Postcards, etc.

The Great American Postcard Swap is off and running!  Hooray!  Group 1 is swapping, Group 2 is starting this week, and Group 3 will start two weeks from now. 

I've had a few questions as to what kind of postcard should be sent and what should we put on the back.  Good questions.  The postcards should be state themed, meaning they should have something to do with the state you live in.  We have received 4 postcards so far (so exciting!) and they are each great examples. 

On the back?  Tell us a little bit about your state.  And about yourself if you would like.  Or just list some fun facts about your state.  You can write it by hand, print it on paper and glue it on the card, or print it out on an address label and stick it on. 

What do you do when you receive the postcards in the mail?  My kids always check the mail.  As soon as they see a postcard, they start yelling, "Moooooooom!  Mom, mom, mom, MOM!  We got one, we got one!"  If it is a reading child they also yell out where it came from.  We get everyone together, read what the card says, then find it on the big U.S. map we have on our family room wall.  I printed out a smaller U.S. map for each of the kids as well.  Found them at Eduplace.com.  The kids locate the state on the smaller map and color it in.  The bigger kids learn the state capital as well.  Over the next couple of days we learn a little more about the state.  Things like state flower or state animal, farming or industries, when it became a state, and sometimes I slip in a big historical event or famous person.  We don't do much at once, just a little here and there.  I'm amazed at what even Miss Monkey is learning and remembering.  We write it down on regular lined paper and keep it in a binder we now call our "States Book" along with the kids' maps. 

Learning Table has been posting some great resources about each state, including a link to some nice notebooking pages to use as you learn about the states. 

Caroline of river-girl.com made this sweet envelope for storing her postcards. 

Havin' Fun Yet? is giving away a couple of educational DVD's about Arkansas that were produced by the Secretary of State's office!  Fun, Fun, Fun!

Patrizzia of iCreate and her daughter are quite busy as well!

Any more ideas to share?

Alabama

Our first postcard has arrived! It was an exciting thing, let me tell you! My whole purpose in this postcard swap (besides getting fun mail) was to help my kids learn more about all 50 states. So, after receiving our Alabama postcard, we set out to see what we could learn about that great state. We found some wonderful resources online.

The Alabama Secretary of State has a neat Kids Page which includes Alabama history, symbols, fun facts, and even a couple of games. We learned that Alabama became the 22nd state in 1819, the state animal is the black bear, and that Alabama and our state, Idaho, share the same state insect, the Monarch Butterfly.

The Alabama Department of Archives and History also has a kids page which includes some nice printable activity sheets.

Kidskonnect has an Alabama page with lots of really neat links. We could spend lots and lots of time exploring there.

The Alabama Tourism Department has a Flickr photostream with over 600 photos. And on the actual Tourism Department website they have quite a few virtual tours of places all over the state. These were both great ways to "visit" Alabama.

Do you know of any other good Alabama resources? We would love to hear about them.

Great American Postcard Swap

How it works: 50 families (one from each state) will swap postcards over the next year. Each state will have their own week and will send out 49 postcards, one to each state, during that week. We will go in alphabetical order of the states. At the end of 50 weeks we will all have received a postcard from 49 other states!

To join: Check the lists below to see if there is an opening for your state, then send me an email me at adventuresandpursuits (at) gmail (dot) com.

Postcards: Please send state themed postcards and include 1 or 2 state facts in the message area. Postage to send 50 postcards is $14.

Swap Groups: There are three FOUR separate swap groups each needing 50 families.  The following lists show which states each group still needs. I will update these lists as spots are filled.

Group 1

North Dakota

Group 2

North Dakota

West Virginia

Wyoming

Group 3

Kentucky

North Dakota

South Dakota

West Virginia

Group 4

Montana
Nebraska
North Dakota
Vermont
Wyoming

Grab a button!

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GAPS Blogroll

I thought it would be fun to put together a list of the blogs of our GAPS families. So we can get to know each other a little better. Not everyone has a blog or would like to share it if they do, and that is just fine. We have such a huge variety of families! How exciting!!!


To the GAPS families: If you do not see your blog listed here and would like it to be, just send me an email, adventuresandpursuits (at) gmail (dot) com.
Group 1

The Geeky Gimper - Alabama
In the Potters Hands - Arizona
Havin' Fun Yet? - Arkansas
Let's Explore - California
Livin' in a Boys World - Colorado
Mel's Box of Chocolates - Delaware
One Happy Mama - Florida
An Island Life - Hawaii
Adventures and Pursuits - Idaho
iCreate - Illinois
Houseful of Maidens - Iowa
KC Jayhawk - Kansas
Table Scraps - Michigan
Blah, Blah, Blah - Missouri
Barefoot by the Sea - New Hampshire
River Girl - New Jersey
Olivia Jean: Keepin' it Green - New Mexico
Knitology - New York
Thurman Family on Flickr - Ohio
Unforgettable Childhood - South Dakota
Kids Stuff World - Texas
Me and the Boys - Utah
Bird and Little Bird - Vermont
Clothesline Chronicles - Virginia
The Weaver Fam - Washington
The Cute Little Bainbridge Family - Wisconsin
The Mobsquad - Wyoming


Group 2

Serendipity Mama - Arizona
Itty Bitty Wittes - Colorado
An Organized Mess - Hawaii
The Crafty Monkey - Louisiana
Something To Do - Maine
The Berni Family - Minnesota
The Leggett Family - Mississippi
A Lifetime of Days - Missouri
Our Adventures - Nebraska
Trying Traditional - Ohio
Imagine Creative Name Here - Pennsylvania
Dancing in the Rain - Rhode Island
The Merediths - Tennessee
Blue Yonder Ranch - Texas


Group 3

Two Girls and a Boy - Arizona
Kiwi Adventures - Colorado
MonkeyBoy Adventures - Connecticut
RS Island Crafts - Florida
A Few Good Things - Idaho
Give It a Go - Illinois
Deco Dollop - Maine
Camie and Matt - Minnesota
Me and My Double B's - Mississippi
My Many Coloured Days - Montana
The Happenings - Nevada
Kimmarie's Korner - New Jersey
Home of the Budds - Oregon
The Fantastic Five - Tennessee
Pluto and Back - Texas
Sunshine Daydream - Virginia
Refined Metals Academy - Wisconsin

Group 4

Mrs. Marine and the Tiny Troops - Hawaii

Quick Update on GAPS

I've sent an email to the first group. We are still missing four states: Delaware, Louisiana, Rhode Island, and North Dakota, but I think we'll be ready to start swapping next week. Yay!!! So exciting!!!

Keep checking the other two groups. They are getting there!
Group 2
Group 3

I have quite a back up list. I haven't been able to send an email to all of you yet. I am working on it. I am hesitant to start more groups yet because some states seem harder to fill than others, and I don't want to start a group that I won't be able to complete.

I did receive an email from Debbie about a slightly different kind of postcard swap that she is organizing. Check it out on her blog: Children Grow, Children Explore, Children Learn.




Also, Tanya has started another postcard swap. Check her blog, Tanya Peila, for details.

I would normally have a Wordfull Wednesday post today, but that just didn't happen. If you would like to read some great WW posts today, head over to Chocolate on My Cranium.

Have a great day!!!

GAPS 3

What is the Great American Postcard Swap (GAPS)???

Here's a quick recap: 50 families (one from each state) will swap postcards over the next year. Each state will have their own week and will send out 49 postcards, one to each state, during that week. We will go in alphabetical order of the states.

The first group is almost full!!!
The second group is not far behind!!!

Time for a THIRD list! How exciting!!! This group is already off to a great start!!! We still need a family from each of these states:

Alaska
Delaware
Hawaii
Kentucky
New Hampshire
North Dakota
South Dakota
West Virginia
Wyoming

I am really excited about these three groups and am going to focus on getting them filled and swapping. If you are interested please send me an email. adventuresandpursuits@gmail.com

Grab a button to put on your blog to help spread the word! Thanks!














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GAPS 2

If you don't know about the Great American Postcard Swap, click HERE to get the details.

!!!Update!!! I have started a list for a THIRD swap group. It has 9 states already! Keep those emails coming!

If you want to join PLEASE send me an email. Even if you leave a comment, I still need an email so that I will be able to contact you. PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO adventuresandpursuits@gmail.com. THANK YOU!!!

As promised, here is the list of states we still need for the 2nd swap group. We have 14 states already!!! I will keep updating this list as I've been doing for the first group. Thank you to all who have joined us. This has been a lot of fun so far, and we haven't even started swapping yet! If you know of any families you think would enjoy this, please send them here!

Kentucky
North Dakota
West Virginia
Wyoming

Today we are...

...rearranging the furniture. And dancing. We even moved our gigantic piano thanks to the huge casters Mr. Wonderful put on it a few years ago.

We are also watching the bohemian waxwings that are filling up our trees.

And we are doing lots of cheering. We've added quite a few new families to the postcard swap today. Only eleven more to go!!! And the second swap is coming along too. I'll post a list of the states needed for that one tomorrow.

We are having a great President's Day! What are you doing today?

Come Join Us!

I learned about a super awesome postcard swap last month but was too late to get in it, so I'm hosting my own!

How it works: 50 families (one from each state) will swap postcards over the next year. Each state will have their own week and will send out 49 postcards, one to each state, during that week. We will go in alphabetical order of the states. I would like to start the first week of March. At the end of 50 weeks we will all have received a postcard from 49 other states!

To join: email me at adventures and pursuits @ gmail dot com

If you are interested, but your state is not on the list of states we need, send me an email anyway. With enough interest I will put together a second (or more?) swap. I don't want anyone to miss out!

!!!UPDATE!!! I have a list started for the second swap! Seven families so far! Keep spreading the word!!! Tell your friends and family, send emails, and post it on your blogs!

And a big THANK YOU to those who have helped in promoting this swap. I could not have done this without you!!!

***NEW UPDATE*** The list for the second swap can be found HERE. Thanks!!!

ANOTHER NEW UPDATE --- We have a third group started. The list is HERE. WooHoo!!!
I decided to add a 4th group!  Check HERE!!!

States we need:

North Dakota


The Button: Grab the button and spread the word!!!

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Things to remember: This is a family swap, a great way for kids to learn about the states. Postcards should be state themed. You can buy them or just make them yourself if you'd like to. The cost to send 50 postcards is $14. Did I miss anything? Please send me an email if you have any questions.