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’. 



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!

 

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?