Galloping the Globe

by Christa
(Bath, MI, USA)

We used Galloping the Globe with children ages 6 & 8 from 2009-current.

Likes: This is the basis of our current curriculum. It is like FIAR on steroids... instead of a children's book, we spend a week (or two, or three!) with readings and activities planned around a single country.

There are a great range of activities suggested, so I can choose what will interest both of my children (who couldn't possibly be more different in learning style and still be from the same planet).

I like that most of the searching for reference materials is already done - the books are in print, the websites work, the recipes are easy! - I just had to decide when it would be most convenient for us to do which activity, and to add in some locally available resources...like Nana teaching them Flamenco dancing when we study Spain, and Grandma teaching them to Polka!

GtG is perfect for us, and we are now having to decide if we will continue it next year as the online supplements become available for other countries, or if we will go to Cantering the Country as we originally planned.

Dislikes: Marie Curie is studied in the France chapter. She was born and raised in Poland. My family is Polish and that is just a pet peeve...

Wonderful Unit Studies

by Laura
(Winfield, IL)

Product: Galloping the Globe
Subject: Unit Studies
Levels Used: K-4th
Dates Used: 2009

Likes: This book is a great resource and guide for wonderful and interesting unit studies based on certain countries. We would randomly pick a country, go to that part of the book and go from there. The book includes reproducible maps, b&w flags, word searches and a few other types of worksheets. It also give booklists to get you started on your journey.

Dislikes: Though the book is great and highly recommended, I ended up just using it as a jumping off point and came up with my own unit studies. My kids took turns choosing a country and we'd scour our library for relevant books and I'd also scour the internet for related crafts, worksheets, maps, etc. We also put together a notebook with facts we learned (language spoken, currency used, population, animals, weather, etc.). I also bought and used a Leapfrog Globe to use and learn even more from. So, all of that could be done without the book at all!

Fun in a Co-Op Setting

by Janet
(Raleigh, NC, USA)

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!!