50 Activities To Help Kids Learn The 50 States

Our theme for the summer was 50 States. We learned about all 50 states in 7 weeks and 2 days. With each state we learned about was an activity to help the kids remember each state. I was teaching a wide of age range (2-10) so I needed activities to hold everyone's attention, plus make them memorable. Using this book and the facts in the book (along with a little help from my bff Google), I was able to teach the kids some fun, and some obscure, facts about the states. 

Each day we did one or two states and had (mostly) small activities to go along with them. We went over the day's state, plus a quick review of the states we had already done. At the end of the 7 weeks, the result was six year olds who knew their states and capitals, 7, 8, and 10 year olds who got sooo into the states that they created bucket lists of all the cool places they wanted to visit and A LOT of interest in the states. 

My goals for this theme for summer were simple:

• keep everyone active, attentive, learning, and thinking
• simple activities that didn't have to take all day (in case there were kids who weren't interested)
• things that didn't mean spending a lot of money

Here's what I came up with:

Sweet Home Alabama (the song, not the movie): Alabama

"Salmon" fishing - Alaska

Most of America's salmon comes from Alaska.

Hiking "The Grand Canyon"  - Arizona

The Grand Canyon is in northern Arizona.

Diamond digging (with graphite from Crater of Diamonds State Park) - Arkansas

Arkansas has one of the only diamond fields in the world that is open to the public (Crater of Diamonds).

A talent show and costumes - California

These kids were all stars in "Hollywood" on California day.

Crafting lady bugs - Delaware

Delaware's state bug is the ladybug.

Alligator wrestling - Florida

The Florida Everglades are the only place on earth where alligators and crocodiles co-exist.

Coloring peanuts and "picking" them (playing our Find It game) - Georgia

Peanuts are Georgia's official crop. Fun fact: they grow in the ground. You pull them up by leaves and pick them from the bottom of the roots.

Baked potato bar - Idaho

Idaho potatoes are known to be the world's best. The state grows more potatoes than anywhere else in the country.

Chicago style pizza for lunch - Illinios

Chicago style pizza for Chicago; Illinois' largest city and the third largest city in the country.

Cozy Coupe races - Indiana

Car races for the famous Indianapolis 500 that takes place every May in the state's capital city

Corn shucking - Iowa

Iowa is the largest corn producer in the U.S.

Watch The Wizard of Oz - Kansas

Kansas is Dorothy's home. Wampego, KS has a Wizard of Oz Museum!

Horse stick races - Kentucky

Horse stick races in honor of the Kentucky Derby, taking place the first Saturday of May (every year) in Louisville.

Mardi Gras photo booth - Louisiana

Mardi Gras is the famous festival that takes over New Orleans with parties and parades.

Lighthouse building with recyclables (and colorings) - Maine

The coast of Maine has more than 60 lighthouses.

Sing The Star Spangled Banner - Maryland

The Star Spangled Banner was written in Baltimore, after it's writer witnessed Fort McHenry being attacked by the British army during the war.

Tea party & Mayflower boat races - Massachusetts

In honor of the Boston Tea Party (where boxes of tea were thrown into Boston Harbor to fight British taxes) and  the Mayflower Ship (the ship that brought the pilgrims to the new world).

Decorate your own box car while listening to Motown - Michigan

Motown is short for "motor town" for Detroit, also known as the nation's car capital.

Camping at the lake - Minnesota

Minnesota has more than 15,000 lakes! 

Listen to blues music while eating St. Louis BBQ and ice cream cones for dessert while watching Meet Me In St. Louis - Mississippi and Missouri

Mississippi is the birthplace of blue music. It is said that people from St. Louis use more barbecue sauce than any other. Also, ice cream cones were invented in 1904 at the St. Louis World's Fair (when the movie takes place).

Bear hunt in the backyard - Montana

The state animal of Montana is the grizzly bear. 

Kool Aid painting - Nebraska

Kool Aid was invented in Hastings, NE in 1927.

Card games - Nevada

Lots of card games are played in Las Vegas.

Read The Road Not Taken - New Hampshire

Robert Frost lived in New Hampshire from 1900 to 1911. You can visit Robert Frost Farm in Derry, NH.

Playing diner - New Jersey

NJ has more diners than any other state.

Native American word find and learning how to say "hello" in six Native American languages - New Mexico

NM is known for its Native American history.

Apples for afternoon snack - New York

New York City, the biggest city in the U.S., is referred to as The Big Apple.

Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast - North Carolina

Krispy Kreme donuts got their start in Winston-Salem, NC.

Planting sun flower seeds - North Dakota

ND grows more sunflowers than any other state.

Hot dogs for lunch - Ohio

America's first hot dog was served in Ohio in 1900.

Cowboys lassoing their horses - Oklahoma

Oklahoma City is home to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.

The Oregon Trail card game - Oregon

Many pioneers traveled from Independence, MO to Oregon using the (now historic) Oregon Trail.

Hershey bars - Pennsylvania

Hershey, PA is the chocolate capital of the U.S.

Circus Day - Rhode Island

Newport, RI held the first circus in America in 1774.

Sweet tea and the National Parks Memory game - South Carolina & South Dakota

South Carolina is the birthplace of sweet tea and also home to the first tea plants in America. South Dakota has the famed Mount Rushmore (a National Monument).

Garth Brooks and Elvis - Tennessee

Nashville, TN is the home of country music; while Elvis has Graceland in Memphis, TN.

Space Day - Texas

NASA headquarters is in Houston, TX.

Salt water experiment - Utah

The Great Salt Lake is saltier than any of the Earth's oceans.

Ben and Jerry's ice cream tasting - Vermont

Ben & Jerry's headquarters is in Burlington, VT.

Nerf gun battle - Virginia

Virginia not only has Jamestown, the first village in America, but it also saw many, many battles during the Civil War.

Coffee shop - Washington

The very first Starbucks was in Seattle, WA.

Coal sensory bin - West Virginia

Coal mining is an important part of WV history.

Milk tasting (regular, chocolate, and strawberry) - Wisconsin

 Wisconsin is a top producer of milk (and cheese and butter).

Coke and Mentos geyser experiment - Wyoming

Wyoming is home to Yellowstone National Park, which has more geysers than any other place on Earth!

We all loved this activity so much that next summer we will be doing a Celebrations Around The World theme!