2smartones Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 I'm looking for a kick-butt geography curriculum for a geo-junkie kid who has his heart set on the national geo bee. I'd rather not spend a fortune, but I'm open to all options. I think he's gone as far as he can go alone, and he knows way more than I do. (He studies www.worldatlas.com for fun, among other things.) Suggestions? The daily quizzes on the NatGeo website often have questions about weather and geology and stuff, too. Anything that would cover it all? I think the last time I had a geography class was 1989. I'm rusty! :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Another good site is sheppardsoftware which dd really likes. I am not sure how old your son is. I have recently been doing a bit of research for my kids. Evans moor has some workbooks which we have enjoyed when younger. Runkle is another curriculum. Bob Jones and abeka each have a cultural geography type course for ninth grade. There is also something called PAC geography also for high school. I hope this helps some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 The Continental Geography League starts at 2nd grade, I believe, and might be good prep. Since that's one of the few areas DD isn't interested in competing in, I've not researched it much. Also, if there are any National Geography Bee prep materials, the way there are for Spelling or math contests, that would likely be a good place to start since that's his goal. I know contest prep has helped focus my dilettante daughter ;). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 I will also add-Athena's Academy had a year-long Geography class this year. I think Beth has a DD taking it. It might be worth it to E-mail Kirsten (Kirsten@AthenasAcademy.com) at Athena's and see if it would be a good fit if it's going to be offered next year. (It might be below his level). DD has LOVED the discussion and interactive components of the Athena's classes she's done so far-these tend to be kids who really, really are passionate about the topics and love to talk about them. Even if it's not new material, it might be worth it to pay the fee next Fall so he can get on the boards and have other people to discuss the topics with (as well as in the live chats) and have an instructor who can make further suggestions. Another possibility is to look into professional/adult hobbyist chatboards on the subject (maybe the National Geographic Society has some?). I did that this year for my herpetology obsessed DD-found a couple of good fit discussion boards, stalked them for several weeks and read archives to make sure that the topics really were generally appropriate for her, and then e-mailed the moderators to ask about setting up an account for her that would be shared with me so I could moderate (and so PMs went to MY in-box, not hers). So far, it's worked well-she's learned a lot, and is actually unofficially sitting in on a college class on Crocodilians this semester (the professor is on the board, and offered to share his class notes, websites, webinars, and the like with her. Apparently he regularly records his class lectures so they're available for review later). She won't get credit, and won't be able to do the field work anywhere but at the local zoo, but it's certainly providing a higher level of content than I could provide at home. Another possibility is joining organizations. These often give access to the aforementioned discussion boards, filtered to members only, plus have periodicals/publications of interest and even sometimes local/regional meetings. Again, so far, most organizations have been more than willing to let DD and I "Share" a membership-she's the one with the strong interest in the field, but they're pretty understanding that an 8 yr old isn't going to drive herself there and that it doesn't make sense for mom to have to twiddle her thumbs in the parking lot through a weekend conference! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Maybe pick up a prep book for the AP Human Geography exam? I'm not familiar enough with the geography bee to say if there is enough overlap between that and the AP Hum Geo exam, but you could always look through the selection of prep books at your local B&N to see what you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2smartones Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 Another good site is sheppardsoftware which dd really likes. Oh, yeah... he's already spent months on that. Way past that... although he still does it constantly. It's like playing solitaire, I suppose. Just because you know how doesn't mean you want to stop. LOL!! The Continental Geography League starts at 2nd grade, I believe, and might be good prep. Since that's one of the few areas DD isn't interested in competing in, I've not researched it much. Also, if there are any National Geography Bee prep materials, the way there are for Spelling or math contests, that would likely be a good place to start since that's his goal. I know contest prep has helped focus my dilettante daughter ;). I've never heard of that league... will have to check it out. I also haven't contacted them yet to see if there are any bee-specific study materials. The site just suggests atlases and stuff. Athena's Academy had a year-long Geography class this year. I didn't know that!! I'll have to look into it again. Maybe pick up a prep book for the AP Human Geography exam? I thought maybe you were losing your mind and meant to say Human Anatomy or something, but you're right... Human Geography... never heard of it. LOL!! I'll have to look that up, too! Thank you, everyone!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 It just occurred to me that I've seen prep materials for the geography bee listed at Hexco. I don't have any experience with them, but if they are anything like the spelling bee prep products, they should be really helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2smartones Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 You folks are wonderful! I've never heard of any of this stuff! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I bought ds a prep book...something like 1001 geo bee questions. It was better than the prep materials from National geographic society. We would research any terms in the questions he did not know, rather than just study the questions. Other than that, I wish I knew. Now I have him reading books that mention geography of central America. We do use a spattering of Runkle. Unfortunately, I really don't like the book. It leaves too many questions unanswered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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