By

I try and use our globe as often as possible. I do this because I am way too ignorant about geography and because I do not want to remain that way and because I do not want Norah to grow up as ignorant as I was.

So, anytime a location comes up in conversation or in news or in our study of history, I try and find it on the globe. I do this no matter how inconvenient it is at the time. This means I feel like I am always stopping what I am doing and pulling the globe off the shelf. And it means that the globe I paid $60 for is getting used (abused), but at least it isn't just collecting dust on the shelf, right?

A few days ago, for example, we read about the first Sumerian dictator and the Akkadian empire he created by conquering all the city-states. We even colored a map of that area in history. We made it a point find that area on the globe and saw that Akkadia is now the current day countries of Turkey, Syria and Iraq. Till then, I had never realized the Tigris and Euphrates were connected to the Persian Gulf.

When we read stories from the Arabian nights the next day, the book said that the Arabian empire once stretched "...across northern Africa, the Middle East and all the way into India..." We found all of those places on the map and I realized that Saudi Arabia is about as far from India as our east coast is from our west. I hadn't realized they were so close together.

Sometimes I hear home schoolers complain, worry, express the fact that they need a separate geography curriculum, but this need may be resolved by simply using the globe as often as a new location comes up in all your other subjects.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only homeschooling mom learning along with my children!! :) I honestly think my 5 year old has a better grasp of world geography already than I did in high school, so I now I have to learn to keep up! :)
- Michelle DiMaio
May 2, 2011 at 10:21 PM
Unknown said…
You are so right. We not only have a globe but a big map on our wall in the hall way. I will catch my son looking at the map just because it is so neat.

Brandy aka Lil' Momma

Living in a busy life homeschooling and working part time.
May 3, 2011 at 2:58 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

By
Image
"...the child should have a set time everyday to read for fun. Begin with half an hour for first graders, and build up to an hour of reading time daily... This is an important part of the child's education: it improves his reading skills, teaches him the habit of sitting still with a book, and reminds him that reading is fun... free reading ought to be spent on literature at or slightly below the child's present reading level so that he can simply enjoy himself. The easier reading will help him increase his speed." The Well Trained Mind: The Guide to Classical Education at Home by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer
Read more

Andrew Peterson's Songs That Celebrate Marriage and Family

By
Recently, I got to go to an Andrew Peterson concert at the Community Coffehouse in Danbury, CT. My dear friend and I didn't realize the show was sold out when we arrived.  But luckily, the lady at the door showed us pity, let us pay for tickets that didn't exist, and go in. We were willing to stand at the back, but we were able to find space on a bench at the back of the hall. I knew a few of the songs he sang that evening, but many of them were new to me because I have a hard time with new music.  I'd rather sing a song I already know by heart a hundred more times than hear a new song through even once. I know it is a problem that I need to work on if for no other reason than for the sake of my poor husband and daughters who have to hear the same albums everyday for a year. No, really. A year. At least. I have been giving myself permission to buy new music for this reason. So I came home that evening or maybe it was the next day and I purchased three of hi
Read more

Astronomer Shoe Boxes for Challenge B

By
Image
  Avril finished her astronomer shoeboxes for Challenge B.   The Challenge B students have all done research and projects on astronomers throughout this first semester.  Now, students choose two (or more) astronomers in secret and provide clues to the astronomers' identities in their shoeboxes.   For instance, if an astronomer made telescopes, sang opera, played piano, discovered binary stars or Uranus, studied eclipses, lived in a simple, log cabin, or made a map of Washington D.C., you might include some of those items to your shoe boxes as hints.  Student bring in their shoeboxes, and classmates get a chance to guess who the astronomers are based on what's inside the boxes.  Can you guess who Avril's astronomers are based on the pictures above?  Hint: Her two boxes actually represent three astronomers total.  
Read more