Idaho

 Before we started this unit, I could've told you that Idaho is known for potatoes. Full stop. And while we did enjoy learning of the existence of the Potato Museum, learning about native peoples and the natural wonders of Idaho (including Shoshone Falls, Craters of the Moon National Monument, and a corner of Yellowstone) was eye opening.

Books:

• The Skydiving Beavers, Susan Wood

• Can talk about Yellowstone

• The Nez Perce, Stefanie Takacs

• Seeking Freedom, Heather Schwartz

• Kaya American Girl book is about a Nez Perce girl

• Best Friends, Loretta Krupinski

• P is for Potato: An Idaho Alphabet by Stan and Joy Steiner

• Sacagawea by Liselotte Erdrich

• Idaho (A True Book: My United States) by Melissa McDaniel

• Yellowstone National Park (Rookie National Parks) by Audra Wallace

• The Nez Perce by Viriginia Driving Hawk Sneve

• The Nez Perce by Petra Press

• Shoshone by Katie Lajiness

Art Project:

Shoshone Falls, ID

The kids decided to depict Shoshone Falls for their Idaho art project. The falls apparently are actually taller than Niagara Falls and the photos and images we saw were very impressive. They especially loved how frequently a rainbow appears in the foam at the bottom of the falls. Projects were completed with a combination of oil pastels (the hills and plants, the rocks, the rainbow, and the wavy white lines in the water) and then watercolor added for sky and various bodies of water.