Day 47 – Latham, New York
74 miles
Fun Facts about Latham:
Latham is a hamlet, which means that it is not a city, like Columbus, or even a town or a
village. It is a community or neighborhood that is part of another town. You could compare
it to the neighborhood of Franklinton, which is part of our City of Columbus. Latham is part
of a town called Colonie, which is a suburb of Albany, the capital city of New York.
The hamlet of Latham is located between the Hudson River and Mohawk River in upper
New York State. Dan started his bike ride on the west coast of the United States 46 days
ago. Since then he has traveled over 3,000 miles – across the Coast Mountain Range in
Oregon, the Cascades Mountains and the Rocky Mountains, then through The Great Plains
and the Great Lakes region of North America – to arrive in Latham.
Now, as he leaves Latham, he will ride his bicycle along the Hudson River into The Green
Mountains in Vermont, which are part of The Appalachian Mountain Range. The
Appalachian Mountain Range includes The Green Mountains and also The Catskills
Mountains in New York State and The White Mountains in New Hampshire. Here is a map
to show you http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/nalnd.htm
Activities for Children:
Even young children can begin to learn about position, direction and mapping. You can
help your child understand positional words by teaching them words like "above'' and
"below" in a natural way when you talk with them or give them directions. When picking up
toys to put away, for example, you can say, "Please put your toy into the basket on the
"right.'' Right and left are as much directional terms as north, south, east, and west.
You can show your child direction by using your home as a reference point. Maybe you can
see the sun rising in the morning through a bedroom window that faces east and setting at
night through a kitchen window on the west. Playing games can reinforce their knowledge.
Once they have their directional bearings, you can hide an object, then give them directions
to its location: "Two steps to the north, three steps west. . .''
For more activities that can help you build your child’s understanding of geography, visit
http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Geography/location.html