Are there geography based curriculums?

[seawitch]

I haven't really put too much work into looking at curriculums so far - I'm very overwhelmed. I know I want to do Singapore maths and I'm also going to be doing some sort of packaged science - not sure which, though. (Any suggestions?) But what I'm concerned about more is the rest of the bulk. I want to basically focus on world cultures... do units that are based on different regions of the world, their stories, art, myths, foods, histories, etc.

I have another year (or maybe even two) until we need a formal curriculum and I was wondering if there are any packages that I should look into. I might have to just make it up myself but if someone's already done this, I don't want to reinvent the wheel.

Thanks.

[OTMomma]

I think it depends on exactly what you are looking for- and wether or not you want to invent it yourself. There are lots of pre made unit studies you could use, if those are what you want, and just pick the country or time you want to focus on. We have used Story of the World as a back bone to learn history and geography, we have done various literature, crafts and field trips to go along with it. I suspect are many ways to get what you want. You can also check out www.homeschoolshare.com for unit studies and lap books.

Hope that helps!

[spruce]

Originally Posted by seawitch 

I haven't really put too much work into looking at curriculums so far - I'm very overwhelmed. I know I want to do Singapore maths and I'm also going to be doing some sort of packaged science - not sure which, though. (Any suggestions?) But what I'm concerned about more is the rest of the bulk. I want to basically focus on world cultures... do units that are based on different regions of the world, their stories, art, myths, foods, histories, etc.

I have another year (or maybe even two) until we need a formal curriculum and I was wondering if there are any packages that I should look into. I might have to just make it up myself but if someone's already done this, I don't want to reinvent the wheel.

Thanks.

Packaged science, I highly recommend Supercharged Science.  It's a little pricey, but serves for YEARS and it's got its own instructional DVDs, as well.  So incredible!

For social studies, I use a mix of MBtP (Moving Beyond the Page) and SotW.   SotW has maps with EVERY lesson, and my kids by 5 know major countries, their important rivers and deltas, and all the continents, just from the map lessons.   

Moving Beyond the Page has wonderful around-the-world lessons in culture, history, foods, etc., usually centered on one book.  (For instance, we did a long lesson centering on the book "Akimbo," and learned a great deal about Africa in the process). 

I believe National Geographic has quite a few educational geography progams for kids now. 

:) 

love, p

[SparklingGemini]

This is the type of curriculum that we were looking but I didn't have any luck finding. I was kind of inspired by Little Passports but I don't think it's thorough enough for a full year.

So, we're putting something together ourselves for next year.   I starting by creating an outline with Continents and countries for each continent.  Then, under each country, I'm creating a list of pertinent information I'd like to share, information I'd like to learn, books & resources we stumble across that are a good fit, websites that have information, local festivals/museums/sites that match the country and recipes that I'd like to cook.

Since I'm pretty much working a year ahead, and have DP's support & help, we should have a nice full curriculum by next year that will hopefully last us two or more years.