Quick Study on China ~ Geography Journal Series

If you want to travel around the world with your children this summer, then you may be interested in conducting a "Geography Journal" study! The whole concept is explained here and lends itself to simple summer schooling. Instead of a passport, you will only need a composition book, a library and a few minutes each day! With our geography journal printable, this makes for a quick and convenient summer project (or any time of year for that matter)! Today we are sharing a sample from our time spent in China to give you an idea of how fun and educational this can be!

Page 1 Entry: Title your first page with the complete name of the country. Outline (or print out a black-line map) a map of the country you are studying and paste it into your journal.  Find the capitol city and label it on the map. Include a drawing of the national flag.  Record which continent your country is located in and the main religions. 

Page 2 Entry: “Famous People” (not shown)

Note: This is a great way to study missionaries such as Hudson Taylor, Gladys Aylward and Eric Liddell. 

Page 3 Entry: “Books Read About China”

• Guide to China by Mike March (Highlights Top Secret Adventures)
• Gladys Aylward "The Adventure of a Lifetime" by Janet and Geoff Benge 
• Eric Liddell "Something Greater Than Gold" by Janet and Geoff Benge 
• The Value of Honesty "The Story of Confucius" by Spencer Johnson, M.D.
• Imperial China by Joanna Cole
• Long is a Dragon "Chinese Writing for Children" by Peggy Goldstein (see sample below) 

Note: These types of "activity/craft" books are fun to incorporate into your study. Make sure to take advantage of something like this and include pertaining samples into your journal.

Page 3 Entry - Continued: “Movies Watched About China"

• Inn of the Sixth Happiness
• The Eric Liddell Story: Torchlighter Series

Page 4 Entry: “Famous Places in China” (not shown)

Page 5 Entry: “Interesting Animals in China” including illustrations. (Note: We used the Draw and Write Through History series for the how-to-draw a panda, silkworm moth and pagoda. We also included the accompanying copy-work from that series in our journal.)

Page 6 Entry: “Interesting Facts about China” (not shown)

Page 7 Entry: "Biography Sketch"

Page 8 Entry: "Special Resources in China" (not shown)

Page 9 Entry: "Traditional Style of Clothing" (not shown) 

Page 10 Entry: "Create a Chinese Menu"

Have your children do some research on the types of foods eaten from the country you are studying and write down a menu that sounds appetizing. Choose a night during the week and have them prepare an international meal for the family. For extra fun, dress up in the customary attire from that country (you may need to get creative with what you have which is also fun!).

It is very enjoyable to see what your children come up with! My husband and I aren't "allowed" to watch the preparations for the international meal (we just need to show up dressed in proper costume). For our China study, we found ourselves sitting on the floor for the meal, homemade paper fans were placed on our plates for decoration, since we didn't have chopsticks, bamboo skewers were used and finally some Chinese Floral Place Cards and Matching Napkin Holders (which I found  inexpensively at a thrift store) were utilized for extra fun. 

Bonus Entry Ideas (you will find more on our printable here):

Do a collage page featuring information about the country. For instance, we have a coloring book of the countries which shares facts from many countries. We cut out the snippets of information and colored them and pasted them into a collage page in our journal. You could also use pictures from old magazines, travel brochures, etc.

When our tour of China was completed, we were refreshed and ready to move on to our normal routine again. Do let me know if you decide to give this series a try. No passports are necessary for these kinds of field trips! :) And when we are ready to travel again, we simply bring out our composition books and begin a new journey on the next page!

Ready to start your own "Geography Journal"? Print out our free Journal Entry Ideas to make it easy!

Some Favorite "General" Geography Resources for Your Geography Journals:

An Encyclopedia Set

Around the World Coloring Book by Winky Adam (Dover Publications)

Round the World Cookbook by Usborne

Draw Write Now Series by Marie Hablitzel

This is more of a "how to draw" series with matching copy-work but we have found it useful for illustrating our geography journals.

Draw and Write Through History Set by Carylee Anne Gressman

This is also more of a "how to draw series with copy-work" (via history timeline) set but we have found it useful for illustrating our geography journals. 

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