Gage goes to school Monday-Thursday and mornings are a time he usually is willing and wanting to learn a little, so I decided to start doing a little state work each three-day weekend.
Exploring the States:West Virginia, the Mountain State. We start by reading through the book and then I chose some 5-10 minute activities over the three days. My goal is really just two activities for each of the three days and then two books, this one and one more picture book.
I was fighting off a cold last weekend so I was a little uninspired, but here’s what we did.
1. Traced the state map, marked the capital, and wrote West Virginia.
2. Colored and painted the very intricate state map.
3. Colored a picture of the state animal, the black bear.
4. Did you know that West Virginia is the only place you can find Cheat Salamanders? We watched this video on Canaan National Park and spotted the salamander and the train.
We read three great books.
5. 
Take Me Home, Country Roads. Adapted and Illustrated by Christopher Canyon. The cd with the song by John Denver was included. Loved being about to read the book and listen the music together. Excellent representation of the state.
6. 
Walter Dean Myers was born in West Virginia so we read Looking Like Me, written by him and illustrated by his son, Christopher. This book was excellent in content and busy with illustration. A great story that is sure to boost self-esteem. It’s all about embracing all of the different things that you are, in his case: brother, son, writer, city child, artist, dancer, talker, runner, dreamer. It then encourages you to look in a mirror and find all the things that you are. A great opportunity for me to help Gage realize who he is in all of his glory. Definitely one I’ll be buying.
7. 
We Are America also by Walter Dean Myers and Christopher Myers was a more traditional book that showcased some of America’s historical periods. This was a bit of a stretch for Gage because the pictures didn’t much interest him and the poetry was beyond his understanding, but amazingly he sat through half of it at the first reading and even asked a few questions. I think it would be a great book for him in a few years.
Keep sending me ideas for your state – especially book ideas!
Our Ohio activities. Pennsylvania activities.
This is fun to see each time you share with us. And I feel like I’m learning something too. I didn’t know that West Virginia’s state animal was the black bear. Please keep us in the loop! LOL
I’ll try to educate Kay 🙂
Gage is quite the artist!
Hope you feel better.
Used black elderberry syrup in my tea and fought it off 🙂
I bet Gage loved spotting the train in that video!
Luckily the train came early so it helped hold his interest 🙂
Such fun looking books!
All three were excellent.
I keep thinking I need to start doing something like this with Mouse. She’s starting to ask where places are, especially when we receive postcards from around the world now. My globe is ancient, but I often use it to point out where people are as compared to us.
Sounds like fun and a great way of learning about the states. You are so good with Gage. I was a slacker when Amber was little.
You’re such a good mom!! Not only do you spend lots of time with Gage, but you also teach him a lot of stuff!
TRAIN! I was in West Virginia last week. or was it 2 weeks ago already? Anyway, they won their first game in March Madness and that made me happy.
Love these traveling the states posts .. you make learning a lot of fun for Gage. Looking Like Me sounds like a book every child should have!