Considering a Geography Year

[ByGrace3]

Next year would be year 4 of the history cycle for us... but it is also dd's 8th grade year -- the last year before high school and being a little more constricted in our curriculum choices... I have always wanted to do a geography/missions year.  this seems like a good time to do it. However, the ease of just buying BP year 4 is tempting. :lol: 

I would primarily gear this for my 6th and 8th grader, but would do a tag along plan for my 3rd grader. 

If we do a geography year, I feel like we would do best with some kind of spine and something along the lines of SL's Eastern Hemisphere notebook. I love the look of it, but really want to do a World Geography year. 

I'm thinking covering the 7 continents, using a spine and notebooking (maybe even using the commonplace notebook/composition book idea if I can't find a notebook I like). Any suggestions of notebooks/workbooks with a spine? If we did the commonplace idea, any ideas of list of things to look for for each country/continent. I would love a list of ideas. 

After the spine, I would do a read aloud per month BW style, with some writing projects involved along with narration/dictation. And then a list of books for the kids to read on their own and discuss together. Best/not to miss books suggestions? 

I can add cooking books, and projects, and a lot of games (10 Days in ...) and highlight a missionary for each continent at least-- one from the past and present (I made a list last year and think I have a missionary all continents except Antarctica that the kids could email and pray for as we study that continent. 

 

So, yes, no? Thoughts? Suggestions? I'm crazy? :)

 

[Lori D.]

When DSs were 7th & 8th grades, we took a year off of History and did a World Cultures/Geography & Comparative Religions study, with a focus on Eastern Hemisphere nations. It was absolutely fantastic! Wish we had taken 2 years of middle school to cover the whole world that way, because, we were *flying* through countries and still had to skip a lot of nations and barely touched on other areas. (Not to mention, it would have been nice to have spent some time in a second year on European and South/Central American nations)...

So, based on our experience, my only advice might be to shoot for just Eastern Hemisphere nations, as  trying to cover the entire World in one year with any kind of meaningful depth is going to probably mean focusing on 1-2 of the largest nations in each of Asia, Europe, Oceania, and the Americas, and skipping the rest. My reasons for focusing on Eastern Hemisphere nations were because: 1.) That's where 80% of the world's population lives (Europe and the Americas = only 20%), and 2.) Most high school History studies are "Western Civ" focused, so you don't get much exposure on the bulk of the world in high school.

Another plus to stepping away from History for a year: by doing a Comparative Religions component along with the Cultural Geography, together they made a fantastic foundation for doing History in high school -- DSs could really see how culture and worldview beliefs led to choices/events in History. It also gave us all a much better appreciation for other points of view in studying world events (esp. when we hit 20th century).

All that to say -- not crazy at all, and hope you'll have a blast, whatever you use! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[ByGrace3]

26 minutes ago, Lori D. said:

When DSs were 7th & 8th grades, we took a year off of History and did a World Cultures/Geography & Comparative Religions study, with a focus on Eastern Hemisphere nations. It was absolutely fantastic! Wish we had taken 2 years of middle school to cover the whole world that way, because, we were *flying* through countries and still had to skip a lot of nations and barely touched on other areas. (Not to mention, it would have been nice to have spent some time in a second year on European and South/Central American nations)...

So, based on our experience, my only advice might be to shoot for just Eastern Hemisphere nations, as  trying to cover the entire World in one year with any kind of meaningful depth is going to probably mean focusing on 1-2 of the largest nations in each of Asia, Europe, Oceania, and the Americas, and skipping the rest. My reasons for focusing on Eastern Hemisphere nations were because: 1.) That's where 80% of the world's population lives (Europe and the Americas = only 20%), and 2.) Most high school History studies are "Western Civ" focused, so you don't get much exposure on the bulk of the world in high school.

Another plus to stepping away from History for a year: by doing a Comparative Religions component along with the Cultural Geography, together they made a fantastic foundation for doing History in high school -- DSs could really see how culture and worldview beliefs led to choices/events in History. It also gave us all a much better appreciation for other points of view in studying world events (esp. when we hit 20th century).

All that to say -- not crazy at all, and hope you'll have a blast, whatever you use! Warmest regards, Lori D.

I love the idea of doing a comparative religions component...definitely want to do that! I have certainly considered focusing on Eastern Hemisphere .. . I keep coming back to SL core F but I don't want to box check this experience, I really want to enjoy it. Any details of your plans would be appreciated! 

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

I’m considering using My Father’s World Exploring Countries and Cultures for the 2019-2020 school year with my younger three (they’ll be 8th, 7th, and 5th that year). I have friends who have done/are doing that year of MFW and they love it.

[ByGrace3]

15 minutes ago, 2ndGenHomeschooler said:

I’m considering using My Father’s World Exploring Countries and Cultures for the 2019-2020 school year with my younger three (they’ll be 8th, 7th, and 5th that year). I have friends who have done/are doing that year of MFW and they love it.

I want to like this, really I do. But every time I look at it...it's just not what I am looking for...

[Vintage81]

Nm

[rjand6more]

I did this a few years ago.  My kids were younger, though. 2nd and 5th, I think.  I used WP CAW.  I heavily tweeked it.  The kids loved the travel diary.  I used a page I designed to chart religions.  I scheduled Hungry Planet, How People Live, and Material World. I used SCM Visits To Series and Geography Songs for the Geography.  I got lots of country specific books from the library.  I coordinated RAs and readers to the geographic locations we were studying.  I used Kids Around the World Cook for cultural experience. It was an excellent year. Our favorite.

[scbusf]

We are doing this next year. Mine will be in 3rd, 5th, and 7th grades. I am using Bookshark's Eastern Hemisphere as a rough outline. I loooooove the notebooking pages that go with it. We will definitely be covering the entire world, though.

I'm going to schedule Children Just Like Me, How People Live, What the World Eats, and lots of projects. Cooking, crafts, Google Earth, basically, whatever we feel like learning about.

[ByGrace3]

7 minutes ago, scbusf said:

We are doing this next year. Mine will be in 3rd, 5th, and 7th grades. I am using Bookshark's Eastern Hemisphere as a rough outline. I loooooove the notebooking pages that go with it. We will definitely be covering the entire world, though.

I'm going to schedule Children Just Like Me, How People Live, What the World Eats, and lots of projects. Cooking, crafts, Google Earth, basically, whatever we feel like learning about.

I love the Eastern Hemisphere Notebooking pages! I so wish there were something like that for the whole world...

[Ellie]

Would Apologia's Around the World in 180 Days be something you'd like?

For fun, you could do the Audio Memory Geography Songs. Everyone listens to the songs, and each person gets his or her own copy of the book to color the maps while listening to the corresponding song. I still hum through the tunes when I hear someone mention Southeast Asia or the Middle East, or when I'm trying to remember which state is next on the northern border of the United States. :-)

[Nam2001]

Heart of Dakota has a WG package that’s probably too advanced for at least two of your kiddos, but you could look over the booklist and get some ideas. I’m planning to use it for my daughters 9th grade year. 

https://www.heartofdakota.com/hearts-for-him-through-high-school.php

[Airykah]

BYL 7 is a geography year too!

[ByGrace3]

Lots of great  ideas, thanks! I have scanned a bunch of the book lists and compiled a huge list. I am leaning towards Memoria Press' Geography III as a spine for my older two...or maybe Around the World in 180 Days. 

What are your don't miss books/literature?

I would love a family read aloud and then readers...So many of the SL books look amazing, but I really would rather stick to about a read aloud a month, slowly soak it in .. (I am terribly inconsistent with read alouds and know if we stick to one per month I have a better shot of actually reading it!) My kids are great readers though and will devour anything I give them so I can have a good stack of readers for them as long as they are interesting. 

[scbusf]

Oh, use Give Your Child the World. Great book that lists so many books for around the world!!!!!!

[scbusf]

12 hours ago, ByGrace3 said:

I love the Eastern Hemisphere Notebooking pages! I so wish there were something like that for the whole world...

I know. I figure I'll make some or cobble things together I find online.

[Momto6inIN]

20 hours ago, Lori D. said:

When DSs were 7th & 8th grades, we took a year off of History and did a World Cultures/Geography & Comparative Religions study, with a focus on Eastern Hemisphere nations. It was absolutely fantastic! Wish we had taken 2 years of middle school to cover the whole world that way, because, we were *flying* through countries and still had to skip a lot of nations and barely touched on other areas. (Not to mention, it would have been nice to have spent some time in a second year on European and South/Central American nations)...

So, based on our experience, my only advice might be to shoot for just Eastern Hemisphere nations, as  trying to cover the entire World in one year with any kind of meaningful depth is going to probably mean focusing on 1-2 of the largest nations in each of Asia, Europe, Oceania, and the Americas, and skipping the rest. My reasons for focusing on Eastern Hemisphere nations were because: 1.) That's where 80% of the world's population lives (Europe and the Americas = only 20%), and 2.) Most high school History studies are "Western Civ" focused, so you don't get much exposure on the bulk of the world in high school.

Another plus to stepping away from History for a year: by doing a Comparative Religions component along with the Cultural Geography, together they made a fantastic foundation for doing History in high school -- DSs could really see how culture and worldview beliefs led to choices/events in History. It also gave us all a much better appreciation for other points of view in studying world events (esp. when we hit 20th century).

All that to say -- not crazy at all, and hope you'll have a blast, whatever you use! Warmest regards, Lori D.

DD would love to do  a comparative religions/world cultures class! What did you use? Could it be considered high school work (or maybe tweakable to that level)?

[longwayhome]

Have you already looked at and ruled out Winter Promise's Children Around the World? They have notebook pages, but cover the world instead of just the Eastern Hemisphere. There are a lot of different parts to the program, so you could adapt what each student does for their particular learning level.

[Hunter]

Have you seen Teaching with God's Heart for the World? It is a little dated, but free.

http://harvestministry.org/twghw

[Hunter]

To add a little history into a geography year, the most concise curriculum I know is Homeschool in the Woods Great Empires

https://store.homeschoolinthewoods.com/products/activity-study-great-empires

[ByGrace3]

So I have decided to give this a go...My sister wants her 3 to do it this year as well, so we will attempt this together. I would love your feedback! I have some PRELIMINARY organized thoughts....obviously some weeks have way too many books and others not enough...I would love your thoughts as to--

Which books to choose for the 6 and 8th graders? 

Which to do as read alouds vs readers?

Which books to not have my 3rd grader listen to/which would be good for her as a read aloud even if a reader for my bigs?

Any great books I missed that I need to add?

Any other input appreciated!!!

The "missionary" will be reading the YWAM biographies of that person

 

Spines:

Memoria Press Geography III (text, workbook, flashcards) (only for the older kids)

Mapping the World By Heart

Must See Places of the World (Readers Digest DVD)

Rand McNally Classroom Atlas

Usborne People of the World (3rd Grader)

Usborne World Religions

Case for Kids

10 Days Games

 

Weeks 1-4 Introduction

Around the World in 180 Days

Kisses from Katie

Weeks 5-8 Western Europe

Missionary: George Mueller

Number the Stars

Listening for Lions

 

Weeks 9-12 Eastern Europe

Missionary:???

Breaking Stalin's Nose

Burying the Sun

The Turning

 

Weeks 13-15 North America

Missionary: Cameron Townsend

Walk Two Moons

Water Sky

Navigating Early

Anne of Green Gables (older --probably only my daughter)

 

Weeks 16-19 Central and South America

Missionary: Jim Elliot

Bruchko (Read Aloud)

 

Weeks 20-22 Sub-Saharan Africa

Missionary: David Livingston

Journey to Jo’Burg

A Long Walk to Water

A Girl Named Disaster

 

Weeks 23-26 North Africa/ Middle East/ Central Asia

Missionary: Amy Carmichael

I am Malala (older)

7 Daughters and 7 Sons (younger)

Living Water in the Desert

Teresa of Calcutta

A Beautiful Lie

 

Weeks 27-32 South and East Asia

Missionary: Lottie Moon

Master Puppeteer

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Young Fu

The Big Wave

Mission to Cathay

Born in the Year of Courage

I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade

 

Weeks 33-34 Pacific Islands, Australia, and Antarctica

Missionary: ???

Call it Courage

Red Sand, Blue Sky

 

[importswim]

For SE Asia we really liked Li Lun Lad of Courage, House of Sixty Fathers, God's Adventurer: Hudson Taylor (you know, if you're going with lots of SL books. HA!) Out of all of the SE Asia books those three (along with Mission to Cathay) were our favorite, and they were faster reads. 

 

ETA: DS really liked Ali and the Golden Eagle when he read it as a reader.

[Moncha]

For Eastern Europe missionary how about Brother Andrew "God's Smuggler" 

[ByGrace3]

On 5/5/2018 at 9:58 PM, rjand6more said:

I did this a few years ago.  My kids were younger, though. 2nd and 5th, I think.  I used WP CAW.  I heavily tweeked it.  The kids loved the travel diary.  I used a page I designed to chart religions.  I scheduled Hungry Planet, How People Live, and Material World. I used SCM Visits To Series and Geography Songs for the Geography.  I got lots of country specific books from the library.  I coordinated RAs and readers to the geographic locations we were studying.  I used Kids Around the World Cook for cultural experience. It was an excellent year. Our favorite.

Would you mind sharing the page you designed to chart world religions? Thanks! 

[rjand6more]

2 hours ago, ByGrace3 said:

Would you mind sharing the page you designed to chart world religions? Thanks! 

Mine was just hand written.  Similar to this:https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Compare-World-Religions-Chart-Judaism-Christianity-Islam-Hinduism-Buddhism-1314985

With a column to signify which countries/which religion

[momofabcd]

By Grace Three, do you have Memoria Press Geography yet?  There is a World Religions comparison chart on page 60 of the teacher guide.

[ByGrace3]

3 hours ago, momofabcd said:

By Grace Three, do you have Memoria Press Geography yet?  There is a World Religions comparison chart on page 60 of the teacher guide.

oh Thanks! It's on the way! I can't wait to have it in my hands and be able to better plan! 

[homemommy83]

I have done the Memoria Press 1 and 2 with my oldest, and he read tons of missionary biographies and I felt it was great for middle school.  We followed it up with Runkle in 8th grade as I was given it for free- it was nice as well.

 

When he was young we did do MFW ECC and it was a well-rounded program, but I did skip most of the worksheets or did them orally as it was the only part that I didn't like.

 

For my children's 11th grade year I plan on doing HOD Geography and Cultures year as we are doing MFW Ancient and World programs for 9th and 10th grades respectively.  I am having them topically pick U.S History focuses each in addition to those programs for our American History credit.  I think HOD has them notebook all the through and it is mostly reusable down the line of kiddos.  It is also mostly independent.

 

Brenda

 

This year my middle grade kids are doing Rod and Staff social studies as it focuses more on geography with other social studies thrown in, and we will listen to history CDs in our van on trips for history.  

 

Brenda

[mama25angels]

Bump because I can't figure out how to follow.

[nixpix5]

https://www.christianbook.com/around-world-180-days-teachers-edition/sherrie-payne/9781932012217/pd/312214?item_code=WW&event=CART

The slightly older teacher edition that contains all of the questions to guide the student's exploration is on an amazing sale right now. It is virtually the same as the newer edition. Might be good to just have on hand to guide you for a mere 3.99 plus shipping.

[Bluegoat]

Just with regard to looking at missions to Antarctica - did you know there is an Eastern Orthodox church there?  That might be fun thing to look into a bit.

[Lori D.]

On 5/29/2018 at 10:13 AM, ByGrace3 said:

So I have decided to give this a go...My sister wants her 3 to do it this year as well, so we will attempt this together.

Oooo! That will be SUPER fun!

On 5/29/2018 at 10:13 AM, ByGrace3 said:

Any other input appreciated!!!

Just a general thought -- when we did our World Cultures/Geography & Comparative Religions study in middle school, we focused on just Eastern Hemisphere, and we STILL did NOT have enough time to get much depth in any area. Limiting the study to Eastern Hemisphere (Asia, Africa, Oceania) would still be flying through the world, but would at least allow you time to dip into about 12 countries while learning about whole regions. If you really have to cover the entire world in one year, my thought would be to reduce the time spent on North America and Europe, as the nations of those two continents get covered a lot as part of the chronological History studies.

On 5/29/2018 at 10:13 AM, ByGrace3 said:

 

Since you are getting to do this with your sister and her 3 children, you'll have enough kids to REALLY make it worthwhile to include hands-on activities on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, and make the cultures and countries "come alive" for your students:
- play traditional games
- make and eat a food
- make a craft
- listen to traditional music
- once a month, watch a movie set in the country/culture being studies
- once during the year (so spread it out, 1 kid every 6 weeks), gives a short presentation to everyone on a country other than the ones you are targeting, that they spent some solo time researching

Mapping the World by Art and 10 Days game will give you some of that, but will have more of a focus on geographic location of nations, rather than a cultural focus. Here are some resources that should work for gr. 1-8:

Games resources
website: Traditional Children's Games From Around The World -- listed by type (tag games, circle games, games with balls or sticks and stones, etc.)
book: Multicultural Games (Barbarash) -- 75 games from 43 cultures; listed by country
book: Play With Us: 100 Games From Around the World (Ripoll) -- listed by type of game
book: International Games (Horowitz) -- listed by country

Recipe resources
book: Eat Your Way Around the World (Aramini) -- listed by continent/country
book: Kids Around the World Cookbook (Robins) -- young elementary ages

Activity/Craft resources
website: Education: World Cultures Activities (gr. K-12)
website: KinderArt: Multicultural Art Lessons for Kids (gr. K-12)
website: DLTK: Countries & Cultures Crafts and Activities for Kids

Music resources
website: British Library: World & Traditional Music
website: Smithsonian: Listen to Classic Holiday Music From Around the World -- Christmas hymns and songs
website: YouTube: Music Around the World I and Music Around the World II -- audio clips of traditional music/instruments accompanied by photos from that country
"Tour of the World" -- song and video that lists and shows all the countries of the world -- would make a fun first day AND last day activity for your year

Movies - family friendly
With just a few exceptions, these are mostly movies made by filmmakers of that country, or are films that attempt to capture the real culture or mythology of that country, rather than "Hollywood" or "Disney" versions of cultures. Minimum ages noted, as needed. A lot of these can be viewed free online through YouTube, Vimeo, or Daily Motion.

World
   Babies (2010) -- documentary; babies/toddlers from Namibia (Africa), Japan (Asia), Mongolia (Asia) and the U.S. (N. America)
   On the Way to School (2014) -- documentary; children from Kenya (Africa), Morocco (N. Africa), Argentina (S. America), and India (Asia)
   Life in a Day (2010) -- PG-13; documentary "time capsule" of people around the world in daily life on a single day
Oceania
   New Zealand = Waverider (2002) -- age 9-10+
   Australia = Rabbit Proof Fences (2002) -- age 10-11+
   Pacific Islands = Moana (2016) -- animated film
Asia
   Korea = The Way Home (2002)
   Japan = My Neighbor Totoro (1988); Ponyo (2008); Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) -- animated films
   Mongolia = Cave of the Yellow Dog (2005)
   China = Please Vote for Me (2007) -- short documentary
   Tibet = The Cup (2017)
   Vietnam = Foreign Letters (2012) -- age 10-11+
India
   The Jungle Book (2016)
   Like Stars on Earth (2007)
   Bride and Prejudice (2004) -- age 10+ -- humorous "Bollywood" musical modern retelling of the Jane Austen novel
Middle East
   Iran = Children of Heaven (1997)
   Arabian Nights type of tale = Azur and Asmar: The Princes' Quest (2006) -- animated film
Africa
   South Africa = Duma (2011)
   Uganda = Queen of Katwe (2016) -- age 10+
   Sudan = Zarafa (2012)
   multiple countries = Africa United (2010) -- age 9-10+
   general folktale = Kiriku and the Sorceress (1998)
Europe
   UK = The Secret Garden (1993)
   Ireland = The Secret of Roan Inish (1994)
   Ireland = The Secret of Kells (2009); Song of the Sea (2014) -- ages 9+; animated films
   France = The Red Balloon (1956)
   British/World = Around the World in 80 Days (1956) -- the original David Niven film
North America
   Never Cry Wolf (1983) -- age 10+
Central America / Caribbean
   Mexico = Canela (2012) -- age 10+
   Mexico = Coco (2017) -- animated film
   Mexico = Day of the Dead (2017) -- animated film
   Caribbean = The Cay (1974)
South America
   Chile = Lila's Book (2017) -- animated film?? don't know if this actually was finished/released...?

[ByGrace3]

12 hours ago, Lori D. said:

Oooo! That will be SUPER fun!

Just a general thought -- when we did our World Cultures/Geography & Comparative Religions study in middle school, we focused on just Eastern Hemisphere, and we STILL did NOT have enough time to get much depth in any area. Limiting the study to Eastern Hemisphere (Asia, Africa, Oceania) would still be flying through the world, but would at least allow you time to dip into about 12 countries while learning about whole regions. If you really have to cover the entire world in one year, my thought would be to reduce the time spent on North America and Europe, as the nations of those two continents get covered a lot as part of the chronological History studies.

Since you are getting to do this with your sister and her 3 children, you'll have enough kids to REALLY make it worthwhile to include hands-on activities on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, and make the cultures and countries "come alive" for your students:
- play traditional games
- make and eat a food
- make a craft
- listen to traditional music
- once a month, watch a movie set in the country/culture being studies
- once during the year (so spread it out, 1 kid every 6 weeks), gives a short presentation to everyone on a country other than the ones you are targeting, that they spent some solo time researching

Mapping the World by Art and 10 Days game will give you some of that, but will have more of a focus on geographic location of nations, rather than a cultural focus. Here are some resources that should work for gr. 1-8:

Games resources
website: Traditional Children's Games From Around The World -- listed by type (tag games, circle games, games with balls or sticks and stones, etc.)
book: Multicultural Games (Barbarash) -- 75 games from 43 cultures; listed by country
book: Play With Us: 100 Games From Around the World (Ripoll) -- listed by type of game
book: International Games (Horowitz) -- listed by country

Recipe resources
book: Eat Your Way Around the World (Aramini) -- listed by continent/country
book: Kids Around the World Cookbook (Robins) -- young elementary ages

Activity/Craft resources
website: Education: World Cultures Activities (gr. K-12)
website: KinderArt: Multicultural Art Lessons for Kids (gr. K-12)
website: DLTK: Countries & Cultures Crafts and Activities for Kids

Music resources
website: British Library: World & Traditional Music
website: Smithsonian: Listen to Classic Holiday Music From Around the World -- Christmas hymns and songs
website: YouTube: Music Around the World I and Music Around the World II -- audio clips of traditional music/instruments accompanied by photos from that country
"Tour of the World" -- song and video that lists and shows all the countries of the world -- would make a fun first day AND last day activity for your year

Movies - family friendly
With just a few exceptions, these are mostly movies made by filmmakers of that country, or are films that attempt to capture the real culture or mythology of that country, rather than "Hollywood" or "Disney" versions of cultures. Minimum ages noted, as needed. A lot of these can be viewed free online through YouTube, Vimeo, or Daily Motion.

World
   Babies (2010) -- documentary; babies/toddlers from Namibia (Africa), Japan (Asia), Mongolia (Asia) and the U.S. (N. America)
   On the Way to School (2014) -- documentary; children from Kenya (Africa), Morocco (N. Africa), Argentina (S. America), and India (Asia)
   Life in a Day (2010) -- PG-13; documentary "time capsule" of people around the world in daily life on a single day
Oceania
   New Zealand = Waverider (2002) -- age 9-10+
   Australia = Rabbit Proof Fences (2002) -- age 10-11+
   Pacific Islands = Moana (2016) -- animated film
Asia
   Korea = The Way Home (2002)
   Japan = My Neighbor Totoro (1988); Ponyo (2008); Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) -- animated films
   Mongolia = Cave of the Yellow Dog (2005)
   China = Please Vote for Me (2007) -- short documentary
   Tibet = The Cup (2017)
   Vietnam = Foreign Letters (2012) -- age 10-11+
India
   The Jungle Book (2016)
   Like Stars on Earth (2007)
   Bride and Prejudice (2004) -- age 10+ -- humorous "Bollywood" musical modern retelling of the Jane Austen novel
Middle East
   Iran = Children of Heaven (1997)
   Arabian Nights type of tale = Azur and Asmar: The Princes' Quest (2006) -- animated film
Africa
   South Africa = Duma (2011)
   Uganda = Queen of Katwe (2016) -- age 10+
   Sudan = Zarafa (2012)
   multiple countries = Africa United (2010) -- age 9-10+
   general folktale = Kiriku and the Sorceress (1998)
Europe
   UK = The Secret Garden (1993)
   Ireland = The Secret of Roan Inish (1994)
   Ireland = The Secret of Kells (2009); Song of the Sea (2014) -- ages 9+; animated films
   France = The Red Balloon (1956)
   British/World = Around the World in 80 Days (1956) -- the original David Niven film
North America
   Never Cry Wolf (1983) -- age 10+
Central America / Caribbean
   Mexico = Canela (2012) -- age 10+
   Mexico = Coco (2017) -- animated film
   Mexico = Day of the Dead (2017) -- animated film
   Caribbean = The Cay (1974)
South America
   Chile = Lila's Book (2017) -- animated film?? don't know if this actually was finished/released...?

What an awesome list, thank you!!!

I thought about lessening the time spent in North America and Europe....however, we have some friends that were Bible translator missionaries in Mexico for many years and as the scheduled missionary biography is about that, the face to face time with friends via FT and getting to talk so much in depth about that will make the unit worth it. And as for Europe, my parents have taken us to Europe several times the last few years and we will go again this summer, so it is a high interest area for my kids and nieces and nephews.

[Lori D.]

5 hours ago, ByGrace3 said:

What an awesome list, thank you!!!

I thought about lessening the time spent in North America and Europe....however, we have some friends that were Bible translator missionaries in Mexico for many years and as the scheduled missionary biography is about that, the face to face time with friends via FT and getting to talk so much in depth about that will make the unit worth it. And as for Europe, my parents have taken us to Europe several times the last few years and we will go again this summer, so it is a high interest area for my kids and nieces and nephews.

Yes! Take advantage of your opportunities while you can!

Based on this, I'm going to throw out a very radical idea that will take you out of your comfort zone (LOL). I recommend going for TWO years of World Geography/Cultures. Because, I'm looking at your other thread with your book list (in which you were asking if it was too many books), and I can see that you're really not able to touch on most of the world, as most of your books are about Western missionaries and Europe (esp. WW2 time period) focus in your book list.

Meaning this gently and not trying to tell you what to do, but if you really do want to learn about cultural geography, world religions, and study other countries, two years is the way to go, and that will also give you the opportunity to include books written by people from these other cultures and from the cultural perspective, rather than white Western/Christian perspective. I am a Christian believer, and I did include lots of Christian biographies throughout all our years of homeschooling, but I found it extremely helpful for us to really understand other cultures by trying to include works by people from those other religions and cultures. And if what your goal for this year is more about missions and North America/Europe, then by all means, please feel free skip the rest of my post. (:D

Anyways, here's a possible example of scheduling

2018-2019 = missionary / Western Hemisphere focus
1st semester
   4 weeks = North America
   4 weeks = Central America
   4 weeks = South America
   4 weeks = Caribbean
   2 weeks = use as needed; possible bonus study of Antarctica
2nd semester
   18 weeeks = Europe

2019-2020 = world religions / Eastern Hemisphere focus
4 weeks = Oceania
8 weeks = Middle East
12 weeks = Asia
12 weeks = Africa

So for your 8th grader, here's a possible progression that gets in the needed high school credits:
8th grade = World Geography (Western Hemisphere)
9th grade Social Studies = 1 credit = World Geography (Eastern Hemisphere) (possibly 2 credits = 1 for Geog. + 1 for World Religions)
10th grade Social Studies = 1 credit = World History (all of history, OR, pick a time period/area of high interest to DD)
11th grade Social Studies = 1 credit = American History
12th grade Social Studies = 0.5 credit EACH = Gov't and Economics

Or, consider going with Veritas Omnibus in high school, which has two 3-year cycles for grades 7-12. So:
8th grade = World Geography (Western Hemisphere)
9th grade = 1 credit Social Studies = World Geography (Eastern Hemisphere)
10th grade = 1 credit EACH History, English, Theology = Veritas Omnibus I -OR- Omnibus IV
11th grade 1 credit EACH History, English, Theology = Veritas Omnibus II -OR- Omnibus V
12th grade = 1 credit EACH History, English, Theology = Veritas Omnibus III -OR- Omnibus VI

Just some brainstorming! Warmest regards, Lori D.