Category: Geography

South Africa Study: Day 1 and 2

Tracy4 Comments on South Africa Study: Day 1 and 2

We have officially launched into our geography study, heading first to the continent of Africa. We’ve memorized the continents, thanks to some really fun Geography Songs. Now, we’ve headed to the country of South Africa.

Day 1—We found South Africa on the map and listened to our new song on the countries of Southern Africa:

Malawi, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambiqu,

Namibia, South Africa,

Lesotho and Swaziland—these are the countries of Southern Africa.

Comoros and Seychelles and Madagascar

and Mauritius are islands to the east.

Then, we read our library book A is for Africa. And stamped our passports!

Day 2—We reviewed our songs and looked at Africa in our atlas.

Then, we studied our geography terms for South Africa: cape, plateau, and grasslands. Last, we spent about five more minutes coloring the country of South Africa for our notebooking page.

Each day we spent about 15 minutes, so I was thrilled that my plans actually fit into the allotted time. That’s always a relief!

And not only are the kids learning a ton already (more than I expected), we are having an absolute blast. I can’t wait to share the rest of the adventure with you.

 

Planning Geography: Our trip Around the World

Tracy10 Comments on Planning Geography: Our trip Around the World

I’ve been so excited (and overwhelmed) about planning our geography study this year. I wanted to get the kids familiar with basic geography before we head into Tapestry of Grace curriculum next year, and I wanted to emphasize missionaries and the need for missions.

But I couldn’t make my mind up between Expedition Earth and the lessons from HomeschoolCreations.com. In the end, I decided to morph the two together. Yes, there were moments when I wondered what was wrong with me. I can’t ever take the easy way, it seems. Always have to customize. But now that it’s in the works, I’m really excited, and it was totally worth it.

First, I looked at both plans and chose the countries they had in common. That worked out to about 3 per continent (5 for Europe). Next, I looked at the books they recommended. The ones that they both used, Children Just Like Me, for instance, were easy to decide on. But then, I had to look at where they were different and choose my favorites. Around the World in 80 Tales, recommended by HC, looked like so much fun and right on my kid’s age level. But both of them recommended atlases that were rather expensive. So I found a cheaper alternative to that with Usborne’s Essential Atlas of the World ($10.99 and available as a giveaway right now). Geography A to Z was an EE recommendation that, again, looked very appropriate for my kids learning level.

So, after I pieced together my countries and my booklist, I had the mounting task of how to merge the plans. And here’s where I again complicated my life. EE does each country in one week; HC takes about 8 days; I wanted two weeks. So here’s what I decided on: one week of geography, and one week of culture and missions.  Plus, EE comes with an animal study: six animals from each country that we study and their classifications. I love that we’ll be able to touch on some science on our trip around the world.

I hope you’ll join us in our journey this fall. I really am excited, not just about what we’ll learn, but about how the Lord will use this study in our lives.

Up next: tomorrow I’m blogging about our Art plans. Come see the fun!

Around the World

Tracy

Some of my fondest memories are of my mom reading to us at lunch time. And I’ve relished being able to do that with my children. So far, we’ve read Pooh’s Corner, Charlotte’s Web, and Freckle Juice. Now, we’ve embarked on a different adventure: Around the World in 80 Days.

My son has loved Phineas Fogg’s adventure, and I’m figuring it will be a great introduction to our geography that we will start in the fall. Once or twice a week, I make pigs in the blanket from weiners and Bisquick (our favorite lunch!) and round up the book and our accessories: the inflatable globe (so we can scope out how far he’s gone) and our colorful Geo cards (to get a better look at the countries he’s headed to).

We’ve had so much fun with our stories—practicing narration concepts, increasing our vocabulary, and creating all the warm, fuzzy memories that I’ve cherished from my homeschool days.