roanna Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 (edited) So I did as much research as I could before going to the forum... We will buy next years curriculum after the new year so I am trying to settle in what we will use. Here is my situation... My son will be 7 and I want to do a year of world geography so we can get back on track to do American history next year. We are currently doing SL B+C. I tend to not include enough fun things so along with using Trail Guide to World Geography (will be my spine for the year) I would like something to keep things fun with good literature at a reasonable price. My main question is is Five in a row looks like it has cute program using literature for geography but since I can't see the whole of the book do any of you know would these be too young of a program for an advanced 7 year old? I also just got Eat Your Way Around The World. Or....does anyone know of fun worksheets that could go with what I am seeking? I looked at Winter Promise , looks cute but very expensive and doesn't look like it covers very many countries. MFW ECC seems more expensive than what I want to spend. If you can suggest anything for curriculum I haven't seen let me now! Thanks Roanna Edited November 6, 2012 by roanna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugsMama Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 FIAR would be great for that age (I'm using it with an advanced 6.5). We actually pair it with expedition earth/passport usa to get extra geography practice with it, and it's a fantastic combo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acorn Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 FIAR has been fun for us. I am planning this year to use the titles set in different countries. The guide doesn't offer any geography instruction other than find ____ on a map and discuss capitals or landmarks etc. So we use the FIAR title as a jumping place for nonfiction geography or science books. (FWIW, I am really impressed with the art instruction in the FIAR guides.) Books that we have read that you could look for at the library. Story about Ping, set on the Yangtze River in China. So we watched "Wild China" documentaries, read books about China, ducks and cormorants. Madeline, set in Paris. We read books about France, built a lego Eiffel Tower, watched a documentary on the Eiffel Tower, and made crepes. Papa Piccolo, set in Venice. We learned more about Italy and cats. Other books will lead into studies of Spain, Scotland, Japan, Russia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
campmom Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I have MFW ECC and I think the Trip Around The World and Another Trip Around the World books look good to add some extra activities in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 This will give you some idea of the geography connections with FIAR. http://www.homeschoolshare.com/master_geography_index.php I used FIAR with my 9 yo last year and will be doing a bit with him this year. You're never too old for picture books! I don't use all of it, though as he is beyond the math and LA portions of the program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I don't think you can go wrong with FIAR. It is a fantastic curriculum! I agree with the poster who said the art lessons are impressive. FIAR covers all of your subjects, but not every book will have much geography to talk about. FOr instance we are rowing Owl Moon right now. There is a farm, woods, lots of snow and owls. It is a precious sweet story with many science topics to be covered: owls (get pellets!), nocturnal animals, moon, etc., but geog is not in this one. I don't want to discourage you from getting FIAR as it is my all time fav curriculum! but I do think you should know what you are getting. Now when we rowed Another Celebrated Dancing Bear we learned about Russia, Matryoshka dolls, onion top architecture, ballet, etc. It was a fine row with lots of geog and culture. There are several such books in FIAR, just not all of them. With Katy and the Big Snow your child learns about local geog with a fun hands on activity. For us FIAR = :001_wub: Cuddle time that includes lots of fun lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeindeed Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I agree with the PP who mentioned the Trip Around the World books. We used those when we did FIAR. Also, you might look at Galloping the Globe. We used it as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plink Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 FIAR is a perfect fit for that! You can see the book list including the setting of each book here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roanna Posted November 7, 2012 Author Share Posted November 7, 2012 Thank you LibertyH. That really helped. I also liked how all the themes were laid out. Is the christian supplement good also? I attempted to join the FIAR forum but waiting on approval or else I would have asked these questions there. I really appreciate all your help. He will have challenges in other subjects so I wanted to keep some stuff fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 I am doing FIAR with a 4yo right now, and I also have an advanced 7yo that likes to tag along. She still really loves the books, and I haven't come across anything that is too babyish for her. But being a bit of a geography buff, the geography in FIAR is way too simple for her to get anything out of it. If your dc does not have any background in geography, I don't see why it wouldn't work for you. I will warn you though, that when I first did FIAR with dd when she was 4yo, I quickly saw that the geography was very skewed to mostly western countries. I ended up supplementing to more equally represent countries in Asia, Africa, and South America. her is my book list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Thank you LibertyH. That really helped. I also liked how all the themes were laid out. Is the christian supplement good also? I attempted to join the FIAR forum but waiting on approval or else I would have asked these questions there. I really appreciate all your help. He will have challenges in other subjects so I wanted to keep some stuff fun. I am glad that I have the CCS. I don't use it all of the time, but when I do I really appreciate it. I will give you an idea of it from the Owl Moon lesson: On OM the little boy learn to be patient and brave....he is maturing. You read the story of Samuel maturing. Also the story of Ananias as he was brave. There is much beauty experienced in OM so you read verses that show the beauty of God's creation. The little boy in OM is learning self control. YOu read stories in the Bible of some who didn't practice self control and see the outcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roanna Posted November 7, 2012 Author Share Posted November 7, 2012 tracymirko, My son is quite good at geography. By last year he had memorized all of South America, knew by name where all other countries were. That's why I am going to use Trail Guide to World Geography and Eat Your Way Around the World as a sort of spine to guide us because I do want to cover many more countries, major landmarks, rivers, etc. My husband and I are both really into culture, and linguists by trade, so it's important we don't just do a handful of countries. I just wanted to make sure we kept some things fun and lighthearted for a 7 year old but I wanted to make sure FIAR wouldn't be boring. He still loves picture books even though his reading level is quite high. My concern was nearly everyone I see using it is for a 5 year old and under. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 tracymirko, I just wanted to make sure we kept some things fun and lighthearted for a 7 year old but I wanted to make sure FIAR wouldn't be boring. He still loves picture books even though his reading level is quite high. My concern was nearly everyone I see using it is for a 5 year old and under. Once your membership is approved at the FIAR forum you will find that many, many moms use FIAR for older children. My dd is 7 and we still use it and love every moment of it. My dd is never bored by the books or lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acorn Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 I am doing FIAR with a 4yo right now, and I also have an advanced 7yo that likes to tag along. She still really loves the books, and I haven't come across anything that is too babyish for her. But being a bit of a geography buff, the geography in FIAR is way too simple for her to get anything out of it. If your dc does not have any background in geography, I don't see why it wouldn't work for you. I will warn you though, that when I first did FIAR with dd when she was 4yo, I quickly saw that the geography was very skewed to mostly western countries. I ended up supplementing to more equally represent countries in Asia, Africa, and South America. her is my book list. Awesome booklist. I am going to look to it for planning next year. We are using Wee Gillis to discover Scotland right now. It is a fantastic lead-in to differences between Highland and Lowland cultures. I will need to check out Greyfriars Bobby too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roanna Posted November 9, 2012 Author Share Posted November 9, 2012 Thank you all so much for the info. Printed out some of the links you all provided. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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