At the end of the post, enter the set of four Travels with Charlie books contest via the Rafflecopter online giveaway tool. Also, check out the kids activities links inspired by each state as part of the Booking Around the USA series.
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What is my first impression of Massachusetts? With the snowstorms and heat waves, Mother Nature works hard in this New England state!
We moved west of Boston (from the West Coast) at the end of last year and were welcomed by white-covered landscapes and frigid temperatures. The locals say that it was the worst winter in years.
My daughter and I explored indoor kids’ activities (ex. children’s museums, the aquarium, indoor playgrounds, and a trampoline center) and were excited to see New England wildlife in our backyard (fox, wild turkey, squirrel, deer, raccoon, bunny, and birds).
Then, spring came–in May! The warmer temperatures and rain have brought a stunning green countryside, blossoming flowers, chirping birds, and vast opportunities for outdoor activities. My daughter loves going to local farms, botanical gardens, parks, playgrounds, wildlife refuges, and lakes.
We are learning that the state is diverse and offers lots of history, nature, and city experiences. Within a few hours, you could attend a music festival in the Berkshire Mountains, visit farm animals up close on local farms in the Western Suburbs, learn about the capture of Paul Revere in Lexington, canoe off the sandy beaches of Cape Cod, climb on the USS Constitution in Boston, go whale watching around Nantucket Island, and walk through Harvard University in Cambridge.
A few fun facts about Massachusetts:
- There are more than 60 colleges and universities in Greater Boston
- It is a four-hour drive from New York City
- Boston is the state’s capital and is the 21st biggest city in the US
- Massachusetts is the 44th biggest state
- It is bordered by Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont
- Massachusetts got its name from a local Native Indian word meaning a “big hill place”
- Massachusetts’s nickname is “The Bay State”
- The state flower is the mayflower
- The state bird is the black-capped chickadee
- The state tree is the American elm
Yoga poses inspired by Massachusetts
Using movement is a great way to learn about Massachusetts. As children act out different activities and things to see in this beautiful state, they use their imaginations to bring the experiences to life.
The following six yoga poses for kids were inspired by Travels with Charlie: Travelin’ the Northeast (A Search & Find Geography Book)
by Miles Backer and Chuck Nitzberg (published by Blue Apple Books). Follow along and take a trip around Massachusetts!
Six yoga poses inspired by Massachusetts
Berkshire Mountains – Mountain Pose
(Stand tall with your legs hip-width apart, feet facing forward. Straighten your arms alongside your body. Pretend to stand tall like a majestic mountain.)
Skiing at Wachusett Mountain Ski Area – Chair Pose
(Stand tall in Mountain Pose with your feet hip-width apart, bend your knees, and pretend to ski down a mountain.)
Cow at Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary in Lincoln –Cow Pose
(On all fours, look up, open your chest, and arch your back. Moo like a cow.)
Whale Watching near Nantucket Island – Locust Pose
(Lie on your tummy, lift your chest and shoulders, look up, clasp your hands back behind you, and pretend to glide through the water like a whale.)
U.S.S. Constitution in Boston – Boat Pose
(Balance on your buttocks with your legs up. Then pretend to rock in the water like a boat.)
Sunbathing in Martha’s Vineyard – Resting Pose
(Lie on your back with your arms and legs stretched out. Pretend you are sunbathing on a sandy beach. Breathe and rest.)
U.S.S. Constitution (pic credit: Wikipedia) and Boat Pose
I hadn’t heard of a few places on the Massachusetts map in Travels with Charlie: Travelin’ the Northeast (A Search & Find Geography Book)
, including Williamstown, Sturbridge Village, and Springfield. I’m looking forward to our new life here in Massachusetts, where we have lots to learn and explore!
What other yoga poses could you invent using Massachusetts as inspiration?
This post is part of the Booking Across the USA series, led by Growing Book by Book. Bloggers from across the United States share an activity from their state in celebration of learning through books and kids’ activities.
Booking Across the USA bloggers:
Growing Book by Book, Everyday Snapshots, Teaching in the Fast Lane, The Educators’ Spin On It, Crayonbox Learning, Enchanted Homeschooling Mom, 3rd Grade Thoughts, Mama Miss, Teaching Stars, Fabulously First, Lemon Lime Adventures, True Aim Education, Guided Math, Primary Inspired, Surviving a Teacher’s Salary, Second Grade Smartypants, The Brown Bag Teacher, The Preschool Toolbox, Country Fun, Picture Books & Pirouettes, One Lesson at a Time, The Resource(ful) Room, Creative Family Fun, Peace, Love, and First Grade, Edventures with Kids, Africa to America, Teach Beside Me, Elementary Matters, Inspiring 2 NH Kids, Pink Stripey Socks, Kid World Citizen, iGameMom, Second Grade Math Maniac, Rockin’ Teacher Materials, Great Peace Academy, Kathy Griffin’s Teaching Strategies, Journey of a Substitute Teacher, My (Not So) Elementary Life, Stir the Wonder, Kidding Around Greenville, The Good Long Road, Kathy’s Cluttered Mind, Curls and a Smile, Dilly Dabbles, Mama Smiles, Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy Crafts, Sprout’s Bookshelf, All Done Monkey, Growing Firsties, ALLternative Learning, Delightful Learning, Kids Yoga Stories, and Where Imagination Grows.
Would you like to win a set of all four Travels with Charlie books thanks to Blue Apple Books?
GIVEAWAY GUIDELINES To enter the giveaway you will need to complete the Rafflecopter section below. That’s it! You have from 5/14/14 at 12:00a.m. (EST) until 5/20/14 at 11:59p.m. (EST) to enter. One entrant (must be 18 years or older) will be randomly drawn and sent an email (make sure to check your junk folder) on or about 5/21/14. The winner has 48 hours to respond with a mailing address (US only). If the information is not sent by the deadline, another entrant will be selected. Good luck!
What a wonderful idea! I lived in Boston for three years, and I look forward to taking my family there soon. It would be fun to learn about some of the places before we go there through books and yoga.
Thanks Melinda! Any hot tips on places to go in MA with kids?!
I visited the blog about Travels with Charlie in Louisiana. I have been to New Orleans many times and traveled throughout the state, and I never knew that Louisiana has the tallest capital building in the US.
Born and raised in the center of MA, I would agree the state has a lot more to offer than many realize. Many in Maine have connections to MA, so the children here were very familiar with the icons in Travelin’s the Northeast for MA
We do yoga here and love how you combined with icons of MA. Will be adding this to our practice and seeing if we can come up with our own connections to Maine.
Brilliant,thanks! Let us know which yoga poses you do inspired by Maine!
Love your post and all the yoga that Massachusetts has inspired! We moved from Maryland to the West Coast late last summer and missed the horrible winter you mentioned. Glad you made it through!
Oh-ah! Ships in the night … hope you are enjoying your new life on the West Coast. Really, both coasts are gorgeous. What a beautiful country! 🙂
🙂 What a cool idea for an activity!
What a fun idea – incorporating yoga into a state study! My wiggle-bug of a six-year-old boy is fascinated with maps and interested in learning about the states, and I stumbled across your blog while researching ideas to begin a state study with him. This will be right up his alley (and fun for myself and his three-year-old brother as well!). I may even ask him if he could help come up with yoga poses to go along with each of the fifty states!
So brilliant to tie in learning about a state with yoga! Thanks so much for being part of Booking Across the USA!
These are great! I teach in a montessori class room and I am always trying to find new ideas to incorporate.