Wednesday, September 7, 2011

16 Down, 34 To Go… {50 State Project}

Over the summer, my girls and I decided we needed a project.  And by ‘we’ I really mean, ‘I’. 

postcard1

We decided to try and get a postcard from every state in the U.S.  Since we are studying U.S. History this year in our homeschool, it’s a perfect fit!  The problem is that we can’t personally travel to each state and get a postcard.  That would be fun!  Not feasible, but fun to be sure.  But since it’s not an option, I enlisted the help of my friends and family. 

I first contacted anyone I knew that lived out of state via phone, facebook, email, etc.  Whichever way I knew I would be able to get a hold of them.  I asked them if they would simply grab a postcard, write something about the state on the back and mail it to us.  And guess what, even they got in on it and started recruiting people they knew to help us out.  Am I a genius or what?  Don’t answer that.  Rhetorical…

Many people agreed to the ever important task and complied.  However, **ahem**, some agreed and did NOT comply.  Not that I can really complain because I am the poster child of saying I will do something simple and not following through.  It’s a bad habit of mine, I suppose.  It’s not that I don’t want to follow through.  I blame it on my kids…. I have five of them, remember?  Forgetfulness is a symptom of being a mom.  At least for me.  I need reminders, people!

Anyway, I’m sure the non-compliant parties meant well.  Maybe a reminder would do them good, no?  Friendly, of course.

But as the postcards started trickling in, do you know what happened?  My kids got really excited!  They loved checking the mail to see if we got a new postcard and reading a fun fact about the state.  The steady stream of postcards has slowed to just a drizzle now but every once in a while, something will come through. 

So far, we’ve received a total of 42 postcards from 16 different states {including Washington D.C.}, and another 2 postcards from out of the country; Germany and Canada. 

How cool is that? 

We’ve been mapping it along they way.  The kids love putting a sticker on every time a new state postcard shows up.  The pic below is not up to date but you get the idea.  And sorry about the blur.  Goodness!

postcard2 

Here’s an accurate list of the states we have so far:  {I WILL have Utah once I decide to go buy my own postcard… silly me!}

  1. Alaska

  2. Arizona

  3. California

  4. Colorado

  5. Idaho

  6. Illinois

  7. Iowa

  8. Kansas

  9. Michigan

  10. Minnesota

  11. Missouri

  12. Montana

  13. New York

  14. Oregon

  15. Washington

  16. Wisconsin


 

Do you live out of state and could possibly help us out? 

 

8 comments:

Karima said...

What a great idea, hope you manage to get them all! Karima :)

momof12 said...

That is such a fun idea! I could send you one from Utah if you don't want to buy your own...
Sandy

Briana said...

I live in Tennessee, right along the border of Kentucky, girl! (Ft. Campbell, where my husband is stationed crosses the state line.) I'm a two-fer! Email me and I will totally send y'all some postcards!
SweetCarolinaGrace @ hotmail dot com

Sarah said...

How fun!! I bet the kids were totally excited about getting mail!

Lisa Garner said...

I live in Texas - so I can get you one from here!
I wish I would have thought about this when we drove back here from Utah about a month ago because we go through Colorado (which you already have) and New Mexico so I could have picked up one from there. E-mail me your address at lisa.garner00@gamil.com and I will send you one! :)

Kristin said...

You're a genius! Oops... :)

Working Mommy said...

I can help with DC (white house one maybe), MD and VA...let me know if you'd like them!!

WM

Trisha K said...

Hey! We live in the U.P. of Michigan, but I see you already have one from Michigan. Have you gotten any more? My mother lives near Ohio and my SIL lives in Florida! Email me @ wyldgirl20@yahoo.com and let me know if you still need them!