAnn a few months ago -- on sale! -- for just a few dollars and couldn't resist buying it. Such bright colors! Such cute drawings on each state! Little Guy driving across the U.S. while it was still a work in progress! I've been thinking the kids need a more-kid-sized quilt since they're quickly outgrowing their toddler-sized ones.  So I added sashing and some blocks from flannel I had left over from other projects. Finished quilt hanging on the garden fence. The resulting quilt is, well, I never actually measured it, but it's smaller than twin size and larger than crib size. I used a scrap of red knit to put a heart in Missouri. The kids thought that was the coolest thing ever! Uh oh, now I've posted a close-up shot and you can see my horrible attempt at free-motion quilting!  It was my first attempt!  I have a lot to learn (obviously), but it was so much fun and the kids don't car...

Week 13 of Adventures in U.S. History is earmarked for Thanksgiving. It is a stand-alone week that can be moved to an appropriate time of year.  Since we started our school year in February, we'll likely do Week 13, or Thanksgiving Week, as a finisher for our school year. We "travelled" through a few more states this week!  Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, and South Carolina.  Miss M was a bit distraught that "Maryland" isn't pronounced Mary-land.  Miss M's favorite book about states in our basket book so far has been Our 50 States: A Family Adventure Across America by Lynne Cheney . (affiliate link)   The illustrations are fun and engaging and it's simply loaded with interesting facts about the states! Our 50 States by Lynne Cheney In science we learned about the American Robin, Black-Capped Chickadees, and Northern Orioles.  All three of which we have as regular backyard visitors.  We sat outside and listened care...

It was finally the week we've been waiting for…the start of our study of the 50 states !  Miss M has been anticipating this all along and has already memorized the states, their capitals, their shapes, and their locations, thanks mostly to the fun little game Stack the States . When she's interested in something, there's pretty much no stopping her from learning about it!  We have a large map of the U.S. on the wall in our hallway and she spends a great deal of time looking at it, asking questions about the names of places or the legends on the map.  She's really enjoyed some of our book basket books on the states, but her especial favorite is United Tweets of America: 50 State Birds Their Stories, Their Glories . (affiliate link) We are learning about the states in the chronological order of when they joined the union.  First was Delaware, aptly nicknamed First State, then Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Georgia.  Next week we'll learn about a few m...