Have you always wanted to visit exciting and exotic places, but haven't had the time or money? Well, now you can take that trip, without ever leaving your home! Hop on board the Lilliput Express as we go adventuring in the United States. Bring along your camera; you'll want to take pictures along the way. And don't forget to pack your notebook so you can keep a journal of your experiences. We'll even give you some ideas for creating a vacation scrapbook (Some people like to call these "lapbooks.") Are you ready for an adventure? Then let's go!
Where To Go For Info
- Travel for Kids: United States
- Fun things to do with your kids in the United States of America. This family oriented travel guide will help you get the most out of your visit.
- The Fifty States
- Facts and trivia: government, populations, maps, flags, state landmarks, climate data, and more.
- 50 States Notebook
- The Fifty States of America is a popular notebooking topic. It can be the basis of a unit study, or it can be a supplement to your American history curriculum. When you're finished, you have a wonderful, homemade reference book.
Mapping Lessons
If you want to get where you are going, then you must first know where you are. So, pull out your globe and find your starting point. Mark it with your finger. Now find the United States. It is in the middle of North America, right between the Canada and Mexico. Trace the path from your home to the USA. What would it take for you to get there? Would you need to travel by boat or plane or could you drive there? How long would the trip take? Do some research to find the answers to these questions and record them in your trip journal. You might want to include a map of the United States as well.Some things to put on your map:
* major cities like Washing DC, New York, Chicago, and Detroit.
* state capitols
* the Grand Canyon
* Mt. Saint Helens
* the Mississippi River
* the Great Lakes
* the Appalachian Mountains
* the Rocky Mountains
Then create a minibook to go in your scrapbook.
Language Lessons
Do You Speak American?If you are reading this page, you probably already know how to speak English. However, there are many words in American English that differ from other English speaking countries. There are also many different dialects throughout the United States.
Try learning about some of these differences and create a minibook or a journal page describing them.
How to Speak Southern
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/25/2009)
A hilarious guide which will be appreciated by Southerners and Yankees alike.
Dressing For the Occasion
While clothing styles in the United States may vary by occasion, location, and age of the wearer, the "costume of choice" is denime blue jeans, t-shirts, and tennis shoes. Formal dress may include suits and ties or polo shirts and dress pants for men, and dresses or business suits for women. In the southwest part of the country, cowboy boots and hats are still quite popular. Our tour guide recommends we look HERE for more information on American clothing types. Let's Eat!
We've been traveling for a long time now and you must be getting pretty hungry. Let's stop in at the nearest fast food resturant and get ourselves something to eat. A typical fast food meal in the United States consists of a burger, fries, and a soda. Americans also eat a lot of pizza and hot dogs, fried chicken, Mexican food, Chinese food, and Italian food. Steak houses are also popular. The Standard American Diet
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curated content from YouTube
Tater Tot Casserole
a popular comfort food
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 10.5 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can of milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
10 oz. bag of tater tots
Brown beef and onion, drain grease. Combine all ingredients except tots and place in a small casserole dish. Arrange tots on top of casserole. Bake at 400 degrees (F) until warm and bubbly and tots are brown and done.
As you are studying the United States, try to make a recipe or meal that represents each state as you study it.
Eat Your Way Through the USA
Amazon Price: (as of 12/25/2009)
Each state has its unique geographical features and agricultural products. These influence both the ingredients that go into a recipe and the way food is prepared. This unique addition to your U.S. Geography program will allow you to experience a different meal from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
More Recipes Online
- Foodies
- Discover unique recipes, tips, how tos, and interviews with Culinary Patriots.
- American Recipes
- Get top "secret," classic American recipes from government agencies.
- Recipes for Historic Cooking
- Recipes from classic American cookbooks.
- Traditional American Recipes
- Recipes and resources that make eating at home a four star experience.
- The Cooking Post
- Traditional Native American Recipes
- African American Food & Recipes
- African American and soul food recipes, including some culinary history and various ingredients originating in Africa.
Cutural Lessons
The Arts and Crafts of the United States
Read these books for free at Wowio. Great information and fun projects!
Amazon Error: Could not open remote connection
Sorry, there are no results available from Amazon.- Native American Crafts & Activities
- This is a list of projects and ideas that I will be using with my children as we study the Native Indian tribes of North America.
- Red White and Blue Frame
- Picture your favorite American in an easy to make clay frame
- Abe Lincoln Bank
- Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. He was born in 1809. In fact, his nickname was the Illinois Rail Splitter. He was also more widely known as Honest Abe - a perfect choice for our bank.
- Clay Folk Doll
- Nothing went to waste, and dolls were often made by hand for young children. This folk doll is a traditional Appalachian design.
- Cinnamon Log Cabin
- Visit the small towns nestled in the foothills of the Appalachians and you will find many log homes. As these towns were settled it was difficult to bring building materials into the mountains, so often the local trees were used to create log cabins; but none smell as sweet as our cinnamon house.
- Paul Bunyon Puppet Theater
- Paul Bunyan is a myth, or folk tale. He was a very large lumber jack. Most of the tales about him revolve around his size and his best friend, Babe the Blue Ox. They said that Paul had grown out of his father's clothes by the time he was one week old and that the tracks he and Babe made running around Minnesota made the 10,000 lakes.
- Igloo
- Make a model of an Igloo
- Johnny Appleseed
- Decorate a floursack towel with an apple print.
- Blue Hen Pottery
- The Blue Hen chicken was adopted as Delaware's official state bird in 1939. Sometime during the 1400's a potter in Germany bought inexpensive wood to fire his kiln. This wood was from crates in which fish had been salted. When the potter opened his kiln he found that the stoneware was completely finished with a beautiful clear glaze after only one firing. It was the salt in the wood that left the glaze. When the colonists came to this country they brought salt glazed stoneware and the unique technique for making it.
- Tapa Cloth Mat
- Tapa making is a laborious native craft and is actually the same as Bark cloth. It is made from the inner bark of the mulberry tree. For this project we concentrated on the design and colors rather than the material.
- DLTK's USA Crafts for Kids
- Printable templates for children's memorial day, Fourth of July and general USA crafts suitable for preschool, kindergarten and gradeschool kids.
- United States Activities
- Crafts, lesson plans, coloring pages suitable for toddlers, preschoolers and kindergarten.
More Cultural Lessons
The Music and Dance of the United States
coming soon
Play Tag
Tag is a popular outdoor game with children in the United States. To play, you need at least three players and a large area to run in. One person is chosen to be "it", and that person chases the others and tries to touch them. This is called "tagging". Once a player is tagged, they become "it" and it is their turn to chase the others. Play continues for as long as the players wish to continue. No score is kept.
Books To Read
The publisher of the book A Is For America has produced a free teacher's guide for this book, and for the books in their Discover America State By State series.
Amazon Error: Could not open remote connection
Sorry, there are no results available from Amazon.- American History Stories, Volume I
- by Mara L. Pratt
Stories of early exploration and founding of American colonies, conflicts over religion, and troubles with the Indians, culminating in the French and Indian War. - American History Stories, Volume II
- by Mara L. Pratt
Tales of Revolutionary times, including the causes of the American Revolution, the daring exploits of those defending liberty, the early battles, the struggles of the army, and the heroes who led the colonists to victory. - American History Stories, Volume III
- by Mara L. Pratt
Anecdotes from the time Washington became president through the War of 1812, the rise of Andrew Jackson, and the sectional differences leading to the Civil War. - American History Stories, Volume IV
- by Mara L. Pratt
Stories of the great conflict from the time Lincoln became president and the southern states seceded, through the battles of Bull Run, Shiloh, Antietam, Vicksburg, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, until the close of the war. - This Country of Ours
- by H. E. Marshall
Stories from the history of the United States beginning with a full account of exploration and settlement and ending with the presidency of Woodrow Wilson. - America First
- by Lawton B. Evans
Collection of one hundred action-packed stories, covering the range of American history, from the first visit of Leif the Lucky to the exploits of Sergeant York in World War I.
Additional Ideas For Your Study
Study the different habitats found in the United States and the animals found there. When you study the Plains states, try making natural dyes from plants that would be found on the prairies. When studying Alaska, study the insulating affects of blubber. Listen to the calls of each of the states birds.
Make crafts typical of the area or using resources from the area. For instance, make a simple farmers cheese when studying Wisconsin, a soap(stone) carving for Alaska, a model of the Statue of Liberty for New York, or a volcano that spews vinegar and baking soda "lava" when studying Hawaii.
Make salt dough maps or shadow box scenes of events from United States history. Try some pioneer or Native American crafts.
Additional Resources
Amazon Error: Could not open remote connection
Sorry, there are no results available from Amazon.- The Star-Spangled State WorkBook
- Use this with the Star Spangled States Book to turn it into a complete geography program. Can you identify all fifty states on a map of the United States? Or how about identifying all fifty states by their shape alone? Can you list the abbreviations for all of their names? Or all the state capitals? After completing this program, my ten and eleven year olds can do it! Amazing! The nice thing about this program was that my children were able to do the work independently and it only took a few minutes every day.
- 50 States - Complete Notebooking Set with Bonuses
- What a bargin! If you plan to create a United States notebook, this is one of the best deals you will find. These pages are attractive, well made, and there is a nice variety of layouts. Each state file contains a cover page, state profile page, and pages for state bird , flower, tree, flag, seal, and song. Additional pages cover topics like government, history, famous people, inventions, and tourism. There are even a couple of pages with cutouts which can be used to create a state lapbook. If it isn't enough to get fifty sets of top quality notebook pages for such an incredibly low price, the publisher has also included a pile of great bonus sets.
- Proud to be an American Notebooking Pages
- This set of 130 notebooking pages highlight important figures, patriotic symbols, songs, and holidays that make this country so special. These colorful and rich notebooking pages will be a wonderful addition to any study of American History.
- U.S. History
- Engaging Students with Foldables for U.S. History to 1877
- VA Studies
- Engaging Students with Foldables for Virginia Studies
- Westward Expansion Unit
- Notebooking, adaptable to lapbook
- Lapbook Any Country
- Homeschool Helper's Free Country Lapbook.
- Lapbook Any State
- Homeschool Helper's Free State Lapbook.
- United States Flag
- Homeschool Helper's Free United States Flag Lapbook.
- Boston Tea Party
- Homeschool Helper's Free Boston Tea Party Lapbook.
- Constitution
- Homeschool Helper's Free Constitution Lapbook.
- George Washington
- Homeschool Helper's Free George Washington Lapbook.
- Lewis and Clark
- Homeschool Helper's Free Lewis and Clark Lapbook.
- Abraham Lincoln Lapbook
- Based on Abraham Lincoln, the Boy Who Loved Books
How Was Your Trip?
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- JoyfulPamela JoyfulPamela Sep 11, 2009 @ 12:35 pm
- I lensrolled this to History Lesson Resources and United States in the 1800's. Thank you again!
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- JoyfulPamela JoyfulPamela Sep 11, 2009 @ 12:32 pm
- Thank you for your resources! We will be using some of this for our units we are doing this year.
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- tandemonimom tandemonimom Apr 11, 2009 @ 10:44 pm
- 5***** and welcome! This lens is now a featured lens on the newly redesigned Homeschooling Group!
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- groovyoldlady groovyoldlady Sep 18, 2008 @ 2:55 pm
- Won. Der. Ful.
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- Hip2Homeschool Hip2Homeschool Sep 12, 2008 @ 7:43 am
- This is awesome, Melissa!! I will use this when we do our Early American History unit. I am also going to put you on my lensroll from my Early American History page!
by LilliputStation
Homeschooling mother of eight: ages 0-13. We love notebooking, lapbooking, unit studies, and hands-on education. Visit Lilliput Station Adventures to... (more)
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