Postcard Swap
I was exploring options for geography this year when I came across a postcard swap. This was exactly what I wanted only I didn't realize it until I seen it. I wanted something special that they would remember, unlike a textbook or workbook that they simply go through the motions in.
Geography is right up there with history and science. They are better taught, in my opinion, through hands on learning. What better way to learn about places than to receive postcards from them? So the great postcard swap began! Each week we send three postcards to families on the list and in return we receive three postcards from various states and countries. On the postcards are notes about things special to the families regarding their areas. They basically hit on key words and then me and the girls enjoy finding them on the map and researching them online and through books. This is their current favorite part of school. Each day they run to the mailbox hoping to find a postcard from some distant place.
This is our first postcard:
Geography is right up there with history and science. They are better taught, in my opinion, through hands on learning. What better way to learn about places than to receive postcards from them? So the great postcard swap began! Each week we send three postcards to families on the list and in return we receive three postcards from various states and countries. On the postcards are notes about things special to the families regarding their areas. They basically hit on key words and then me and the girls enjoy finding them on the map and researching them online and through books. This is their current favorite part of school. Each day they run to the mailbox hoping to find a postcard from some distant place.
This is our first postcard:
Lake Charles, Louisiana. It is a photo of a plantation. We enjoyed learning about the area and especially the hurricanes. We were told by the family that hurricane Gustav and Ike missed them, thankfully!The second postcard we received was this one:
Kingston, New York: an Old Dutch Church. We were told by the family that they enjoyed the local homeschool orchestra playing inside this particular church and how they enjoyed picking apples in the fall in local orchards. We researched how close they are to the Hudson River and what benefits the Hudson River has to their area. We looked online and were able to find a lot of information about this area through the local visitors bureau, including some great pictures. We discovered that Kingston was New York's first state capitol, that it was known as the "breadbasket of the Revolution" because local farmers fed Washington's troops and betrayed King George III, and due to that it was burned to the ground and later rebuilt. It sounds like Kingston is rich with history and we are enjoying learning all about it.As we continue to learn about these two states we are awaiting our next postcard arrival. I'll be sure to post so stay tuned for the next 61 postcards!
4 comments:
What a fun, fabulous way to learn geography! It will be interesting to see where all the postcards will come from!
That's a great idea!
What postcards are you sending from here?
You'll have to send me the web site address.
It's a postcard exchange from the Well Trained Mind boards. I'll email you the link but they closed it for this year. It is open for sign ups during the summer months and then once school is under way (October) they close it so that it doesn't get confusing of who to send them to.
Oh and I forgot I'll post our postcards on the blog so you can see them. They weren't as cool as I had hoped to find. When you have to buy 60 cards the stores got picky of what they would give me for a discounted rate. Something is better than nothing. lol.
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