Skip to main content

What is Cool About Where We Live......


In a couple of weeks we are going to participate in a really cool postcard exchange with other daycares, preschools, and homeschools from around the world. (We registered to participate through Teach Preschool on Facebook.) We need to send about 6 postcards a week to the other participating schools/daycares/homes where we can tell them a little bit about our state and our community. I know that I would be more than capable of completing the postcards, but what good would that be? This project is an opportunity for us to learn about other places in the world, but it is also about taking the time and an opportunity to learn more about where we live.

During our snack today, I explained to the children exactly what was going to happen. (That we are going to be sending postcards, and that other children would be sending postcards to us.) Then, I asked them, "What is cool about where we live, our town, our community, our state, and our daycare?" This is the list we came up with (exactly as stated, no editing):

  1. Our town has a lot of parks.
  2. We always do fun projects.
  3. We play at the park.
  4. We have a puppy named Scooby
  5. We have 3 Subways (the restaurant, not the transportation system).
  6. We have a big city with a bunch of beaches on Lake Superior.
  7. We have cool stores like: Walmart, Target, Michaels, Dollar Tree, Big Lots, Kohls, the Mall, and Shopko.
  8. There are lots of animals in our neighborhood. Sometimes we see: cats, dogs, deer, raccoons, skunks, black bears, moose, frogs, wolves, owl, fox, snakes, birds, chipmunks, squirrels, porcupines, turtles, horses, llamas, cows, rabbits, ducks, Canadian geese, pet parrots
  9. Our town has lots of restaurants, our favorites are: McDonalds, Hong Kong Buffet, Burger King, Taco Bell, Applebees, Dominoes, Subway, Hardees, Jimmy Johns, Buffalo Wild Wings, Hudson's, Bonanza, Big Boy, Little Caesars
  10. I like to eat ice cream at Frosty Treats or Jilberts.
  11. I like to make art here, play with playdoh, color, and paint.
  12. We have some parades
  13. We have a children's museum. There is a toilet slide, grocery store, and apple tree.
  14. We have a fun backyard for a lot of playing. We can balance on the edge of the sand box.
  15. We have a lot of fun digging.
  16. We make stepping stones every year.
  17. The library is a fun place to go on a field trip. So is Moosewood.
  18. Sometimes we play sports like baseball, hockey, soccer, and basketball.
  19. There is a college. (NMU).
  20. Sugarloaf Mountain is a really, really long walk you see our whole city from up there.
  21. We have a county fair.
  22. There are lots of trees.
  23. There is a corn maze. (Not in our town, but many of the children drive to see it each year, and we usually go on a field trip.)
  24. There is a BIG bridge between where we live in Michigan and the other part.
  25. There is a really cool zoo where you can hold a monkey. (again, not in our town, but many of the children have been there.)
  26. We have a bowling alley.
  27. In the winter, our grass gets covered with snow.
  28. (In the winter) We go sledding, drink hot chocolate, ice skate, go skiing (both cross country and downhill), snow mobiling, snow shoeing, and have snowball fights.
After our snack, we opted to talk a little bit more about Michigan. These are the main things we learned:

1. Michigan has 2 large peninsulas. The Upper Peninsula and the Lower Peninsula. (We live in the Upper Peninsula).
2. People call the Upper Peninsula the U.P.
3. People who live in the U.P. are sometimes called "Yoopers" (you-pers).
4. Many people who live in Michigan use their hands to show you where they live. When you hold your hands just right, it looks like a map of Michigan.

5. The city we live in is called Marquette.
6. The capital of Michigan is Lansing.

We had some fun making hand print maps of Michigan and adding our own features.









I think we are going to have a very hard time fitting all of the information we want to share on a post card! It is a good thing that we have the internet where we can share more! (Especially because we only had a few children present when we started this discussion and project!)

Comments

Deborah said…
This is so fun to see - I wonder who will recieve this card???
Anonymous said…
I LOVE this! I am going to borrow your picture idea because I have a moose mascot that came from the NMU book store that my lil friends take turns taking home. (my daughter attends NMU) We are learning about Marquette and when I go visit her I take Marq. the Moose back and we take pictures of him visiting Presque Ile, attending a Football game etc. What great information you and your children are sharing.
April said…
I used to live in Michigan when I was a little girl and I learned that same trick about using your hand to make a map of michigan. I used to live in the pinky (northport) and then also down in the lower right of the palm (Jackson).

Popular posts from this blog

Easter Egg Caterpillars!

OOOPS! This post has moved, please click on the photo to be redirected!

My friend died

 I learned a hell of a lot from Dan Hodgins.  He was mentor, a friend, and a "bone shaker" for many of us in the field of Early Childhood Education. He was and will always be a champion for children, and protector of childhood.   I have so many great memories of time spent with him, it just doesn't seem like we had enough time. Dan died this past Saturday.  Interestingly enough, Dan and I talked about death quite a bit. It is one of those topics that isn't talked about all that much in our field, but is super important. All living things eat, all living things poop, and all living things die.  Dan and I recorded a podcast for awhile called "Shaking Bones." Dan was always shaking bones, even before I met him. To say I was honored to be asked to be his co-host would be putting it lightly. I loved recording with him. He was never afraid to touch on topics that were a bit edgy, or issues that sometimes weren't talked about much at all.  We even...

A Few Ideas With Marker Caps (As Promised)

Yesterday, I hope I convinced you not to throw away your markers that "don't work." Today, I will share with you a few ideas for what to do with all of the caps. The possibilities are nearly endless, but here are a few of our recent creations: 1) A Leprechaun/Fairy Ladder/Rope Ladder: 2) #1 if not permanently secured can also double as a rope bridge: 3) #1/#2 can also be made into a train track for your homemade trains :). (No photo available) 4) You can use them as beads for a necklace: 5) You could make them into a wind chime. (No photo available). 6. You can use them as small manipulatives to count, sort, and make patterns with. (No photo available). 7) You could use them as playing pieces in your own homemade board game. (No photo available). 8) You could put them on a wire and glue them in place to make a twirling whirly-gig. 9) You could top them with a lid from a milk jug to make tiny tables or toadstools. 10) You could make them...