Where in the World? Wednesday

Welcome to our new meme, Where in the World? Wednesday! We are participating in several postcard exchanges this year and thought it might be nice to regularly share the cards we receive, as well as to have a place to keep all of the information we discover about each place we "visit."

If you would like to "travel" with us, feel free to check here every Wednesday for our latest virtual field trip. If you would like to link up and share your virtual travels, please be patient as I figure out how to make a button and do a linky so you can join us.

In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment with a link, so we can check out your fun learning adventures, too!!

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This week's destination: The wonderful state of Pennsylvania!

 
Here is the postcard we received this week:

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Here is what we found out about Pennsylvania (mostly from Enchanted Learning):

Pennsylvania was the second state in the United States of America. It ratified the Constitution on December 12, 1787.

Capital: Harrisburg
Abbreviation: PA
Origin of name: This state was named to honor Admiral William Penn and his son, William Penn, Pennsylvania's founder.
Nickname: Keystone State


Land Area: 46,058 square miles
Motto: Virtue, Liberty, and Independence
Song: Pennsylvania by E. Khoury
Residents: Pennsylvanians

Animal: White-tailed deer
Bird: Ruffled Grouse
Dog: Great Dane
Tree: Eastern Hemlock

Flower: Mountain Laurel
Insect: ladybug and firefly
Fossil: Trilobite
Fish: Brook Trout

Industries: Steel, farming, mining, electronics, cars
Famous Pennsylvanians: James Buchanan (15th President), Lousia May Alcott, Daniel Boone, Gene Kelly, Andrew Wyeth, Betsy Ross, Robert Fulton, Mary Cassatt, Jimmy Stewart
Famous facts about Pennsylvania: Atreipus dinosaur fossils were found there, Amish population
Interesting features of Pennsylvania: borders Lake Erie, highest point is Mt. Davis, largest city is Philadelphia which is where the Liberty Bell is located, Appalacian Mountains.

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There is a LOT to do in Pennsylvania. After putting together this post, the kids and I want to go to PA for our next family trip!

Start your virtual visit to PA with this fun video starring Abe Lincoln, a Hershey Kiss, and an Amish farmer. Really, it's cute and will introduce you to the variety that is Pennsylvania.

Visit The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and learn about: the automaton that inspired Brian Selznik's book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret HERE (scroll down to watch a demo), Ben Franklin's Glass Armonica HERE and and scroll down HERE to give playing one a try, and visit HERE to learn more about Edison's lightbulb (scroll down to find an experiment to make your own lightbulb).

Would a trip to PA be complete without stopping at historic Gettysburg?

Make a virtual visit to Cherry Crest, a fun farm adventure in Ronks, PA HERE. It would be perfect to visit this time of year. I'd love to make some of these fun activities a reality on our own farm.

What would a visit to PA be without stopping by HERSHEY for a virtual tour of the factory on the official site, and this excellent video tour found on youtube from CoolStuffBeingMade? Then stop by and have some fun at Hershey Park. Did you know that in 1900, Hershey Bars were introduced and sold for five cents each? Wow!

Let's not leave out a visit to the Amish in Lancaster Co. Enjoy learning about the differences between their culture and your own, and about the similarities, too.

Find Fun Facts and Activities about  Pennsylvania at Enchanted Learning: Pennsylvania map and quiz , Liberty Bell printout, PA Dot-to-Dot Outline Coloring Page

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Here's the State Flag of Pennsylvania:

Here's a map of Pennsylvania:

Here are some pictures of Pennsylvania:

Pittsburgh, PA



Here are some handouts you can print up for a state notebook: Pennsylvania Label-Me Printout from Enchanted Learning. PA Outline Map Printout.

Here's a printable map of the fifty states with lines for writing the names of the states on, if you want to start filling in each state as you recieve the card. HERE is one from Enchanted Learning with no lines, but it has questions to answer about your home state. There are also some other great prinables for individual state reports (a one-page notebooking page for older students and a mini-book for younger ones), but you have to be a member (it's a low cost of $20 a year...I think it's worth it).

HERE'S a good online fill-in game for the entire US. You have to know where the states are placed on a blank map (no outlines), but it gives you a clue after the first try and even tells you by how many miles you are in error. It was good practice. I think that one of my goals for the year is for my kids to be able to draw a reasonably accurate map of the US on a blank sheet of paper and label all the states, capitals, and major landmarks/geographic features. What are your geography goals?

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Here are some pictures of our notebook pages about Pennsylvania:

Tex also read Chapter 13: Trusting God's Character about William Penn in the book Character for Life by Don Hawkinson. We got the hardcover book on sale at a homeschooling convention, and it is a wonderful book, full of excellent character building stories.

We also just received For You They Signed, by Marilyn Boyer, to review, and he will be reading the stories of Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush today and tomorrow. They were both signers of the Declaration of Independence for the state of Pennsylvania. I will let you know how we like the book.

The movie, The Amish, a People of Preservation, just went on instant play at Netflix, and I am thinking we will watch that over the weekend. I love Netflix!

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I hope you enjoyed our trip to the Keystone State. We sure did.

See you next week when we visit New Jersey!


Blessings,

Heather

Where in the World? Wednesday