Massachusetts: Facts & Fun

Massachusetts is in New England and a lot of American history started there. We read about the first Thanskgiving, Paul Revere’s ride and more!

Facts about Massachusetts:

• Capital: Boston
• Nickname: The Bay State
• Statehood: February 6, 1788 (7th)
• Motto: By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.
• Bird: Chickadee
• Highest Point: Mt. Greylock

Children’s Books by Massachusetts authors that we read:

• Theodor Seuss Geisel (best known as Dr. Seuss) is from Massachusetts. We read a lot of Dr. Seuss books. I love, “And to Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street,” “Green Eggs and Ham,” and “The Cat in the Hat.”
• M is for Mayflower by Margot Theis Raven. This is a Massachusetts alphabet book that tells about the many things Massachusetts is known for including the first Thanksgiving, Paul Revere, and Boston Baked Beans.
• Curious George Books by H.A. Rey. Curious George is one of my favorite children’s book characters and the books were written by Massachusetts author H.A. Rey. George is a little monkey who gets into a lot of trouble because he always wants to explore.
• Peter Cottontail by Thornton Burgess. This is a classic story about the Easter Bunny.

Fun things I learned about Massachusetts:

• Basketball was invented in Massachusetts.
• President John F. Kennedy was from Massachusetts.
• The plastic pink lawn flamingo was invented in Massachusetts (and I learned to draw the flamingo).
• Emily Dickinson, the poet, was from Massachusetts and we read many of her poems.

Dunkin’ Donuts Breakfast:

Mom let me do an “easy meal” for Massachusetts as she just had my baby sister a few weeks ago. When I asked friends from Massachusetts about their state’s foods, they all mentioned chowder (which I made earlier) and Dunkin’ Donuts! So, we went to Dunkin’ Donuts for Breakfast and I enjoyed a Boston Creme donut. It was delicious, but I still like Lamar’s (Kansas City donuts) better.

Dunkin' Donuts!

Massachusetts: Sorghum Making

This fall, my family attended the Fall Festival at Missouri Town 1855. While we were there we watched sorghum making, learned about the process, tasted the sorghum, and ate sorghum cookies! Sorghum is made in Massachusetts (and many other states as well)!

First, the workers harvested the sorghum cane (grown at Missouri Town). I was able to taste the sorghum plant – it was sweet and it is similar to sugar cane. One plant was taller than my dad! Sorghum tastes a little stronger than honey, but not as strong as molasses. Then, they ran the sorghum cane through a horse-operated mill where it was crushed and the juices were collected in a bucket. Then it is poured into a pan and strained to remove any pieces of the plant that might be in the juice. Then, they boiled the sorghum to get all the water to evaporate. Once the juice is “just right” they cook the syrup over a fire until it is sorghum molasses.  The sorghum is used in baking (I loved the sorghum cookies) and as a topping (like syrup).

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