Join us on an educational adventure through each state in the USA! Each post in this series focuses on one state, and includes a regional recipe from that state. This is a fun way to get your kids involved in cooking, as well as learn a bit about United States geography! The post also includes a link to the featured state’s website, where you can learn more about the state. We also include free forms that you can download and print to use along the journey. Geography has never been so delicious!

Make sure to check back each week for the next post!

Did you know that the word Colorado means “colored red” in Spanish? Because the Colorado River flows through canyons with red stone, the river water takes on a reddish-tint and is the reason the river was originally named Colorado.

This recipe is a fun way to celebrate the color red! Your kids are going to love this!

COLORADO Red Velvet Cake

What You Will Need:

• 2-1/2 cups Flour


• 1-1/2 cups Sugar


• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda


• 1 teaspoon Fine Salt


• 1 teaspoon Cocoa Powder


• 1-1/2 cups Vegetable Oil


• 1 cup Buttermilk, at room temperature


• 2 large Eggs


• 2 tablespoons Red Food Coloring


• 1 teaspoon White Distilled Vinegar


• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract


• 1 tub Cream Cheese Frosting


• 2 Large Mixing Bowls
  
• 3 Cake Pans, 9″ x 1-1/2″

What You Do:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.


• Lightly oil and flour the three cake pans.


• In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.


• In a second large mixing bowl, combine the liquid ingredients: oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.


• Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients and use a fork to combine the mixture. You only need to stir until the dry ingredients are wet and the batter is formed.


• Pour a third of the batter into each of the three cake pans.


• Bake the cakes for around 30 minutes, or until the cake begins to pull away from the side of the pans and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. TIP: You may want to rotate the pans in the oven halfway through baking to ensure each cake is baked evenly.


• When the cakes are done, remove them from the oven, then remove them from the pans and place them on a cooling rack. To remove the cakes from the pan, run a knife around the edges of the cake, then tip the cake pan upside down gently until the cake slips out. Make sure to cool the cakes right-side up (the rounded side facing up).


• When the cakes are completely cooled, place the first cake rounded-side down on a plate, and frost with the cream cheese frosting to about 1/4″ to 1/2″ thick of frosting.


• Place the second cake, rounded-side down, on top of the first frosted cake, and frost it – again to about 1/4″ to 1/2″ thick of frosting.


• Place the third cake, rounded-side up, on top and continue frosting until the entire cake is frosted.


• Serve and enjoy!

Variations:

• This extremely moist cake is absolutely delicious when cold! We like to put the completed cake in the refrigerator for a few hours before eating. Yum!


• If you don’t want to take the time to make a three-layer cake, you can use a rectangular cake pan and make a single layer cake instead. We simply put all the dry ingredients directly into the cake pan (no need to grease or flour the pan first). After all the dry ingredients are combined, add the wet ingredients, one at a time, directly to the cake pan. Use a fork to make sure all the dry ingredients are moist, then place the cake pan in the oven. Bake the cake for 35 minutes, and when it has cooled, frost it directly in the pan! This technique prevents having to use multiple bowls and cake pans – it’s all made right in the one cake pan! NOTE: Because the vinegar and baking soda react and cause the cake to rise, we have found that you need to put the cake in the oven within minutes of mixing the dry and wet ingredients. If you wait too long, the carbon dioxide produced when these two ingredients mix, will have dissipated and your cake won’t rise.

Colorado State Information – Click this link to learn more about Colorado attractions, activities, and to request free brochures, maps, and so much more!

US Geography Journal Pages – Use these journal pages to create a geography journal as you collect information about each state.

Colorado Outline Map – Use this state map to label capitals, major rivers and lakes, and other areas of interest. Draw a star on the place you would most like to visit in this state!

United States Outline Map – Use this USA map to track your journey as you “eat your way across the USA”! Color in each state that you’ve tried one of recipes for.

• The United States Cook Book – Take a Tasty Tour of America’s 50 States, and learn a lot of United States geography along the way! (PLEASE NOTE: The recipe featured above is not included in this book.)


• US History Cook Book – Serve up a heaping lesson of history with delicious recipes from our nation’s past… from the pilgrims’ first feast to today’s high-tech, low-fat fare.


• Maps of the United States – This reproducible book contains geopolitical maps of each of the fifty states; political maps of the six regions; and political, physical, and thematic maps of the United States. You’ll also find fun facts, geography bee-type questions, and review pages.


• DK State-by-State Atlas – More than an atlas, this book shows and tells young geographers who, what, when, where, and why.


• The Geography Book – From finding directions by the stars, to mapping your neighborhood, to making an earthquake in a box, you’ll have a great time learning about the world with The Geography Book.


• Professor Noggins USA Geography Game – From rural farming communities to urban cities, from snow-capped mountains to tropical islands, this game covers both the natural and political geography of the United States. Learn about the states, cities, and natural geographical wonders that make this country such an interesting place to visit.


• State by State Card Game – Learning about United States geography is made fun and memorable with this unique deck of cards!


• GeoPuzzle USA Puzzle – GeoPuzzles provide a hands-on approach to learning geography.

Make sure to check back next week for the next state in this series!

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It’s been a blustery, rainy, windy Fall day here in Minnesota. We’ve been stuck inside all day, with only dreams of swimming and basking in the sun.

With three very active young boys, and the inclement weather outside, I needed to find something “new and different” for them to do inside today. I decided to introduce them to the Fun Fly Stick. This simple gadget turned our entire afternoon into an absolute blast!

Upon opening the Fun Fly Stick, I got first dibs, and was able to show my boys the magic of flying the metallic butterfly. Oooo’s and aaah’s all around! Immediately upon seeing the butterfly levitate in midair, my kids were trying to figure out how this gadget works. “It’s static electricity!” shouted my hands-on 10 year old. “It’s electro-magnetism!” stated my scientifically minded 12 year old. “It’s magic!” said my imaginative 8 year old (ah… the precious moments of childhood). “Let’s take it apart to see how it works!” they all said in unison – reverse engineering at it’s finest!

Before I let my kids disassemble their new “toy”, I encouraged them to experiment with it first. They decided to try the Fly Stick with balloons (one of my kids was sure the Fly Stick ran on static electricity and was certain the balloon would react the same way the metallic objects had). After the balloon experiments, they decided to put aluminum foil around the end of the Fly Stick to see what would happen. After serveral experiments with the alumnium foil, they moved on to their hair. Yes… their hair! They thought they would be able to raise their hair until it was standing straight up! Don’t you just love the inquisitive minds of young children?

Through all the experiments of this afternoon, my kids were able to create “lightening bolts” of metal by having the butterfly object zip and zap between the Fun Fly Stick and their arms. My kids even found a way to see colored “arcs” from the Fly Stick to their arms. They also placed the metallic pieces on our marble table and were able to charge these pieces to see colorful sparks – “Wow! Look at the colors!” exclaimed one son; “OH, did you see the SIZE of that spark?!?” yelled another; “I smell ozone!” declared the third. Rest assured, my kids were completely supervised and safe – the Fun Fly Stick causes no harm (just lots of fun).

We just received the Fun Fly Stick, so I have reservations about letting my kids disassemble it to see how it works… even though I know this is how they learn. I guess if they can figure out the inner workings of this gadget, and learn something along the way, then the price we paid for the toy is worth it.

My husband works in design engineering, and has not yet seen the Fun Fly Stick in action. My kids are planning a presentation for their Dad when he gets home. They are excited to show him what they’ve learned…. then they are looking forward to the disassembly to reverse engineer this gadget.

I am thrilled with this toy and all the “tinkering” it has presented today. I’ve enjoyed watching my kids experiment and play, and especially like the fact they wanted to figure out how this gadget works. They have asked me to purchase two more Fun Fly Sticks so they each have one… as they have now devised a game to play and it requires each of them to have their own levitation wands (think Harry Potter and the Snitch).

Creativity.
Reverse engineering.
Childhood.
The mind of a child is amazing….

Oh, I almost forgot! You’re probably wondering what the results were of the balloon, aluminum foil, and hair experiments with the Fun Fly Stick. Well, I guess you’ll have to buy one for YOUR kids and experiment for yourself. I promise, you won’t be disappointed.

Final update: My husband came home and was enthralled by our sons demonstration of the Fun Fly Stick. I think he’s secretly planning to bring it to work to show all his engineering collegues. I hope we get to see it again someday.