Wyoming and the Feel Good Box

Sathya has always been interested in where things are.  And since he has been to over 20 states, last year we started learning about the different states, their capitals, and what makes them special. Yesterday Sathya learned about Wyoming:

So we start by taking some old cardboard (usually from a cereal box), and then cutting out the shape of the state.  Sathya writes the name; I fill in the capital and other key cities if any.  Then we practice going on the internet (research!), looking up that state's flag, plant, animal, flower, anything unusual or interesting about it.  Then we finish by listening to the state song. 

We don't always get to hear the song. Sometimes they are not available.  But we do our best.  And in the process Sathya gets multi-modes of learning (touch, hear, sight, etc.), which hopefully strengthens his ability to remember.  We review the states we've learned, and he forgets some, but he remembers most.

After we are done, we take it to his room where he has a large poster board of the U.S. map (hand-made), and we stick the state in its rightful place.  This teaches him location as well.

The state doesn't need to look professionally done or even neat.  The point is to get Sathya involved and interested in geography.  In other places, people, and other cultures.

Also in an interest to get my children more involved in dinner table talk, we created something called the "Feel Good Box."  Inside are cards written with the names of our family members, along with phrases like "I feel good when____" or "I admire_____ because _________."  Sathya and I spent a day working on making the box, decorating it, and decorating the cards. 

At night each of us draws a card and has to  either say something nice about that person, or something that he/she did that day that is worth noting (if a name card was drawn), or fill in the blanks if a non-name card is drawn.

Sathya looks forward to the Feel Good Box every night, and we get to end the day with positive thoughts.