Virginia, Georgia, Delaware, and North Carolina;
Massachusetts, Maryland (two M's), and South Carolina.
Pennsylvania, New York! (shout New York!!)
New Hampshire and New Jersey, (three "New"s)
Rhode Island and Connecticut:
These were the thirteen colonies!
(DA-da-da-DA-da...DA-DA!!)

This is sung to "Yankee Doodle" and is from http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/geography.htm.

These wonderful ideas were shared by Lynn, who moderates the Homeschooling With Heart yahoo group.  These sound like such fun. I can't wait to try them with my kids!

If you are looking for a new way to interest kids in history try
getting to know your own community. There is always something
interesting to do or learn, even in the smallest town or village.
Here is a fun mini unit designed to help you implement this idea.

1. Locate an early map of your town or area and compare it with a
present-day map. Look for areas that have remained the same and
those that have changed.

2. Visit an old graveyard. Begin a list of unusual first and/or last
names found on the early tombstones. Are any of these names in a
local history of your town? Are any of these names in the current
phone book for your area?

3. Visit a local historical society site, museum, home, or ship.
What  did you enjoy about the tour? How would you make it different? Name
several pieces of information that you learned that you did not know
before.

4. Preserve one or more buildings with pictures or photographs. Make
a display of your photographs.

5. Plan a guided walking tour of your town. Remember to include
places of interest. Create a map/brochure for your guided walking
tour.

6. Plan a bike tour of your area. Figure out the interesting,
beautiful, and/or unusual things to see along the way.

7. Explore the richness of the many peoples of your community or
county by visiting the library, historical society, town or city
hall, places of worship, museums, state or county fairs,
restaurants, delicatessens, bakeries, and/or specialty stores.

8. Find out about the unique contributions made to your community by
individuals and/or groups of people.

9. What does your community produce or provide that other parts of
the country would miss if your community disappeared overnight? What
do other communities or other parts of the world produce that you
could not go without? Think of the many products or services
originating in your community and those which must come from
outside.  Design a display to tell about everyone's interdependence.

10. Prepare an advertisement for newspapers, magazines, radio, or
television to attract someone your age to move to your community.
Include things you enjoy seeing and doing that someone else might
like as well.

11. Find a way to show others the rich variety among people in your
community and/or the surrounding area.

12. Find out about the local/regional food heritage for your area.
Locate recipes or cookbooks from your public library, historical
society, restaurants, delicatessens, women's groups, newspapers, or
longtime residents. Draw up menus for two meals using traditional
foods of the area.

13. Begin a collection of local/regional food recipes.

14. Prepare at least one local/regional food specialty from the
recipes that you have collected.

15. Make a map of your local area indicating on it all the community
services found there.

16. Visit a center that provides free or inexpensive resources
and/or services to your community.

17. What plans are being made for future changes in your community:
new buildings, schools, playgrounds, roads, etc.?
 As a representative of your local government, newspaper, or
citizens' group what changes are being proposed.
 Talk to someone else you know to find out how they feel about the
possible changes, especially a long time resident of the area being
affected.
 Decide how you feel about some of your community's plans for the
future. Be able to explain the reasons for your opinions.

18. Imagine you are the mayor or other town/city official and
prepare a list of several things you want to see changed and improved in
your community.

19. By yourself, or with a group, figure out something to do for
your neighborhood or community, its people, building, or grounds. Spend at least two hours on completing your neighborhood action project.

Betsy from the Notebooking Nook Yahoo group shared this fun "drag the state" online game. 

http://www.pibmug.com/files/maptest.swf

Explain the different sizes of plateaus: the largest plateau is called a plateau. To help call it "Papa Plateau." The next size is a mesa, therefore "Mommy Mesa. Next, "baby butte." and finally "Pee Wee Pinnacle."

Using four different colors of play dough create the different layers of the plateau. Then make the plateau, mesa, butte, and pinnacle.

Create the shape of your state from cookie dough. Bake and cool. Give your child  a cookie, frosting, and various kinds of candy. Your kids can use the candy to show the uniqueness of your state. Candy that works well for this activity includes:
1 - Chocolate chips for the mountain ranges
2 - Round cinnamon candies to locate the capitol
3 - Candy coated chocolates to locate other important cities
4 - Brown sprinkles for desert areas
5 - Blue frosting or blue-striped gum for lakes
6 - Thin licorice for rivers

When teaching the locations of the Spanish-speaking countries, you can have your children memorize these simple sayings:

Central America - General (Guatemala) Electric ( El Salvador) Has (Honduras) No (Nicaragua) Central (Costa Rica) Power (Panama)

 South America- Vacations (Venezuela) Come (Colombia) Every (Ecuador) Place (Peru) But (Bolivia) Children (Chile) And (Argentina) Parents (Paraguay) Understand (Uruguay)

The Carribean- Come (Cuba) Dance (Dominican Republic) Party (Puerto Rico).

Use  a map to show the countries and locations.

This is sung to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."

Maps are nice but they can't show all things exactly right,

The earth is round but maps are flat quite an oversight.

Still a map's a helpful tool, it give's a closer view,

but if you want the big idea, globes are needed too!

This is sung to "Row, Row, Row your boat."

The earth is round like a ball,

it's about as wide as it is tall.

Around it's middle is a line,

it's like a belt that fits just fine.

Half of the earth's above and so,

the other half is down below.

Oh the equator is that line,

it's really hot there all the time.

This is sung to "Row, Row, Row your boat."

Peninsulas are sort of long, with water on three sides,

islands are cut off, you see, you must get a boat ride!

Memorize the five Great Lakes,

use this trick for goodness sake.

Write HOMES letters down a row.

They'll remind you of what you need to know.

H (Huron)

O (Ontario)

M (Michigan)

E (Erie)

S (Superior)

This is sung to "Yankee Doodle."

North and South America,

Europe, Asia, too.

Africa, Australia, Antarctica, it's too.

All these seven make the list

of major blocks of land.

They're the earth's big continents.

Let's give them all a hand!

This is sung to "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean."

Atlantic's the name of an ocean,

Pacific and Indian, too.

The Arctic is often forgotten,

I know all the oceans. Do you?