State of South Carolina - Pottery and History Curriculum Lesson for Homeschooling or Summer Enrichment
How to Use this Study
This is a study of the great state of South Carolina. It’s one of the best states, in my humble opinion, but I might be a little biased. This is my birthplace.
Use this study together with your child to explore the state and learn more about it. Read books about the confederate soldiers of the civil war or make a pot of tea and practice Southern gentility. This lesson includes fun facts about the state, as well as a fun pottery project related to what you’ve learned.
South Carolina's State Flag
South Carolina State Facts
State Abbreviation: SC
Capital: Columbia
State Nickname: The Palmetto State
State Motto: “Dum spiro spero” (While I breathe, I hope.)
State Song: “Carolina”
State Bird: Carolina Wren
State Tree: Sabal Palmetto
State Flower: Yellow Jessamine
State Beverage: Tea
Famous People Born in South Carolina
Famous People Born in South Carolina:
James Brown, Singer, Godfather of Soul
Joe Frazier, Boxer
Dizzy Gillepsie, Jazz Musician
Not Your Average Al, Blogger Extraordinaire
Strom Thurmond, Politican
Vanna White, Game Show Hostess
Andrew Jackson, 17th US President
Chubby Checker, Singer
Jesse Jackson, Politician
The Manor Mansion House, Bishopville, SC
Fun Facts about South Carolina
The first battle of the Civil War took place at Fort Sumter.
The walls of the fort on Sullivan Island in Charleston Harbor, were made of spongy palmetto logs. This protected the fort because the British cannonballs bounced off the logs.
South Carolina is America’s leading producer of peaches east of the Mississippi. (Take that, Georgia.)
The Board of Public Works in Gaffney built an elevated water storage tank in the shape of a peach in 1981. (And an Al tidbit…my sister and I always referred to this as “the giant butt” any time we drove by it.)
Orangeburg is known as the "Garden City" because of its beautiful Edisto Memorial Gardens. The Edisto Memorial Gardens displays past and current award winning roses from the All-American Rose Selections.
The Upper Whitewater Falls is the highest cascade in eastern America; it descends for nearly 411 feet.
On 11/2/54, Strom Thurmond became the first US senator elected by a write-in vote. He received 139,106 write-in votes to win his seat. He defeated Democratic nominee Edgar Brown.
The SC state flag has a crescent moon and a palmetto tree on it. The moon symbolizes the emblem worn on the hats of revolutionary soldiers, and the tree stands for victory against the British troops.
For South Carolina, the Palmetto State, of course we’ll make a palm tree!
For a refresher on how to successfully use real clay, visit my hub.
- How to Use Real Clay
This is an explanation of the proper way to use "real" clay.
Start with a chunk of clay about this big.
Break it in half.
With one half, make a worm.
This will be your tree trunk.
Use a fork or skewer to scratch up the "bark."
Break the other half of the clay into 4 even pieces.
With each piece, make a worm.
Squish the worms.
These will be the palm fronds. They don't have to be perfectly even, but they should be close.
Scratch the fronds.
They should look sort of like this.
Attach the fronds to the tree. Don't forget to scratch and wet the clay when connecting pieces.
And there you have...a SC Palmetto Tree!
