Eight For Each State - Vermont | Your Morning Basket

Welcome to the Eight For Each State US Geography tour. I am so glad you are joining us.

Vermont is such a fascinating state for so many reasons. The healthiest state in the country is full of outdoor lovers and dry-humor comedians.

We mostly enjoyed Vermont because they have perhaps the best inspired state food yet! Come along with us and enjoy The Green Mountain State with these great resources.

1. M is for Maple Syrup by Cynthia Furlong Reynolds

My girls do not think you can begin any state study without one of these books. They are truly fabulous and offer so many (26 or more) great jumping off points for further study. They usually include several state symbols, famous people, interesting places, and food.

If you don’t have M is for Maple on hand check out this video by the US Embassy in Vienna. It also offers a good overview of the state.

2. Notebooking pages and Resources

If you are just joining us for our US Geography tour, here are a few of the resources that we use, have used, or plan to use for future states.

US Embassy at Vienna State Videos – 31 state videos
Socratica Visit the States Videos – 20 states in alphabetical order up to Maryland
State by State Alphabet Books – The discover America series is by far the most entertaining of all the state books we have read. We love them!
Hello USA series – These started out as just the non fiction book I thought we needed to complete our notebooking pages. They have become what my daughter reaches for first. She knows where to find the state song, recipe and fun places to visit.
Enchanted Homescholing Mom State Series – Sarah Joan is loving these notebooking pages. They are a great middle ground between just plain coloring and the more writing intensive notebooking pages Ruth uses.
Quick Look at These United States – Ruth’s notebooking pages offer a good solid look at each state with a map page.
The United States Cookbook by Joan D’Amico and Karen E. Drummond – Our go-to resource for state food. And, you can’t have a state study without food!

3. Maple Syrup and Cream

PinVermont is the largest producer of maple syrup in the country. We couldn’t let this state go by without exploring maple syrup from tree to pancake a little more.

We started by reading Spring Thaw by Steven Schnur. This is a lovely picture book that we featured in our 31 Days of Picture Book Series. Click on over to see more great resources related to this topic.

Here are a couple of the videos we watched about making syrup.

Branon’s West View Maples – Vermont Maple Syrup Production

Far Hills Maple Syrup in Michigan – Shows great views of the newest equipment in the industry.

Now for the cream! I grew up making maple cream from pure maple syrup. I would put it in a container and eat it with a spoon for a snack. YUM! Thankfully I had a jar in the fridge made by my uncle that we used for our Vermont snack.

Maple cream is made by heating the maple syrup, cooling it and then stirring it. For detailed instructions go here. You can also watch a video here. Ours did not work out. I am not sure if it was the humidity, the way I stirred it, or the alignment of the planets. If you choose to try this know that it is not easy, but even if it doesn’t turn out you are still left with a yummy sweet concoction that can be used the same as syrup.

4. Skiing

Vermont is known for its skiing resorts and famous skiers. Living down here in the sunny south my girls were very unsure of the why and hows of skiing. We enjoyed a simple nonfiction book to get us started.

Then we enjoyed several videos from the 2014 Winter Olympics. Below are a couple of our favorites.

5. Ski Pinecone Snowman

All the kids had a blast creating these cute Pinecone Snowman on Skis. Be sure to get some spray paint and paint the pinecones white beforehand. When they are dry, follow these directions.

We used felt for the scarf and earmuffs. We also used googly eyes instead of plain paint. Use what you have on hand and enjoy the process of creating. Our snowmen took the place of our Christmas decorations on the mantle. I may be tempted to leave them there all summer. We can get them their own flurries and name them Olaf 1, 2, 3 and 4.

6. Vermont Food

Just look at our Vermont food picture. Isn’t it lovely? Even though our cream did not turn out and the rest is mostly just from the store, we had a great time putting together this mini-feast for some friends who were coming to visit.

Cabot Creamery is famous for its cheddar cheeses. Watch them make it here.

Ben and Jerry’s Ice cream is Vermont’s finest and favorite ice cream. This video is a bit long, but very interesting!

We tried three different kinds. Our choices were a bit limited because of nut allergies, but don’t be afraid to try a couple of flavors your kids are not sure they will like. Have some fun!

7. Vermont Quarries

Vermont is known for its marble and granite. Famous buildings in Vermont such as the capitol and the supreme court building are made of rock from these quarries.

Take a tour of Granite mine called Rock of Ages in Vermont with this video. The size of the rocks and equipment always astounds me.

If you ever get a chance to visit Vermont, I highly recommend the tour of a mine. We took a tour while in Colorado this past summer. It was fascinating. The trucks were larger than life, the rock wall was higher than I could imagine. The roads going up and down were surprisingly not that scary.

We are putting the tour of the Rock of Ages mine on our list of places to visit!

PinM Is For Maple Syrup: A Vermont Alphabet (Discover America State by State)Pin PinThe U.S. History Cookbook: Delicious Recipes and Exciting Events from the PastPin PinSpring ThawPin PinLiberty’s Kids – The Complete SeriesPin PinEthan Allen, Green Mountain boy (The Childhood of famous Americans series)Pin PinAmerica’s Ethan AllenPin

8. Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys

PinAs our US Geography tour begins to move away from New England, our study of the American Revolution is waning. I took this one last opportunity to talk about the capture of Fort Ticonderoga.

Ruth enjoyed Ethan Allen, Green Mountain Boy by Gertrude Hecker Winders. America’s Ethan Allen by Stewart Holbrook is a Caldecott Honor book from the 1950’s. It looks like a great read! Check your library for more on Ethan Allen.

For some extra fun, check out Liberty Kids. There is an episode on the Green Mountain Boys as well as a many more on the American Revolution.

What is your favorite Vermont state study resource?



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Jessica

Contributor at pambarnhill.com

Jessica Lawton is a homeschool mom to five fantastically fabulous children. Her hobbies include book collecting, knitting, reading, and birdwatching. While teacher or writer were never on her list of Things to Be When I Grow Up, she curiously finds herself doing both, and enjoying it. This only strengthens her firmly held belief that God has better plans for us than we have for ourselves.