I will admit, as I planned and plotted for this year, I wondered if maybe—just maybe—I’d tried to do too much. After all, the activities of 3 different geography curriculums did seem a little excessive. But I couldn’t help but love how the three complimented each other so well, one filling in for the gaps of the other two and vice versa.
Surprisingly, we’ve had plenty of time for everything! I’m stunned and amazed at how smoothly all of the components have fit together. Just to clue you in, Oldest does the maps from Tapestry of Grace on our magnet board; this is probably his most intensive mapwork. Then, Oldest and Middlest complete the simpler map work from Story of the World before listening to their audio history lesson, and we play Mr. Sprinkle with that map. Quite honestly, this map time is more for Middlest, but Oldest enjoys the fun activity and review.
Last but not least, I added Leagues and Legends to our geography mix. Here’s why: my son needed to know how to use a map, not just how to locate Scandinavia and Normandy. L&L, as we affectionately call it, covers the equator, longitude and latitude, directions on a compass, how to draw your own map, and much more. The storybook tells a funny, memorable dialogue among three men, Mr. Tardy, Mr. Longitude, and Mr. Latitude. It’s short and thorough, and very entertaining.
Then, there’s the activity book, which has been a highlight for Oldest. There are enough activities to work one a week for about half the year. Some of the activities include toilet paper roll puppets for the characters, drawing a map of your room or neighborhood, coloring the different points on a compass, making your own compass, etc. And best of all, most of the activities are things he can complete by himself with a little instruction.
Rather than one more thing to do, Leagues and Legends has been another hands-on component to geography that my son looks forward to every week.
