Geography unit study: Mapping the World by Heart, atlases and misc.

Since our main focus this year is the World Geo study-I have dusted off my (very old but quite useful) Mapping the World by Heart program. This is the backbone we'll work from to cover the unit.

We started with Australia, since it coincides with the Sonlight 5 (Eastern Cultures) history program we are implementing this year.  I also have notebook pages he is filling in on various countries as move along. This is a part of the Homeschooling in the Woods Olde World maps download.  I will not have him do every single one (simply too intensive and time consuming) but we'll definitely cover the better known countries.  I have a nice binder with page protectors to place these in, that will create a nice notebook/reference tool when it is completed.
(I will add a pic of that after he gets a few done)

I put together a folder to hold the current map and worksheets with listed items to locate.  The map pictured above was not completed yet. The clay island was made using modeling clay. I like Crayola's best because it is soft and pliable.  Some are so greasy or difficult to to use because they are like steel and take forever to soften before you can do the project. That was a part of the mapping layers/levels activity. You can kinda see the worksheets that covered that in the left pocket of the folder.  He had fun making it and thought it was neat how the clay made a ring of 'water' around it.  We called it Fool's Paradise because I love that old lady on the Swiffer commercial who says she had been living there all that time believing her house was clean. Kinda funny.

I found some country flag stickers (not sure where we will use those, if at all) with another page of iconic pics from various places around the world at the Dollar Tree. He added the Sydney Opera House, a kangaroo and Koala sticker so he didn't have to draw those. It's not required to add things like that but it definitely makes it a bit more sparkly.

This is basically how the set up will work for the various continents.  He will have a worksheet noting what he is to list on the map and then once done, he can add some stickers to it.  Now to get him to be a bit more neat and serious with his handwriting.  Ugh.

The atlas' are our two main ones we refer to but I have a few others about.  One is from DK and the other is a Rand McNally atlas. These can be found at most book stores (in person/online) or through many homeschool suppliers. The Mapping the World by Heart is available thru most larger homeschool book companies.  I actually bought mine used on the Vegsource.com/homeschool many years ago. It is the first edition but it works.  The extra map sets I purchased from Rainbow Resource.  (ouch!  I think I bought those a few years ago for less than $10. Good thing I did.  But for 17 maps that are needed for the program-I guess $16 is reasonable.)**

**I am not an affiliate for any of these companies.  I simply provided links to the mentioned products to help you find out more about them.