State History Unit Study

One of my favorite end of the school year unit studies is our annual day trip to a point of geographical and historical interest in our state. The whole point of the trip was to put the skills they learned all year to the test.

I had the kids take out a state map and as a family we chose our destination. Without using the internet or computer I had them map out our trip. They figured out how many miles per gallon our vehicle would travel then estimate out how much gas it was going to take to make the trip.

They figured out how long we would be gone, how many meals and snacks we would need. I had them use the grocery ads to figure out meals and snacks and estimate how much it was going to cost for food.

Our trip always included a ferry ride so they had to figure out how much it was going to cost for the ferry ride.

When we were on the trip they each had access to a camera and a journal to take notes in. We stopped at historical places here in Washington state so the kids learned about our state history along the way. During the week or so after our day trip we spent time scrapbooking and journaling about our day out as a family. It is an amazing learning experience.

I loved our end of the school year day trips! It makes for great family time and it is educational!