Should I take a road trip using this map?
Well, I don’t think I will because it’s a little impractical since this is the new shower curtain in the guest room bathroom. Oh, I know you’re wonder why I buy such junk for the guest room … well, it’s because I ran out of money after buying the new sheets, blankets, and fluffy gi-normous towels. So while the shower curtain is cheap, at least it’s soap scum free.
But that map. How funny. Yeah, I’m always thinking, “Here I am in Sacramento, California. I’m thinking I’ll take a trip down to New York, New York.” That’s lucid.
I think the only thing correct on that map is that I-80 actually does connect Sacramento with New York. Chicago being located northwest of Des Moines (uncapitalized, btw)??? Yeah, something is definitely rotten in the state of Denmark.
So, geography. How to learn it? They say that most people are geographically illiterate. I’m not sure we’re properly filled with geographical genius, but I’ll share some of what we’ve done over the years in our homeschool - the stuff I can remember.
1. We’ve had maps, historical and current, on placemats and/or covered with contact paper and affixed to the tabletop.
2. Maps on the wall. Even in the living room.
3. A large framed map that can lean against the armoire during school hours. Two-sided, with the world on one side and the U.S. on the other.
4. A globe on a stand in the living room - great for spinning around and seeing where your finger lands. We’ve also had two different inflatable globes which means we can throw it around and not risk hurting each other or the furniture … too much.
5. When reading aloud, which we have done just about every day, we used one of the laser pointers to point out the places mentioned in the book. Examples: Around the World in 80 Days - we had a piece of posterboard tacked to the wall that listed all the locations visited and then we would use our laser pointer to point to each location as the other read the list and checked to make sure that the pointer was correctly placed. We also did this with Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (who went from the East Coast of the U.S. to Europe, around Africa and over to the Orient somewhere - I can’t remember where because it was probably 8 - 10 years ago) and also He Went With Vasco Da Gama. This method would work with any book with traveling characters, whether it be about Lewis & Clark, Marco Polo, Captain Cook, Henry Morgan, Mozart, Cyrus the Great, Hannibal, Richard the Lionhearted.
6. Make a salt dough map. Each of the kids did Mexico when we were reading one of Henty’s books. It was the one about Moctezuma. I do not recommend it for history class, though Hentys are fine for pleasure reading.
7. We draw on maps. Once when reading about the transcontinental railroad, the kids drew a train, tracks, and a golden spike. They placed the tracks on the map as we read through the book and the tracks met in northern Utah. Then they put the stake on the map. We kept the map up on the wall for a few more months.
8. Map puzzles. I bought 2 U.S. puzzles to facilitate races. We also have at least one world map.
9. Once before a road trip, I bought each child a AAA road atlas and a few highlighters so that they could trace our trip in the atlas. The road atlases were saved for following trips. They did lose interest in a year or two, but it was great fun while they enjoyed it.
10. We have traced the routes of the Amazing Race. I still enjoy looking up all the places in an atlas. It’s easier to do if you tape it and then do the map work the second time you watch it.
11. We use historical atlases. We have probably 6 or 7 of these. You can buy historical atlases for different areas of the world. It’s sometimes shocking to see how areas change over the decades or centuries. The names of countries and seas change, too, which baffles my mind at times. Like the Caspian Sea being previously called the Sea of Hyrcania, which we had to figure out on our own because the book we were reading didn’t give much of a clue where that sea was. It was a mystery. BookCloseOuts.com used to have some great deals on historical atlases.
12. We have used computer programs. We had a program from Torpedo Software that we used to use a lot. We bought it back before there was a Windows version of it - that old! We also used World Discovery Deluxe from Great Wave Software. I don’t think either are available anymore. We still use our GeoSafari LapTop now and then. It’s a bit fun. And it does help to learn all the capitals in Africa, etc. Some may wonder why that’s important - well, maybe it’s not important. I just want to be able to discuss stuff with my children. If I say, “Khartoum,” I want them to know that I’m talking about the Sudan or at least have a nebulous idea that it’s in the Sahara. I know at least one of my students is familiar with the Sahel. Maybe no so important to the average U.S. citizen, but still information that may come in handy someday.
Other ideas that could possibly be fun:
1. Take a world map to the zoo and mark where the flamingos, rhinos, camels, etc., are from. Usually the zoo has that info on the little sign next to each exhibit. I think this would only be fun if you go to the zoo once a month and you only dig out the map once in a while. But it depends on your students.
2. Stamp collection. I had one of these as a child and often looked up the places. You get stamps from around the world by buying them in cheap, large lots. You don’t have to have a pen pal to get stamps from all over the world.
3. Travel. Read a book about an event, say, the London Fire of 1666 and then visit Pudding Lane and climb all 311 steps of the Monument which commemorates the rebuilding of the City after the fire. Actual travel is probably the absolute best way to learn geography, although it’s probably not practical to expect to be able to visit more than a couple of hands full (how in the world do you write that?) of countries during your students’ school years.
Regrets: I was a little too “don’t mess that up” with our two big world atlases. They both sat in the living room, but I didn’t allow free access. I should have. Who cares if it gets ruined as long as it is used? We can buy/find another. That should have been my attitude from the beginning. Now, it’s too late; my students are no longer six years old and forming their habits. We had lots of little atlases, though, that they had access to through their early years. But if I had it to do over again, I’d probably get us all our own atlas and encourage treating them like atlases instead of crystal.
