Mood:  caffeinated

I have always loved geography! I love to travel, and I always enjoyed learning about our United States and about different countries. I even enjoyed learning about peninsulas and islands and the difference between a gulf and a bay etc. etc. !

With all that being said, though, it seems like geography is becoming a lost art. I don't think it is being taught as much or focused as much on in the school system these days. Perhaps that is why the US is trailing behind in this area. Some folks couldn't even tell you what continent the US is on let alone where to find some other countries on the map. That's why I was so thrilled to receive the book Hands-On Geography free from Bright Ideas Press in order to use and post a review on my blog.

Hands-On Geography is not a curriculum, but a plethora of ideas that you can use to teach geography in a very hands on way! I took it with me to peruse recently while we were traveling. Sarah enjoys driving when we travel (that's a topic for another post), so I usually have plenty of reading time while sitting in the passenger seat. The first thing that caught my eye were the many ways that you can creatively teach your child about your own country and other countries from around the world. Some of the ideas mentioned included:

• How to make a game to help you learn geography.
• Learning geography by making books.
• Beginning a postcard collection from different states or countries.
• Even...using the book "Around the World in Eighty Days" to help learn Geography.

When we got home, one of the first things that I did was to assign John Allen a project to make a game for Joshua to help him learn his states and capitals. After thinking and reviewing things for a couple of days, he decided to create a matching flashcard game that Joshua could use to play "memory" with. John Allen was saved from having to design it when we found something for free that we could download off the internet. All he had to do was cut them out. It was, however, his idea and he was excited to be able to help out his brother.  Joshua loves it as well, and is learning more about the states than I could have ever dreamed of for a first grade student.

For John Allen I chose one of the book ideas. Hands-On Geography had everything that I needed. Even the pages that you are permitted to photocopy for your own use. After we get done with his present study on WWII, we are going to embark on a journey learning about various countries around the world.

Later I would like for Joshua to write to the tourism departments of every state to gather information and for John Allen to correspond with various embassies to learn more about the countries that he is studying.

I was thrilled to have received Hands-On Geography. There are ideas that we can use to teach that often forgotten subject for years to come. It was another one of those products that I would never have dreamed of buying until I saw it myself. It sells for $14.95 from Bright Ideas Press and says for grades K-5, but you can easily adapt the ideas to older students. Check out their company by clicking here or on any one of the hi-lighted links above.  Bright Ideas Press also sells many other history, geography and science products that some of the other crew members received. You can check out what they had to say about them by clicking here. Have fun browsing, and remember - Happy Homeschooling.

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