South America

Earlier this year, I realized that geography was not happening during our school day. The boys were learning about many different cultures through out our studies but not where these cultures were in the world. They had an idea of what a continent and country were but struggled with the difference between the two. I knew it was time for a change. So, as I re-worked our schedule after Christmas, I decided to start Bryce and Micah in A Trail Guide to World Geography. This went wonderful. The boys loved being able to label maps and quickly were picking up different geography terms and learning how to read maps. Then, Matthew started wanting more school and wanted to participate with his brothers. 


The answer combining A Trail Guide to World Geography and Galloping the Globe. Bryce and Micah were about to start learning about South America. This lead me to starting a huge cooperative art project. Creating a rain forest in our front hall way.


To start off, we read a few different books and discussed the various levels of the rain forest. It was decided that Matthew would paint the river. Bryce would work on the forest floor and the under-story. Micah would work on the canopy and then help with the under-story.  A morning spent painting the rain forest in the kitchen was enjoyed by all. The boys worked hard and were anxious to start creating the animals that live in the forest. 

In the following weeks, we will study the culture and countries of South America. Each week, we will read about and create animals to add to our rain forest.