Homeschool Review: Geography Songs
Our geography lessons were cut and abridged quite a bit this year, but I still liked the materials we used.
Geography Songs are catchy little ditties to help you memorize the continents, oceans, planets (Pluto is still a planet in the song), countries of each continent (most have several songs, dividing the countries up by region), and all 50 states (but not capitals).
Of course, after we began I frequently found myself in Costco with two boys singing loudly, “North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, Africa, Antarctica: These are the continents!”
The book that comes with the CD has the lyrics and maps (printed, not blank) so you can follow along.
A couple times a week we would listen and try singing along to the songs (we did approximately one continent per 6-week term), sometimes looking at the map and sometimes just listening and singing as the boys colored country coloring pages.
Then, once a week or so, we’d sit together with a our Children’s Atlas and look over the spread for the region and talk about it. I also checked out books from the library on most of the countries, but most of them are geared for older students and most of them are compilations of facts and figures, are not at all living books, and are overtly politically correct and meant to show the value of all sorts of religions and lifestyles. So, after the first term or two, instead of reading the books, we just flipped through and looked at the pictures and read some of the captions on the pictures.
At Christmas, my parents gave the boys a few GeoPuzzles and they love them! The pieces are shaped like the countries or the states, with the border pieces being ocean (so the puzzle is still a rectangle when it is finished).
So, for first grade and K4 world geography overview, we used and enjoyed
Barnes and Noble’s Children’s World Atlas
all of which are non-consumable and all of which we will be using again! Most of them we will even be using again this year for US geography.
