Homeschool tip: Geography by pictures

Quick question:  What country is shaped like a boot?  If you're like most people you thought "Italy!"  That country is so easy to recognize on a map because it's a "boot"!  What if you could see pictures in all the other countries of the world - could you recognize them?  Tabby and I just learned to map the entire continent of South America by seeing the countries as little pictures.  For example,  I don't think I can ever look at Venezuela without seeing the front of an elephant, and Guyana as it's "leg." 

Last year I invested in a geography curriculum called Visualize World Geography (http://www.visualizeworldgeography.com).  I was a bit hesitant because of the price, but I reasoned that I'd have at least 3 children using it.  Plus me.  And wow - how handy to know where most, if not all, of the countries in the world were.  (Hunter especially always asks me where places are.  I have to keep an Atlas nearby at all times.)  Each week we watch a short DVD segment which contains something about the country to help you remember it.  (Such as the elephant for Venezuela!)  And then there is a short segment about the country that has interesting facts.  We watch those one day.  Then the next day I have Tabby color the flag for the country and label the country on a map of the continent.  Then on Friday's she fills in a worksheet while re-watching the portion about the country.  (You can do lessons a number of ways - there's a bunch of things that come with the set.  Just see their website.)  (Oh - I'm not sure which curriculum set we have - when I bought it I only remember there being one version.)

After completing the South America section, Tabby labeled the continent using the picture map:

Then a couple days later I gave her a plain map to label.  It was very easy for her to do.  (And me too!)

 

Knowing geography helps so many things make more sense when you are reading about places or hear about them.  

On a completely different topic, I mentioned again my problem with my diastasis recti muscle in my last post.  (Split stomach muscles from pregnancy that still are not healed back together so I look slightly pregnant.)  A friend just did a post about healing her diastasis by using a different program than the one I have been using (and have gotten burned out on).  Here is Trina's post.  I am going to give the program she used a try - I started it today and it took so much less time!

Tomorrow is March 1.  That begins Trisomy Awareness Month.  I told Tabby we are going to work very very hard to finish up our big Lilly project donation boxes to the hospital this month.  If only I didn't keep having so many more ideas of things to add.

Do you ever get overwhelmed by your own ideas?  I'm grateful God gave me so much creativity and imagination.  But honestly it can be overwhelming at times!  It seems the ideas for new projects, etc. just never stop.  I'm learning to write them down ... maybe one day there will be time for them all.  

"Employ whatever God has entrusted you with, in doing good, all possible good, in every possible kind and degree . . . ."  John Wesley