My daughter is really interested in learning about each state in the US. We read a book about Mickey Mouse crossing the US and she has been interested ever since. Is it too soon and too hard for a 6 yr old? I was thinking of learning about 2-3 states each week. She wants to know the climate, animals there, etc. Is it much too soon for this?
I think if she is interested you should go for it! Ds only knows about 4(the ones we have lived in/traveled through or are next to!), but I have a friend whose son (I think he's almost 3) knows a tons of states. They have family that lives all over so he associates the place with the people and has learned them easily that way. So if he could do it, I am sure your 6 year old could!
I agree! If she's interested- DO IT! Keep in mind though that she MAY not retain all of this and like a lot of everyday things, you'll be reviewing this again (and maybe again).
I'd have to agree. . .my 8yo knows lots and lots of geography. Not any of the states but that's only because we didn't start there in history. She has most of hte middle east and Asia memorized right now.
That is the reason I hesitate. She isn't going to remember them all from learning now. I never knew all the states when I was a teenager because my family never traveled! It is hard to imagine her knowing them all at this age. We do travel and talk about states on the way to where we are going but never travel in the West.
Yes, she will remember them!!! Go to www.sheppardsoftware.com They have a wonderful program. Phillip is 7, and has learned them all with 90% accuracy, and he will remember them. He has also, on his own, learned the countries of South America through this program. My older daughter knows most of her countries this way, though it's been a while since she's gone over them. (Reminder to myself...make her go over them on Monday!!!)
We did a little at age 6 with the states we have been to. It's going to be our stuck in the house winter project
Both my boys wanted to learn them, and we did at those ages. Actually ds #1 was 6 and ds #2 was 4. #2 couldn't say them all right, but he got almost all of them! They STILL love geography and know sssoooooo much of it, because we followed that spark of interest they had, and they just kept going with it. DS #1 is now 16, and he can tell you where about anything in the world is, and knows a lot about them, like population in comparison to size of countries and cities in those countries, etc.! So I say go for it, it can be the start of a great geographer! If he learns it well and wants to continue, maybe he could be in the Geography Bee! Another thing we did around the same was Presidents. We had those placemats from WalMart that has the Presidents on them. #1 would ask #2 questions about the info. on there. By the time he was 6, #2 could say all the presidents and the years they were president, and a little background history, cuz the boys would get books out of the library about them. That interest lagged after that, but that was okay. I don't think it was time wasted at all!!! It was so funny, when #2 was 5, he'd rattle off the Presidents in order, and he always said Rutherford Behave (instead of Rutherford B. Hays)! :lol: It was too cute! And I could just shoot myself for not every videoing that! We didn't have a camera of our own then, but I could've borrowed one! WORD OF ADVICE: Those that have babies that sign before they talk (my dd did that---wish I would've known to do that with the boys!), and when they learn cute stuff----VIDEO IT!!!!!! So sports, we expect to see a clip of your little guy rattling off the states sometime!!!
In my opinion it's never too early to do anything in homeschooling if the child is showing interest. Dd is studying ever species of sea turtle and I'm not talking just studying what they look like. She's going into detail, knows where each one is found and in the process has learned about continents and oceans, the life cycles of each- yes they are all a little different even though they all lay eggs in the sand and grow the same, the live to be different ages. She's doing all this research herself- I'm just the secretary lol. So if your dd wants to study the states go for it! I remember doing state studies in 5th grade and we had to pick a state. Then we had to write a letter to the governor of the state we chose and use the information we received from that state to write our report. We had to do all of the state symbols, animals, food, ect and then do an oral report. I did mine on ID. I bet she'll have a blast!
sports was the first name for the site that popped into my tired brain that night. LOL I have a dd not a ds. She surprises me every day. I told her to write the months of the year (I was on the phone and trying to keep her busy), she got half of them right!! We have never went over spelling of the months of the year so I was taken aback! Of course dd was mad that she didn't get all of them right. Silly girl!
Madison just turned 7 and is first grade, we are doing the states this year, we will tackle only 1 a week maybe 2 but I plan to stretch it out for the whole year, I think LOL.
OK, what I said I think was misinterpreted. She's going to retain a lot of that info, but think about it seriously. Can most of us as adults retain every single state, including their "birthdate" the flower, motto, capitol, what they're known for? What I was getting at is that you can instill a lot of info into hee, but how often do we review various things? Teach here, now, let her retain some of that info now and be sure to review it in the future so that each time a little more sticks. It's sort of like practise. KWIM?
Teach it to her ten years from now, and it still won't be retained. The state flower, while it's interesting and all, isn't relevent. I want my kids to be able to place the states on a map, and I would like them to know the capitals and major cities. Anything else is "extra".
Yes, do it now. If she is expressing an interest, this is a good time to do it. We have a map and we fill in the states as we stay in them and learn about them. There's lots of info out there with worksheets and such about this. I hope you enjoy it together.
My dd has been learning about the states since 1st or 2nd grade. About once a month (sometimes we go a few months in between), we choose a state. She has a binder for her states study, and it contains a question sheet for each state (what # state was it, state bird, nickname, etc.). She picks books from the library & fills out the question sheet for the state she's studying. We got a package of state flag stickers from Rainbow Resource (I think) and she puts the flag sticker on the question sheet. We also got a cookbook called Eat Your Way Through the USA (again, I think from Rainbow Resource). The book has a few recipes for each state, recipes that are very common there. We try at least 1 recipe for each state. My dd helps to make them. I made special State Study recipe cards. She fills in the recipe & directions, and on a second one she writes about what she thought of it, how easy it was, etc. Then the recipe card goes into the binder with the question sheet for that state. We also add other things to the binder; postcards, pictures, maps, brochures for vacation spots, national parks, monuments, etc. Basically anything we find or get that is related to a state goes into the binder behind that state's page. This has been an ongoing study for a while & has really helped her learn about US Geography, without overwhelming her.
My kids love learning the states. I guess it depends on the kid. My dd can recognize the state using flash cards and knows most of the capitals. She is in 4th but she could do this in 2nd. For whatever reason she just got interested in States then. My son was in K at the time and learned some to. So, if the child has an interest go for it.
YES, YES, A THOUSAND TIMES YES! NO MATTER WHAT AGE YOU BEGIN TO TEACH US GEOGRAPHY, YOU HAVE TO REINFORCE IT OVER AND OVER, AND PLUG IN SUPPLEMENTAL WAYS TO MAKE IT INFORMATION THEY DEEM SIGNIFICANT. JUST START THE FOUNDATION, LIKE PRESCHOOL SPANISH. SO MANY THINGS WE HAVE DONE TO AUGMENT ARE... *LEAP FROG ELECTRONICS W/ GEOGRAPHY *REGIONAL EMPHASIS *MAPS OF YOUR STATE'S (OR REGION'S) PRINCIPAL RIVERS- WHAT LAKES THEY CONNECT, STATES THEY CROSS, AND CITY WATER SUPPLY THEY FEED *WHERE PEOPLE THEY KNOW LIVE, WHERE ARE PLAINS, MOUNTAINS, SEASHORES. *GET ONE OF THE QUARTER COLLECTING THINGS. MOST OF THEM HAVE QUICK REFERNCE INFO. *PRINT AN EMPTY MAP IF THE STATES OFF THE COMPUTER, AND LET HER USE IT FOR OTHER STUFF, NOT ALWAYS FILL IT IN WITH STATES, ETC. *AND...OUR LATEST FAVORITE... I HAVE TAUGHT OUR 11 YEAR OLD HOW TO USE THE GPS TO ENTER COORDINATES TO GO GEOCACHING! HE IS HOOKED ON GEOGRAPHY NOW!!! HAVE FUN, MILLER :roll:
