HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Hello Everyone,
First I must apologize for not being more attentive to my site this year.
My reason is that I have been so deeply involved in creating new coloring books that the time escapes me.
I will really try to be better in the new year about posting more often.

I am happy to say I now have 22 1/2 books completed. When I finish Kansas
( which is about 1/2 complete) and do Oklahoma I will have all of the states west of the Mississippi River finished and 5 eastern states. My goal is to have all 50 states in coloring books completed by the end of the new year.

I decided to not promote the books until I have  all  50 states finished. however if you wish to buy a book before I start "promoting" them, you may get one directly from me. Refer to the list on my blog.

One of my other goals for the new year is to learn how to respond to the wonderful comments you send about my site. I enjoy reading your comments and appreciate getting them , but I have to learn how to respond to them. So much to do and so little time.

Keep coming back to visit ,as I will be posting new books and more comments.

I wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY & HEALTHY NEW YEAR

Visit the U.S.A.

Come on along and learn about Oregon as we have fun .

Oregon became the 33rd state on February 14, 1859.
  The Oregon state Capital is Salem.

In the early 1800s, thousands took the Oregon Trail from Missouri to Oregon. Today you can still see ruts in the roads from the wagons that were heavy with their belongings.

The famous Explorers, Lewis and Clark, stayed at Fort Clatsop, named for the local Indian tribe Clatsop.
You can visit there today.

Portland is the largest city in Oregon. It is called the " City of Roses" because the international rose test garden is there.
The whole city has lots of beautiful roses.

Portland lies near the joining of the Williamette and the Columbia rivers. It is a leading international port, with lots of big ships that dock there.
It has lots of bridges for cars and trucks too.

Fishing is a big industry in Oregon. They catch lots of seafood. Some crab, shrimp, clams,salmon, halibut and other kinds of fish

Oregon gets thousands of migrating birds.
In the spring you can see geese, mallards, pelicans and others.

The largest collection of wintering Bald Eagles in the lower forty eight states are found in Oregon.
The Bald Eagle is the American symbol of freedom.

The Oregon state bird is the Western Meadowlark.
They have a yellow breast with dark brown and white stripes on their head, wings and back.

The Oregon state tree is the Douglas Fir.
They make beautiful Christmas trees.

The state flower is the Oregon grape.
The plant gets dainty yellow flowere in the summer, and a dark blue berry that ripens in the fall. the fruit can be used for cooking.

The Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly is the Oregon state insect.
It is a beautiful bright yellow with black stripes and a black edge on their wings.

The North American Beaver is the Oregon state animal.
It has very sharp teeth to cut down trees to build its home.
Their fur is dark brown with a lighter brown belly.

There was once so many beaver in Oregon that thousands of their pelts were used to make men's hats.
There were lots of different styles of hats.

Near Florence, Oregon you can see hundreds of Sea Lions. They sun themselves and play in the water.

Every summer in June, Cannon Beach has a Sand Castle building championship contest.

The world's largest collection of Carousel Horses is in Hood River International Museum of Carousel Art.

Eugene is the second largest city in Oregon.
It is known for its good walking paths and bike trails.

The Yaquina Lighthouse near Newport is one of many lighthouses along Oregon's rocky coast.

The windsurfing capital of the world is the Columbia Gorge in Oregon.

Mt. Hood in Oregon, is one of several volcanos in the northwestern United States.
It erupted in 1907 and again in 1980.
It is the second most climbed mountain in the world.
Can you color a hole in the top where it erupted ?

Crater Lake is the opening of a volcano that collasped over 6,500 years ago. It is the deepest lake in the U.S. and the seventh deepest in the world.

Hell's Canyon in Oregon, on the Snake river, is the deepest canyon in the U.S.A.

Great forests cover more than half the state.
It harvests more timber than any other state.

There are 77 waterfalls on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge.
Multnomah Falls is called the " grandaddy" of them all because of it's height and beauty.

The John Day Fossil Beds are well known for it's well preserved and remarkably complete record of plants and animal fossils from millions of years ago.

Oregon has fifty historic covered bridges.
It has some of the largest number in the U.S.A.
Most of the covered bridges in Oregon were built between 1905 and 1925.

Pendleton Woolen Mills began making Native American Blankets for local tribes. They made un-fringed "robes" for the men and shawls for the women.
Today they make beautiful woolen fabrics, blankets and more, all made in Oregon.

Oregon wineries are generally small and family owned.
Weather conditions in the wine country is good for growing grapes for wine.

Oregon grows 99 % of all the Hazelnuts (or Filberts) grown in the United States.
They grow on trees and when they are ready to be harvested they drop to the ground. The farmer uses a sweeper to move them to a center row, and a lifter seperates them from debris. A forklift puts them in carts and stacks them to be shipped later.

Grandma Joy and Grandpappy Happy always stand and place their hand over their heart when the American flag passes to show respect and love for what the flag represents. We should all do that too.

Visiting other places is always fun.
But there is no place like home.














If you enjoyed this and would like to purchase this or any other state coloring book, go to books and order. They are all the same price  $ 4.95.
I hope you learned some things about the geography of Oregon and will share it with a little one.
Hugs, Grandma Joy

Visit Idaho

I have just posted a copy of the coloring book, Idaho. I hope you will enjoy looking at it and learning about the state while you share it with a child.

Where did the time go ??

I guess my head is so buried in creating my coloring books, I lose track of time.
It is past time to post a new book. I hope you will share " Washington" state with your little ones, since that is the next book I will share with you. Let me know what you think of it.

Let's go to Massachusetts

I hope you enjoyed the state of Georgia. I thought we would visit Massachusetts next.
 Go to " Visit the U.S.A.-Massachusetts" to see the whole state.

Visit Georgia

If you would like to enjoy visiting Georgia, go to "Visit the U.S.A. - Georgia."

Visit Florida

Welcome back !
I hope you are enjoying your visit to different states. and that you are sharing the information with a child.

Our weekly visit this week is to Florida, please go to the Visit the U.S.A. - Florida page and enjoy.

California

We have reviewed Nevada, Alaska and Arizona,
If you would like to "visit" California with Grandma Joy and Grandpappy Happy and the children,click on Visit the U.S.A. - Califorinia page.

Why the study of geography is important !

People keep asking me WHY I think it is so important for kids to study geography.
I think the best explaination was on buzzle.com

" Geography is the study of the earth as the home of people.WHERE  people live, HOW they live, HOW they INTERACT with their environment, how we INTERCONNECT.

" The geography of a region affects the living of it's inhabitants. The geographical conditions of a region influnce it's culture.They have a deep impact on the social and cultural norms of people."

" The geography of a region has a direct effect on the ART FORMS, the LITERATURE, the FOOD HABITS and CELEBRATIONS of the people that inhabit it."

All this makes the study of GEOGRAPHY VERY IMPORTANT ! Especially as we become a more global society.

Utah

I have traveled this entire country, and throughly enjoyed it. But doing research from my coloring books, visiting each state I am working on is extremely interesting, and like a trip down memory lane.
I just finished Washington state and loved it. Now I'm working on Utah. I had kind of forgotten how much natural beauty Utah has.Utah is a state you don't hear a lot about, but it is truly beautiful, especially if you appreciate nature.

" Visit" Arizona with Grandma Joy , Grandpappy Happy and the grandchildren

After getting rid of a big bad computer virus, I have uploaded the Arizona coloring book for you to see.
Go  to Visit the U.S.A. -Arizona page and enjoy.

Speaking of spring ! !

I do LOVE SPRING ! But I honestly don't like spring cleaning . I got to thinking about all the stuff we throw away when we clean, and how I was raised to "recycle" before the word was even used.When I clean my closet, if I have old clothes that don't fit or I just don't wear , I always give to Safe Nest. But I have thrown away a lot of old clothes that are not good enough to wear. So I had this bright idea, why not cut out the good part out of the garment and make patchwork quilts for the homeless.My mother always made quilts out of old clothes.So that is my new project for when I'm sitting watching TV with grandpappy Happy at night. Why not  you give it a try !
I'm also thinking of making a Video to show kids how to make things out of things they would normally throw away. I want to teach them to "do things constructive" and at the same time be helping others. What do you think of the idea of the Video ? Let me know.

Spring is in the air.

It's a sure sign spring is in the air, my freesies and tulips are blooming, and my lettuce, radishes and brussel sprouts are popping their heads out.
HAPPY SPRING !

Visiting Alaska with Grandma Joy, Grandpappy Happy and the grandchildren.

Come along and visit Alaska with the family. I think you will enjoy it.
Go to " Visit the U.S.A.- Alaska " page.

Grandaughter Jeffri

My grandaughter Jeffri, who is all grown up now with a husband, came last weekend for a vist. Her husband Gary is a Rugby player and they had a game here. His team WON ! ! Yeah !!!

Introducing Grandma Joy and Grandpappy Happy

When I decided to create educational coloring books, I wanted them to have a positive  happy feeling with love. And I thought what is more loving than good grandparents. So I decided the books would be a kind of " family adventure" featuring a grandma and grandpa with their grandchildren.
My hope is that the books will help bring families closer together and at the same time teach the children.
I am not an educator, but a mother and grandmother with lots of love for all children.

School Visit

I visited an elementary school yesterday, and took along a friend who actually lives in Alaska. The subject I was talking about with the children was Alaska, and I thought it would be fun for the kids to ask my friend Dorothy questions about Alaska.

Some of the questions were, Do you have schools in Alaska ? What do the kids wear ? Have you ever seen a real Eskimo? How big are the moose ?
The students were first, second and third graders. They were excited when we gave each one of them a coloring book about Alaska ,which I donated and crayons which were donated by a local restruant.It is very rewarding to spend time with the children.

 Now, let's get back to learning about Nevada.