Additional Geography books

[home4rgirls]

I noticed there are a few Geography Books listed in the enrichment section of the reading assignment charts and I wanted to know if I need to purchase any of those books. My children are in LG and UG. I am thinking of purchasing the Usborne Internet linked Encyclopedia of World Geography. Would that be enough? Or shoul I just go with the suggested list from TOG's enrichment chart????
This is our first time with TOG....

[MominOhio]

Hello,
Last year was our first year with Tapestry and Geography was one of our favorite subjects! I don't know how old your children are (but mine are LG and UG) we just got the "Geography from A to Z" from the library for the first month or six weeks of the school year to learn the different landforms to get us started. Then, we used the Map Aids CD and a really good atlas (Rand McNally World Atlas--it was is my husband's from college )and that is all we really needed. I did make them crossword puzzles also, to help them remember the terms--I think the site is www.puzzlemaker.com--which they seemed to like. This year, I think I'm going to have them illustrate the landforms and make them into flashcards, just for fun. I hope that helps!
~Mary

[home4rgirls]

Thanks Mary, that does help. My girls are 11, 9, 7 and 2yrs. I am leaning toward Geography from A to Z, but I wondered if it would be too elementary for my 11yr. old. I was also wondering if any one else has heard of A Child's Geography. Would like to know if it would compliment TOG's geography. I would really appreciate some feedback. The book's web site is http://www.achildsgeography.com/welcome/ And I'm still wondering about the UIL Encyclopedia of World Geography.
Thanks,
Gen.

[home4rgirls]

It's me again...so many questions....Did you find all of the geographical terms listed in TOG within the Geography from A to Z book??

Gen.

[Lisa W]

I ordered A Child's Geography this year for my soon to be 11yr old. I am very pleased with it although we haven't implemented it yet. We plan on geography using this resource once a week and then including mapwork and additional geography terms during our Tapestry time during the week.

HTH,

Lisa W.

[MominOhio]

My 10 yo son found the Geography from A to Z to be very helpful (we picked it up from the library again for the beginning of this year)-I think it has really helped them to visualize the term. I did buy Where Am I? by A.G. Smith to read this year because he is very technically minded and he thinks it looks "really neat" . I don't know if any of your girls lean towards this, but thought I would mention it. A Child's Geography looks like a wonderful program, I had never heard of it before but will seriously consider it for sometime in the future-thanks! The only thing I would consider, in adding a geography curriculum, is making sure you don't overwhelm yourself at the beginning of your first year with TOG. It took us a while to get a good routine with TOG last year and I tried to guard against overwhelming myself and my children at first-adding extras throughout the year as we got more comfortable all the material. I pray Tapestry is as much of a joy for you all as it has been for our family!
~Mary

[MominOhio]

I did try to purchase Where Am I? through Tapestry but they didn't have it (they didn't have any of the alternative books I was looking for, but I was able to find all of the primary resources I needed through Tapestry) so I bought it through the Amazon Marketplace. The full title is *Where Am I? The Story of Maps and Navigation* It is written in somewhat of storybook format (or maybe I should say it reads like a very interesting textbook--not something we would read for hours, but definately thought provoking and enjoyable) with a lot of black and white illustrations. It does not have a focus of geographical terms and places, but more on how scientists have mapped and explored geography in the past through present day. Some of the subjects are...Babylonian Maps, The Catalan Atlas, Soundings, Early Globes, The Science of Latitude, Harrison's Chronometer. We are looking forward to working our way through it this year, hopefully that helps you decide if it is what you are looking for though
~Mary

[home4rgirls]

Thanks Mary,
My husband signed it out from the library this weekend. I've flipped through it....had a busy weekend, will read through it today.
If I decide we need a copy at home then I'll check out Amazon.
Thanks,
Gen.