4peanuts Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 After much angst over how to proceed with history, I think I have finally decided on doing a relaxed year of Geography/World Cultures for my 1st and 2nd grade girls before we jump into "real" history the year after that. I've got my geography resources selected, but would love to hear what some of your favorite books are for introducing other world cultures. ( Nothing too heavy, i.e. food, lifestyle, dress, transportation, homes, inventions, etc) I'd also love to hear your favorite storybooks or literature selections that might be good for read-alouds for this study. I am browsing the booklists of my trusty catalog collection (Sonlight, MFW, HOD, WP, LBC, etc.) but would love to find out what other people's favorites are-- from those lists or your own! Some books I found on Amazon that look interesting: The Look What Came From..... series Dressing Around the World Sticker book Children Around the World Houses and Homes Around the World Around the World Art and Activities On The Go (Around the World Series) Bread, bread, bread (Foods of the world) Global Art (MaryAnn F. Kohl) Around the World Coloring Book I would appreciate any and all ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorisuewho Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I'm doing this same thing. I purchased some of the books you listed: Global Art, Houses and Homes around the World. I also purchased: Children Just Like Me. After borrowing National Geographic Picture Atlas of our World (1978) from a friend, I decided I had to have my own copy of it despite the fact it is outdated. It is EXCELLENT! It has wonderful photographs, flags, maps, and a nice description of each country. I bought it used on amazon and the most recent edition I could find was 1994. I also bought Window on the World prayer book. After much debate for just one literature purchase (thinking I will borrow books from the library as we go), I bought Around the World in 80 Tales because is seemed the most young child friendly. I bought the Wee Sing around the world CD to listen to some music. I also decided to incorporate animal study into each area we are doing, so I bought The DK Encyclopedia of Animals. I'm going to work on basic classification of animals with my boys. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Have you seen the Letters Home from series? There are multiple titles. Here is a review from Amazon: "Check out the nonfiction series Letters Home From..., which includes Mexico, Brazil, Greece, Israel, Egypt, Kenya and India, by Marcia Gresko. The books are perfect for beginning readers and give clear information in a travel journal format. Maps, photos and a scrapbook effect convey convey up-to-date information. Included is a short glossary, a good index and information about additional books and websites." -- Teaching Pre K-8 (May 2003) (Teaching Pre K-8 ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuzu822 Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 We're doing a mini-culture study this summer and I'm pulling (secular) ideas from here: http://confessionsofahomeschooler.blogspot.com/search/label/Geography She has a curriculum for sale, but lots of free ideas in her blog posts. She uses several of the same books you're planning. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynful Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Keep it simple....don't get caught up in too many cool books. Ask me how I know. :001_smile: If I could do it over again (oh wait, I can --- that's why I had another :tongue_smilie: ) I would only use these: Children Around the World The Animal Atlas and a World Map If you wanted, Children Around the World has stickers, stories and celebrations. I might add the One Small Square series depending on the kid(s). Have Fun, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpskowski Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I'm pulling together a year long study for my 2nd grader as well. I haven't made my purchases yet, but here are a few I'm trying to correlate together. Wee Sing Around the World Audio Memory Geography Songs Highlights Top Secret Adventures Map of the Month at mapofthemonth.com Expedition Earth from Confessions of a Homeschooler - (She also has the free animals to correlate) Homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com has free geography printables Around the World in 80 Tales Children Like Me Usborne Internet Link Children's Atlas Homeschoolcreations also has book recommendations for each of the countries that she did printables. As I mentioned I haven't used any of them or even purchased them yet. I'm still researching and trying to tie them together by their countries. Highlights is sending me a list of the countries they have kits for and they can ship just the ones you want. (This will be an early holiday gift from the grandparents.) The Map of the Month are larger maps for coloring and labeling. My son loves maps. Each map is $1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandaceC Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 We did this 2 years ago and LOVED it!! :) I posted about each thing we did on my blog...books, links, etc. It is a lot of posts - through an entire year, so you will have to scroll down, but here is the category for our study: Around the World -- year long study We also got little passports from Rainbow Resourse and added each country's flag sticker when we got to it! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpskowski Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Wow CandaceC , your Around the World Year looked amazing. And I forgot all about HomeschoolShare.com. That's another excellent site for free printables. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandaceC Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Thanks! It was a wonderful year! I meant to add that if you want to see how we started things and general resources you will have to scroll all the way down to the beginning of that category. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4peanuts Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 I can't wait to check these suggestions out! Thanks so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4peanuts Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 (edited) Keep it simple....don't get caught up in too many cool books. LALALALALALA (Hands over ears) NOT LISTENING...LALALALA Why go and spoil things with the voice of reason :lol: Edited July 2, 2011 by 4peanuts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Lots and lots of books - biography books for that level are great too! If you can find it at your library, the Families of the World dvd set is AMAZING! We love, love, love those! http://www.familiesoftheworld.com/ Shows on tv - Timeblazers - great! Listen to Story of the World on cd. Find some Jim Weiss stories on cd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 We had a lot of good times using the Earth From Above books e.g. here: http://justpaste.it/3ky We would look, talk about it, look up the location on the map, make some guesses about the climate and the affluence of the culture were looking at, etc. We spent hours on it. We started with the Earth From Above for Children and went from there. How People Live What People Eat Children Just Like Me We gobbled them all up, globe, atlas, and google on hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aravinda Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Wow, looks fantastic. So glad I found this. Highlights Top Secret Adventures We started this last year, dd gets so excited about each one. Map of the Month at mapofthemonth.com - are these maps you print yourself or do they mail them to you? Just following the links through this thread has been a giddy experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpskowski Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 These are maps that they mail. I just ordered, so haven't rec'd yet. But I saw two from someone else. They are about 20 X 16 and fold into 4 sections. They have a listing of physical features and cities to label. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyoflearning Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Little Passports looks like tons of fun. I want to do a unit like this in the future just so I can get that for my kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 We really enjoyed Unicef's books Children Like Me and Sories We Tell. I added recipes from each country and a coloring page of their flag for each 2 page spread. It was a wonderful year. Oh, and For missionary focus we added Have You Heard the Good News? Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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