Who Is Up For Some World Traveling?

Oh my word, friends, you know that sometimes I find a curriculum that I love and gush about, right?!  Well, get ready because Let’s Go Geography is one of those programs.  Seriously, let me tell you about this three year Geography program developed for Grades K-4^th that we were able to review for the Homeschool Review Crew.  The one year subscription we reviewed can be used by one teacher for one child to multiple children at home as well as even for a co op group!

Created by Carol Henderson, a school teacher, Let’s Go Geography is unique in several ways.  First of all its focus is on exploring the continents, country by country, not just physical attributes like rivers and streams and mountains you often find in lower graded Geography programs.  This 36 week program, with three scheduled breaks built in, will eventually cover three years and most countries, including the United States.  The first year is currently available with the next two years coming soon.  Each year, two regions of the United States are covered. You can purchase a whole year at a time, or buy by semester if you want.

Another unique feature of Let’s Go Geography is that it is online with live links!  You can download each lesson or just go through it online, using the clickable links to explore specific facts that the author presents. 

When you begin the program, your child can choose from several Travel Journal covers to add to the notebook they can make, as well as print off a “passport” in which they will add flags of the countries they will visit in their studies.  

 

 

Another unique feature is that you can study the countries in any order.  While the program is designed to be worked through in order, you CAN jump around. Once you finish each lesson there is a button to click on so you can mark it as completed, making it easy to see what you have done at a glance.

Each lesson is set up in the same way, composed of 5 parts.  After the country is introduced with a page of quick facts such as capital, population, official language and such, a check list of the 5 components is included.

• Color the Map- This section includes a link to a map you can print out, with directions to color the country, and label it accordingly.  Often other areas around the country are labeled as well, such as oceans and seas.

• Flag- This section includes a picture of the country’s flag that you can cut out and color, then add to your passport.  There is also an option to add the flags to continent maps. A few notes about the flag and what the colors and symbols represent are presented.

• The Music- This section has a link to the music that represent the country.  Some times it is the national anthem, and other times it is an example of local music that may be more familiar.

• Explore- This is the meat of the program.  Here you will find facts about the country.  Most sections have a link to another video that further exposes your child to the subject being learned.  Color pictures are also included for your child to look at in this explore section.

• Craft- This final section has a craft for your child to do that represents the country they have been studying.  The theme of the craft is presented as well as a supplies list.  Detailed instructions, including picture examples, are included.  There is also a color sheet to print out.

Additional resources include a notebook page for your country for your child to write on if you desire as well as any printables you might need for the lesson or craft.  The ISBN number for related books are listed as well for further study.

Our thoughts and experiences-

Ok, here is where you brace yourself for the gushing.   Yes, this program is aged for K-4^th grade.  And yes, Colby is on 5^th.  NO worries.  Truly, I think the ages are good, but I think you can easily use this with slightly older children as well.  The information presented is thorough, but you can certainly use it as a jump start to a more detailed study if you wish.  Often the reading and the videos would lead us down rabbit trails to additional information.

I love how organized this program is and how accessible it is.  Colby can pull this program up and do much of it on his own, though I admit I do not let him often, as I enjoy doing it with him.  Each time you bring up your homepage, a list of the year is on the left sidebar and shows what lessons are complete and which ones are not. We have chosen to break the lessons into two days, one day working through the lesson and a second day to write a quick report on the notebook page provided and doing any craft or color sheet included.  Because I am working with a non-crafty kind of guy, he has chosen not to do too many of the crafts and I have to color with him to complete the pictures.  Go figure!  That being said, you can easily do the lessons in one sitting or stretch them out for a week, depending on your child's needs and attention span.

This little gem is made for ALL learning types!  Auditory, visual- you name it, it is covered.  Have a child that loves crafts?  They will be thrilled with the projects like making rainsticks and kites and doing coloring sheets.  Have a more visual learner?  The YouTube videos are short enough to not bore anyone but filled with interesting facts and sights!   

I also love that you can print the lessons out.  While we did work from the computer to access all of the links (Colby's favorite part), I like having a record of what we do.  I print out most of the pages and we are adding them to Colby's Travel journal.  We label each country with a sticky note so he can easily reference them if he wants. 

 

I love that you can skip around.  I have a kiddo that likes to be in charge.  Obviously, he cannot be very often...he is 10 after all.  But anytime I can allow him to make decisions, I do so.  This has been the case for Let's Go Geography and the reason you will see Afghanistan on the tab up there.  Because his dad was stationed there for a year it interested him.  As did Hawaii because "It would be a cool place to visit!" and Greenland because he thought that might be "cool" as well. Chili is next because it is "close to where I was born."  His favorite video so far?  During the Greenland national anthem video you see an iceberg start to collapse in the background.  It was neat!  I figure if he gets excited about choosing, it is the least I can do. ;)

So like it?  Yes, we do!  
Recommend it?  You bet!

Let's Go Geography has a been a HUGE blessing and great addition to our weekly studies and I am thrilled we found it!

 

4 Ways to Save Money While Eating on the Road

Yes, we are finally back from our unexpected "vacation" with dad and are settling back in.  On Wednesday I will share a few fun photos for those of you that are remotely interested. ;)  I finally made it to the grocery store tonight so this family can eat more than just things I scavenged out of the freezer.  Time to get back to real life folks!

But what fun memories we have tucked away.  And yes, we ate our way through more than several states.  Out of the three weeks gone, 7 of those days were actually spent on the road.  For very long periods of time.  Add that up, and that is 21 meals on the road or potentially in a hotel.

Now don't get me wrong, our family enjoys eating out occasionally but it can get old, well, except for the 7 year old who has a thing for restaurants and would eat out every meal if you let him.  But between the expense factor and the fact that one of us has eaten foreign food for 4 months, let's just say that 21 meals out was not going to cut it.


No worries, this momma had a plan!  Not just for our sanity, but to save money!

Yes, you can save money eating on the road.

Here's how-

Pack a cooler!
We actually use two.  One holds all of our things that really do need to stay cool!
Our standard items-
Mayo and mustard
Tortillas
Lunch meat
Apples
Bananas
Rolls
Baby carrots
Fruit
Individual containers of diced peaches, pears, and applesauce
And a few Mountain Dews to keep dad awake!  Despite the HUGE time change and jet lag, my hero drove every minute of the trip except the day we picked him up from the airport.

The other cooler bag fits perfectly between the two second row seats and holds snacks and such.  Many of the snacks for this trip were given to us by a sweet friend (thanks Andrea!!!) and the "such" includes napkins, plastic utensils, and the plastic cups which we use to hold said snacks.

This is our standard lunch on the road, just like it would be at home on any given day.  Much cheaper than a $6.00 meal x 6 people= $36.00 for a bad-for-you lunch!  Plus, I figure that the fewer public restuarants we are in, the less likely we are to pick up random germs!

Take advantage of hotel breakfasts and possibly mid week meals.
Here's the deal.  If you are going to pay for a place to stay (have you seen the cost of rooms these days) you might as well make sure they have a free continental breakfast.  Yes, some hotels' ideas of breakfast are better than others, but most have at least yogurt, juice, fruit, cereal, oatmeal, and bread of some sort.  Most these days even offer waffles or pancakes, and, much to Colby's delight, some even have doughnuts.  We make sure we eat well and often grab a piece of fruit for the road to have for an afternoon snack.

A newer trend at many hotels these days is some sort of buffet for dinner during the week.  I remember when that used to be light snacks, but these days the offerings are quite substantial and by adding a piece of fruit, you could easily have a decent meal.


Share meals at restaurants
Usually by dinner we are ready to be out of the car, are tired of picnic lunches, and want to actually sit down for a meal, so we do usually eat at restaurants in the evenings. One way to save on meals is to share!  Our girls are famous for this when they can find a place with fajitas.  Most restaurants do not mind sharing and often their portions are too big for one person anyway.  Even an order of fries at Five Guys can be split between three in our family! (Anyone else love that restaurant?)

Another way to save costs is to eat lunch, a cheaper meal, in a restaurant, and have your picnic from home for dinner in your hotel room.  Many rooms have microwaves you can use to heat up food you bring and we have even been known to heat water in a coffee maker and make mac and cheese. (yes, when you are on the road as much as we are, you learn to be resourceful)


Pack a crock pot!
Yes I did!  My husband rolled his eyes at me but I am pretty sure he appreciated the home cooked meals. We actually do this quite often, especially if you are going to be in one place for more than a night and if you are out all day sight seeing.  Just pop a roast, chicken, or pork loin in before you head out and when you come back to the room exhausted after a day of fun, your meal will be waiting for you.  I often wonder what the maid service people think, but so far no one has ever said anything to us.  We shared a meal with friends once and they brought their electric griddle along.  It was great and a much easier way to visit old friends than in a restaurant.

No, we are not cheap.  Well, maybe a little, but the reality is that I not only want to eat fairly healthy on the road, but to save money. After all, the money we save on something as trivial as food can then be spent on much better things - like family fun! ;)

Are there more money saving ideas?  I am sure there are and we would love for you to share how you too save money while eating on the road!

Linking up with friends-

Blessings,