History and Geography Archives - Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Explore the World (and Learn Coding!)

August 16, 2019 By Kris Bales

Kids can explore world cultures, hone their writing skills, and learn to code with The Adventurous Mailbox! Learn more with this Adventurous Mailbox review.

Thanks to the Internet and the fact that it’s available 24/7 on devices small enough to fit in our pockets, our big wide world has evolved into a pretty small space. That fact has its pros and cons. One of the cons is that thanks to an emerging world culture, we’re at risk of losing touch with the rich diversity of individual cultures.

The Adventurous Mailbox hopes to change that by exploring the beauty of a variety of countries’ cultures through exciting books and activities. Along the way, kids ages 8-12 will learn the basics of coding, hone their writing skills, and learn about the history, geography, and folklore of the countries they visit.

What Is The Adventurous Mailbox?

The Adventurous Mailbox is an exciting book series and accompanying website that explores world cultures through the eyes of Crameye. Crameye is a young kid from Taiwan who goes on some pretty crazy adventures with his best friend, Neva. Oh, and there’s also Crameye’s kid sister, Buster, and Neva’s little sister, Thor. [Read more…]

Curriculum-Free Geography? How to Get it Done and Have Fun!

July 24, 2019 By Bethany Ishee

Not sure how to homeschool geography without the fill-in-the-blank workbook? Bethany’s fun curriculum-free geography ideas will help you tune in to the world around you without ever cracking a dry, dusty textbook.

Written by Bethany Ishee of BethanyIshee.com.

If you’ve homeschooled for a while, you may be starting to wonder if all this curriculum is really necessary. Or maybe life has thrown you a curveball, and new curriculum purchases are on hold for a bit.

Whatever the reason you’re considering going curriculum-free, it can be helpful to view curricula as a tool and not a requirement.

Geography is an excellent subject to try out schooling without curricula.

Curriculum-Free Geography? How to Get it Done and Have Fun!

Diving deep into writing or math without the safety net of a curriculum can feel too daunting. Geography provides a fun, low-stress option for those looking to make that stack of textbooks a little bit shorter.

So how do you homeschool geography without all the memorization and workbooks? [Read more…]

How To Teach History Without a Textbook: 12 Ideas To Get You Started!

June 28, 2019 By Adrienne Bolton

If you want to have a little more fun with your history lessons, try these 12 engaging ideas to teach history without a textbook.

Written by Adrienne Bolton of The Mommy Mess.

Without a doubt, the homeschooling question I hear most often – even more than the socialization one – is, “What curriculum do you use?”

Why? I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like an especially exciting topic. Maybe it’s a conversation starter like the PetSmart cashier I overheard recently. He was asking every customer, “What kind of {fill in the blank with the appropriate species based on the products the customer was purchasing} do you have?”

And, of course, it worked because people love to talk about their babies.

Maybe it’s just the first thing people think of to ask when they’re wondering what in the heck you’ve gotten yourself into.

How do you do this thing called homeschooling?

For nearly 12 years, my answer has always been the same, “We use a hodgepodge of stuff depending on the subject.”

How to Teach History Without a Textbook

Over the years, we’ve used a variety of resources to cover each subject, but history is by far my favorite when it comes to tossing the textbook! [Read more…]

How to Rock Your World: Fun Homeschool Geography Curriculum

December 4, 2018 By Kris Bales

Trail Guide to World Geography makes learning geography fun! Kids in grades 3-12 can learn together with this multi-level homeschool geography curriculum.

Most of my favorite Friends episodes involve Joey. His lovable, goofy cluelessness cracks me up. I may or may not quote Joey when talking to my kids about school stuff. {ahem} “Good job, little buddy.”

Did you ever see the episode where Chandler attempted to break up with Janice? In desperation, he finally told her he was moving to Yemen. When he learns what’s going on, Joey compliments Chandler on his cleverness, saying, “And, Yemen? That actually sounds like a real country.”

Trail Guide to World Geography Homeschool Geography Curriculum

It’s funny when it’s Joey, but not so much when it’s real, live people. Especially not when the real, live people are your homeschooled kids. Hoping to avoid any Joey-Yemen moments, I decided to cover world geography in-depth this year. Because, you know, it’s important for kids – and adults – to know about the countries that make up the world in which we live.

So, how do you rock your world? With fun homeschool geography curriculum! (See what I did there?)

Choosing Homeschool Geography Curriculum

We opted to use Trail Guide to World Geography to cover high school geography. I ordered the High School World Geography GeoPack so we’d have everything we needed to jump into world geography. The GeoPack includes:

Trail Guide to World Geography
3-Level World Geography Student Notebook digital download
Eat Your Way Around the World – a resource that includes recipes for complete meals for 30 different countries of the world
Around the World in 80 Days
Geography Through Art
Grade-level appropriate student atlas

I also got The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide, an optional, but vital resource used with Trail Guide to World Geography.

One of my favorite things about Trail Guide to World Geography is that it’s designed to be used by students in grades 3-12, so the whole family can study geography together. Yeah, I know I’m only using it with my high school junior right now, but I know how useful multi-level teaching can be.

The guide is broken down into three grade/ability levels: primary, intermediate, and secondary. All the activities in the book are clearly marked with a symbol indicating which level they’re for.

You can purchase a World GeoPack for whichever level you need. The only difference is the atlas that the student will use, so for different levels, you could just get one GeoPack and order the appropriate atlas for each level you’re teaching. [Read more…]

8 Excellent Resources for Studying the United States

July 11, 2017 By Kris Bales

One of the most memorable activities my kids and I have done in all our years of homeschooling was 50 States Friday. We ended each week by learning about a different state. It was a fun, low-key, unhurried way to study our country.

Following are some of my favorite resources for studying the United States (and one or two that I wish had been around back then).

8 Excellent Resources for Studying the United States

This post contains affiliate links. See full disclosure policy for more details.

1. The Desk Atlas of the United States

This is a resource that wasn’t around when we did our original study, but I have never seen a more beautifully illustrated atlas of the United States for kids (and their parents!). Each two-page spread is chock full of information about each state. Even the book cover (inside and out) contains interesting facts and trivia.

2. State Quarters

It’s easy to use the quarters themselves by just finding out what is on the back and why it was chosen. We liked to tie in a related book when we could. For example, we were introduced to John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club, by checking out the back of a California quarter. We found a fascinating book about him at the library when the kids wanted to learn more.

If you don’t understand the significance of the picture on the back of the state quarter, the U.S. Mint site is a great place for finding out more.

3. State Note Book

The State Note Book from Geography Matters is a fantastic resource for studying the United States. It features a notebooking page for each state with a U.S. map outline where students can color in the state, space for facts about each state, and a sticker set that includes the bird, tree, and flower for each state.

Just add a state flag sticker set and you’re good to go!

4. Pin-It Maps

We love Pin-It Maps, and their United States map set would make an excellent addition to any study of the 50 states. The set includes flag pins for each state, which would make a great learning tool, review, or hands-on quiz. Each pin has the two-letter state abbreviation on the back for an additional learning opportunity.

Plus, the pin map of the United States has the capital and major cities marked so that kids not only learn the names of the capitals but also where each is located.

Of course, edible maps are always fun, too.

5. Crayola’s State Coloring Pages

These beautiful state coloring pages are perfect for younger students without being too juvenile for older kids. They all feature the state flag and the outline of the state. Other features vary but usually include some combination of state symbols, such as the bird, flower, fish, or butterfly.

6. State Facts and Trivia

50 States.com was my favorite website for our Fifty State Fridays. It lists facts and random trivia for each state. It was those tidbits of trivia that we always found most memorable. I always tried to come up with a craft or activity based on at least one random fact for each state.

For example, when we learned that Alabama still has a law on the books (or they did at the time we studied the state) banning fake mustaches, we all made fake mustaches to wear for the day.

America’s Story is another fun website for discovering fun trivia facts about each state. And, Pam Barnhill’s 8 for Each State provides fascinating facts, activities, and resources for each state.

7.State Facts and Symbols Books

The {State Name} Facts and Symbols series by Emily McAuliffe is a fantastic series of books. There is one for each state, providing details and big, colorful photographs about various state facts and symbols, such as the state bird, the capital, the location, and more. They were one of my favorite reference tools for our studies.

Also, if you’d like to tie literature into your state study, don’t miss the Around the USA Study from Cindy West. She lists literature options for each state.

8. State Recipes

We always loved to look for foods to make for each state based on either an interesting piece of trivia or a state symbol. This list of state recipes makes a great place to start.

Eat Your Way Through the USA is another handy resource. There are usually two recipes per state, along with interesting facts about each.

Has your family ever studied the fifty states? What resources would you add?

Original resource list published June 25, 2009