Galloping The Globe

by Janet
(Raleigh, NC, USA)

Product: Galloping The Globe
Subject: Co-Op Class for geography
Levels Used: Grades K - 3
Dates Used: September, 2009

Dislike: a lot of prep goes into each country study

Likes: 1) fun hands-on activities to make each class time memorable, 2) plenty of literature and reference suggestions for a broad sampling of each culture, and 3) breaks down teaching The World Of Geography into manageable sections for fun Unit Studies or lapbooks.

I am currently using this to teach a co-op class of 1st to 3rd graders (plus one Kindergartner) who have very little to no geography experience. The very vast subject of teaching geography to our little ones is very daunting to most of us and this curriculum very nicely gives a lot of suggestions.

You can spend as much or as little time on each country as you wish. If you have a home computer, it would be easier to give students a more "pictorial" view of each country than in our particular co-op setting so we rely heavily on the books found at the library. You do NOT have to stick to the suggested book list given by the author, but those have been reviewed.

We have been listening to music, playing games, tasting food, coloring maps, doing crafts, making flags, and we have just barely begun! And, this curriculum is Bible-based with plenty of scripture references for every country given. There is no general outline to follow, though, and that may be freedom to some teachers or more overwhelming to others.

Overall, we are all very much enjoying our time with this curriculum--even my assistant who proclaimed twice before the class started, "I hate geography," is enjoying this!!