Book Review: Only in America Activity Book

Summer in the United States is a common time for road trips, and it’s a great time for activities for kids to do in the car and learning about states you might be visiting on your travels.

Only in America Activity Book by Claire Saunders and Heather Alexander focuses on the weireder side of the states, along with activities to make the car or plane ride a little more fun.

The book includes a fruit sudoku game board; fun weather facts; info about some of the biggest, longest, tallest and deepest things in America; a space to make up your own wacky laws; a sports-themed crossword puzzle; cryptid code breaking (and make your own); a math game; facts about weird museums in America; a four-leaf-clover hunt; maze; dino matching; a place to draw something you’d put in a time capsule; a word search with funny place names; a quiz to find words in other words; a diamond hunt; facts about funky festivals (like an annual Jell-o fight); some fun animals, state symbols, largest balls of things, a morbid maze, a number code and a food guessing game.

You’ll also find some fun “would you rather” questions everyone in the car can answer, like would your rather drink pickle juice at Picklefest in Atkins, Ark., or be fed baby food by your blindfolded partner at the National Baby Food Festival in Fremont, Mich.?

As you work through the book you’ll find at least one fun fact for every state, and pass some time on your trip as well.

The answers to any puzzles with correct answers can be found in the back of the book, but lots of these activities are open ended so you can do them again and again or different kids can come up with their own answers.

About the book: 32 pages, paperback, published 2022 by Wide Eyed Editions, suggested retail price $12.99.

Next Plan Idea:

Road Trip Printables

I volunteer at my local library pulling holds for children’s books, and the other day someone was looking for Over and Under the Snow, a lovely picture book about animals that hibernate and those who don’t.

It reminded me that now would be a good time to talk about hibernation in the classroom, and what animals do to survive the winter more generally.

Did you know that technically only warm-blooded animals hibernate? When cold-blooded animals do it, it’s called brumation, and insects experience diapause. Whatever you call it, it’s a slowing down of bodily functions that allows animals to lower their body temperatures and slow their metabolism so much they don’t need to eat.

We Are Teachers has a great page about different animals that hibernate (or brumate, or diapause) and you can enter your email address to get a set of free worksheets perfect for middle grades. Education.com also has a downloadable worksheet about hibernation, and you can find many more (including the migrate or hibernate worksheet above) from Worksheeto.

Little Bins for Little Hands has a great free printable pack about hibernation and hibernating animals. There’s a good list of animals that hibernate in the post, as well as some FAQs about hibernation.

Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds has lots of great ideas for planning a hibernation theme, including making a cave in the classroom, painting on ice, and lots of ideas for dramatic play, writing and other activities (and there are lots of freebies linked there).

Little ones will love these bear hibernation hat printables form Books and Giggles that include facts about hibernation.

STEMHax has collected a bunch of lesson planning resources about animals in winter, based on the book Animals in Winter. You’ll find links to videos about different animals featured in the book that you can use when talking about the book or more broadly in a winter animal unit study.

The Wolfe Pack Den has a free printable unit study and ideas for books to read and other things to do (with a particular emphasis on hedgehogs, if you’re into that).

And to bring in one more book recommendation from when my girl was little, Bear Snores On is another fun one, and you can read that one and bring out all your fun bear activities, like this adorable hibernating bear craft from Krokotak.

Next Plan Idea:

Have you read?

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