Geography Travels: Nebraska

Isaac chose this state because he’s been there several times and has a lot of family there.  Also, my husband is a HUGE Cornhuskers fan, so Nebraska is pretty much a household name in our family.

Week 1

We located Nebraska on a map, and found the capital and a few of the major cities. 

I don’t think I’ve mentioned it in previous posts, but Isaac also colors in the states we’re studying on a US map, and he labels each with the state abbreviation.

Listened to the Nebraska state song “Beautiful Nebraska” on this YouTube clip:

Discussed agriculture: beef, corn, pork, soybeans

We had hamburgers for supper, in honor of Nebraska’s huge beef production.

Read from Geography from A to Z about rivers and plains

Map page from Enchanted Learning

Discussed Chimney Rock and Scotts Bluff; also mentioned the Sand Hills (click link for YouTube video on Sand Hills).  Here’s a video on Chimney Rock:

Isaac did his own page on Chimney Rock  

Notebook page (from Homeschool Creations) 

Flag page from Apples 4 the Teacher: 

Week 2

Famous People chart: Listed and discussed Fred Astaire, Henry Fonda, and Gerald Ford 

YouTube clips:  Fred Astaire

Henry Fonda (I’ve only seen him in Ft. Apache and Twelve Angry Men—here's a clip from Twelve Angry Men):

President Gerald Ford:

Discussed Cornhuskers football (of course)

Discussed Kool-aid, which was invented in Nebraska.  They don’t have Kool-aid in England, so we didn’t drink any.  Visit the Hastings Museum website to learn the history behind this popular drink.

Discussed the Union Pacific Railroad, which is headquartered in Nebraska (click link for the Fun Stuff section of their website).

Discussed Arbor Day and Arbor Day Farm. Arbor Day was started in Nebraska.

We also made simple paper tree craft for Arbor Day (this is easy enough for a preschooler…but Isaac didn’t seem to mind).  I found this craft idea at Enchanted Learning.  For other Arbor Day activities, go to The Holiday Zone.

Discussed Native Americans tribes in Nebraska: Omaha, Missouria, Ponca, Pawnee, Otoe, and various Sioux branches

Discussed the Oregon Trail and Pony Express.

Here’s a link for a YouTube video from the Nebraska Tourism Channel on historical places (I couldn’t find a way to embed it).

We actually watched several YouTube clips from Nebraska Tourism’s Channel.  They even have several travel videos geared toward children (click HERE).  Just follow the links and choose what you want to watch—they’re all great!  Isaac thoroughly enjoys these.

We also discussed the Nebraska Windmill quilt block, simply because I happened to run across it.  I showed him examples on the internet (HERE and HERE), and I also found this page for him to color his own design (Nebraska State Historical Society website):

A second notebook page (from Homeschool Creations)

Visit the Kids! Stuff (Nebraska State Historical Society) website for more information and activities.

I’m linking this post to Geography/History at Children Grow, Children Explore, Children Learn.  Follow that link to find more great geography and history posts!