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Today’s free resources are all about the 50 states of the United States of America.

Homeschool Freebie of the Day brings us a nice little ebook to help teach your children the 50 U.S. States and their abbreviations:

Learn the States & Postal Abbreviations (PDF ebook) –This nifty 29-page e-book by Joy Miller of fiveJs.com includes everything you need to teach your children the states and postal abbreviations — lesson plans, worksheets, flashcards, printable maps, and more. Written to be used with children of any age, this e-book will equip your children with information much more useful than learning just the states and capitals. A great teaching resource for your young learners!

You can find free outline maps of each state at NotebookingPages.com:

Free Outline Maps & Geography Notebooking Pages –Free resources include outline maps for each of the fifty United States, a list of state abbreviations and geography notebooking pages. PDF format.

Teach your children about each state with free lesson plans from the U.S. Mint:

50 State Quarters Lesson Plans – Create stimulating learning experiences for your students with these fully adaptable lesson outlines. Includes reproducible graphic handouts, interactive games, learning activities and suggestions for evaluation exercises. Lesson plans are available in PDF or RTF (MS Office Word) formats, for all grade levels.

Sheppard Software has several free educational games about the U.S.A.:

U.S.A. Games -Online geography games for all skill levels to help your child learn the U.S. states, the state capitals, lakes, rivers and more.

Finally, make learning the names of all fifty states easy with this fun song and slideshow:

Lyrics for Fifty Nifty United States can be found here:

The Fifty Nifty United States Song -Lyrics in PDF format

Blessings,

Denese

A classic chemistry experiments ebook is today’s free resource at Homeschool Freebie of the Day:

The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments (PDF ebook) – Here’s a great Chemistry experiments book from the 1960s that was actually BANNED and removed from libraries across the country for being too “dangerous” for young experimenters. Even though most of the activities and experiments in this Golden Book are safe, a few will need parental supervision should you decide to persue them.

Just in time for gardening season, American Montessori Consulting has a new unit study out:

Montessori PreK-Grade 8 Gardening Unit Study -This is an online unit study for a complete summer gardening unit study. Contains links to articles, hands-on activities and other exercises for reading, language arts, life skills, social studies, science, art, math and more.

In The Hands of a Child offers a free semi-annual project pack and right now you can get one about America’s first ladies:

First Ladies of the United States Project Pack -Contains a complete lapbook unit and notebook unit about the first ladies of the United States of America. For grades 3-6.

Blessings,

Denese

Kentucky was formally admitted as the 15th state on June 1, 1792.

The name comes from “Ken-tah-ten”, an Iroquois Indian word that means “land of tomorrow”.

Known as the Bluegrass State, Kentucky is famous for it’s horse racing, thoroughbred horse farms, bluegrass, coal mines, tobacco farms, and bourbon whiskey.

Jim Bowie, Kit Carson, Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Loretta Lynn and Bill Monroe were all born in Kentucky.

Kentucky’s state flower is goldenrod and it’s state bird is the cardinal.

The capitol of Kentucky is Frankfort.

Learn More About Kentucky

Netstate.com: Kentucky –a ton of information and more links here

Young Kentucky History, 1790-1860  -includes teaching ideas

Kentucky Facts and Trivia –50 interesting tidbits about Kentucky

Biographies of Kentucky’s Governors

Kentucky General Assembly Student’s Pages 

Kentucky Coal and Energy Education Project –expand your knowledge of coal and the coal industry. Includes a teachers section with lesson plans and educational resources.

United States Mint: Kentucky Quarter –links to kid’s page and teacher lesson plans on right sidebar

Free Units And Printables

Easy Fun School: Kentucky -A State Unit Study

About.com Homeschooling: State Unit Study – Kentucky –lots of printables here

Kentucky outline map –scroll down

Kentucky Notebooking Pages

Kentucky & Louisiana Lapbook Components

Kentucky State Bird and Flower coloring page

State of Kentucky Coloring Pages

Free Kentucky Road Map

Happy learning,

Denese

Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute [is due]; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. Romans 13:7-8

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

Please observe the National Moment of Remembrance which takes place today at 3:00pm, local time.

Free Resources To Learn More About Memorial Day

Memorial Day History

United States Department of Veterans Affairs: Memorial Day

Library of Congress Today In History: Memorial Day

History.Com: Memorial Day

Arlington National Cemetery: Photo Gallery

Interactive Tour of Arlington National Cemetery

Taps: Free Download, Lyrics, History

List of Memorial Day Videos and Slideshow Tributes

Memorial Day Old Time Radio Shows

Memorial Day Holiday Helper from CurrClick

Children’s Memorial Day Poems: Memorial Day Poetry and Peace Prayers for Kids

Memorial Day Worksheets and Printables

Memorial Day Lesson Plans and Activities

Memorial Day Coloring Pages

Free Memorial Day Clipart

Memorial Day Lapbook -HT to Jamin

Memorial Day Notebooking Pages

• Draped Flags Lined Paper
• Flags Dotted Lined Paper

Blessings,

Denese

Update:

I missed a radio show!

Memorial Day Memories from Homeschool Radio Shows

Don’t forget your daily and weekly freebies!

Mazes

Mazes; and How To Thread Them -fascinating study of mazes by historian and mathematician Henry Ernest Dudeney, blending history, math, and maze puzzles. Free today only from Homeschool Freebie of the Day.

King Arthur

Young King Arthur -audio dramatization of the story of Arthur’s youth, a 1954 episode of the children’s radio program, “Let’s Pretend”. Available all week from Homeschool Radio Shows.

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart Lapbook -free 43-page lapbook Project Pack from In the Hands of a Child; includes a 7-page research guide, 15 hands-on activities and timeline. Free weekly product from CurrClick.

United States Theme Units

Pennsylvania and Rhode Island Theme Units -newest additions to the United States Theme Units at SchoolExpress.

Spring

Spring Unit Study -latest free weekly Science Unit from SchoolExpress.

Easter

The Real Easter Story Giveaway -free in-depth study for the whole family, copywork and Easter place cards. Free gift from Gena Suarez at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

Brain Teaser

Brain Teaser -one of many weekly freebies from Teacher Created Resources. Sign up for their newsletter and get a free monthly activity e-book.

Denese

The Underground Railroad

Today’s free resource from Homeschool Freebie of the Day is a huge collection of eyewitness accounts and stories of the Underground Railroad.
“The Underground Railroad: A RECORD OF FACTS, AUTHENTIC NARRATIVE, LETTERS, &C., Narrating the Hardships, Hair-breadth Escapes and Death Struggles of the Slaves in their efforts of Freedom, as Related by Themselves and, Others, or Witnessed by the Author” was written by William Still, a son of escaped slaves, and contains amazing “living history” told by the people who were there.
This pdf e-book is available today only.
Please note: Parents please preview before reading to younger listeners.

I highly encourage you to sign up for Homeschool Freebie of the Day’s newsletter. You get advance notice of freebies for the whole week plus an extra freebie for being a subscriber, and it’s not just for homeschoolers. Some past freebies have included; sewing e-books, sewing patterns, e-cookbooks, crafts, and homemade toys. Sign up today, and be sure and tell a friend!

Free E-Workbooks and Theme Units

SchoolExpress has free e-workbooks, activity pages and theme units and add new ones every week.

Free Language Arts E-Workbooks

Free U.S. States Theme Units -currently available; Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland and Massachesetts.

Science Theme Units

Science Activity Pages

Denese

Happy Presidents Day!

Or, if you’re in Canada, Happy Family Day!

There are all kinds of online homeschooling freebies for Presidents Day.

Some great educational resources on George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are available at Homeschool Freebie of the Day, today only.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum

Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello -The Home of Thomas Jefferson

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum: A President’s Day -Materials, Resources and Activities for Teachers

American President’s Life Portraits is a site to complement C-SPAN’s 20th Anniversary television series, American Presidents: Life Portraits March-December 1999. Biographical facts, videos, key events of each presidency, Presidential places and reference material.

Listen to or download The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, at Radio Nostalgia Playhouse. This is an episode of “You Are There”, an old-time radio program that takes you back in history.

Moments in Time, a podcast of historical events that changed the world, you can listen to or download FDR Speaks bout the War Beginning In Europe 9/3/39.

Old Time Radio History Shows has some free historical audio downloads of past presidents’ speeches, scroll down the page to listen or download.

There is a ton of little-known facts at Presidential Fun Facts.

Also see 20 Things You Didn’t Know About U.S. Presidents for more presidential trivia.

Want to know what ailments George Washington suffered from? Check out Medical History of American Presidents.

Life of George Washington : Written for Children is a classic bioography you can download in e-book format.

Learning Through History has an Abraham Lincoln Mini Unit Study.

Free George Washington lapbook

The American President Unit Study

Worksheets and Printables

U.S. Presidents Worksheets

President’s Word Search

Connect-the-dots Lincoln -for younger children

Help Lincoln Get to The Whitehouse Maze -for younger children

Presidents Day Crafts

Make Washington’s wig

Make Lincoln’s Log Cabin

Make the American Flag

Make Presidential Puzzles

Kaboose President’s Day page -12 different crafts including; powdered wig, future president pin, Abe Lincoln hat, finger puppets, pretzel log cabin

Denese

Today is the day the United States observes Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, but it is also the birthday of another great American, General Robert E. Lee.

Robert E. Lee was born on January 19th, 1807 at Stratford, Virginia and was the youngest son of major-general  Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee.

Robert entered West Point in 1825, graduated 2nd in his class four years later, and was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. He distinguished himself  in the Mexican War, served as superintendent at West Point, commanded a calvery regiment in West Texas and suppressed the raid by John Brown at Harpers Ferry in 1859.

Despite being against secession and slavery, Lee was unwilling to fight against his home state of Virginia. In 1861, Robert E. Lee rejected Lincoln’s offer to command the Union Forces and resigned his Army commission. He went to Richmond where he assumed command of Virginia’s forces and was eventually named commander of the Confederate Armies in 1865.

Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865, leading to the end of  the Civil war.

“We have fought this fight as long, and as well as we know how. We have been defeated. For us as a Christian people, there is now but one course to pursue. We must accept the situation.”

After the war, Robert E. Lee became president of  Washington College in Lexington, Virginia and urged southerners to keep the peace and accept the outcome of the war. “Make your sons Americans.” he pleaded.

Robert E. Lee died on October 12th, 1870 after a brief illness and is buried in the chapel he built on the campus of Washington College, which was re-named Washington and Lee University after his death.

Free Resources to Learn More About Robert E. Lee

AmericanCivilWar.com-Confederate General Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee biography

The Robert E. Lee Papers

US Civil War Photographs-Robert E. Lee

Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial

The Robert E. Lee Boyhood Home Virtual Museum

Stratford Hall -birthplace of Robert E. Lee

Timeline of Robert E. Lee

Civil War Quotes-Robert E. Lee

Inventory of Lee’s Personal Property at Arlington House 1863

A Life of Gen. Robert E. Lee by John Esten Cooke-originally published in 1876

Robert E. Lee: Man and Soldier by Thomas Nelson Page-originally published in 1911

Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee by Robert Edward Lee originally published in 1905

Address on the Life and Character of Gen. Robert E. Lee: Delivered on the 12th of October, 1871, Before the Society of Confederate Soldiers and Sailors, in Maryland by Wade Hampton

On the Trail of Grant and Lee: A Narrative History of the Boyhood and Manhood of Two Great Americans by Frederick Trevor Hill originally Published in 1911

Boys’ Book of Famous Soldiers by J. Walker McSpadden (chapter on Robert E. Lee

With Lee in Virginia: A Tale of the American Civil War by G.A. Henty- Jim Hodges free audio book

Robert E. Lee Free Notebooking Page

An Unusual Holiday Punch-from Mrs. Robert E. Lee

Denese

Good mornin’ all!

We had a busy weekend up here in the holler: repairing flood damage to our roads, Association business, house cleaning, and computer cleaning.

We also had a mini-lesson on Mount Rushmore. We used our good old encyclopedia to start out our lesson and incorporated math and geography into it by; mapping the distance from our house to Mount Rushmore, figuring the best route and what states we would pass through.

Here are some free online resources and links about Mount Rushmore:

National Park Service Mount Rushmore National Memorial

PBS History Series-American Experience/Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore Webcam

PaperToys.com Printable Mount Rushmore Cutout

Apples4TheTeacher.com Interactive Jigsaw Puzzle-Mount Rushmore

America’s Library-Dynamite Presidents Mount Rushmore Game

Ben’s Guide to US Government for Kids-Mount Rushmore Printable Picture

Oh Ranger-Making Mount Rushmore

US-Parks.com Geology of Mount Rushmore

Homeschool Helper Online Free Notebooking Pages-Mount Rushmore (unlined)

NotebookLearning.com-Free Mount Rushmore Notebooking Pages (.doc format)

Teach-Nology.com-Mount Rushmore Presidents Worksheet

Home Education Resources-Free Handwriting Practice Pages (scroll down to Cursive Size 36 for Mount Rushmore)

American Memory Initiative-Monumental Men (project grades 4-6)

Easy Fun School Mini Unit Study-South Dakota

Denese