Since the exchange is amongst kids whose parents are on a homeschooling chat group, the kids are all over the country (maybe the world, but our group didn't have anyone from outside the US).
The deal was that we would send cards, but also a brief description of where we are from. Jack and I made twenty cards together (I made the card forms and he decorated them) and then we got a large stacks of books about Michigan from the library and Jack poured through them and wrote down all the most interesting facts he found about our state. Then he and Rod made a poster about Michigan, with a map in the background. Just to top it off, Jack had me make some return address labels with a Michigan flag.
That was fun -- but even more interetsing to me is that as each of the cards arrives, Jack is admiring the card briefly, and then pouring over the details about the place the card came from. Having out so much work into his own poster, he seems particularly interested in what other people have to say.
Even better, another Mom on the list has mentioned that her kids have a map of the US and Canada and they're marking the map as each card arrives. I wonder whether Jack would like to do that...
That is so awesome! I love when learning happens so naturally. For years I had friends send my kids postcards from various states and countries. As visual learners they loved putting the postcards next the map and drawing a line (or using yarn) to show where on the map the postcard was from. This Valentines exchange sounds even more fun. Wish I could've talked my youngest into participating. :(
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