The Books:
We began by reading L is for Lincoln and then Bean used the information she learned to make a notebook page for her United States scrapbook.
I read the kids Country Crossing, for our Illinois picture book. While the setting of the book is in Illinois, the book is about trains and not the state... my 5 year old son did not complain. American Girl Molly is an Illinoisan, so Bean also read some of her books as well.
We also taught the kids about Illinois using the Our United States of America: Catholic Social Studies textbook.
The Food:
We enjoyed some deep dish pizza straight from Old Chicago for our Illinois food. I think we studied Illinois about the time that meals from our friends were running out after the birth of Baby Peanut.
The Craft:
Good ole Abe Lincoln spent the majority of his life living in Illinois and rests there in Springfield, IL. Because of his many ties to the state we spent an afternoon playing with Lincoln Logs, which were named after Abraham, who was born in a one room log cabin.
We are moving on to Alabama next!