Monday, September 19, 2011

Learning Geography from Picture Books


Do you want to share interesting places and cultures with your children? If so, travel with your family using beautiful and fun picture books that take them to far away lands! Who said geography was boring? Just make sure to interact with them as you read. Here are some ideas:

  • You can ask them if they can find the places you read about on the map or globe (I like to keep one nearby for easy access when we read).
  • Do they know anyone famous from that region?
  • Do they know what the weather is like in that region?
  • Do they know any famous places in that area?
  • If they could go anywhere in the world, where would they go? Read about that area!

These kinds of questions will bring the books to life and you will be surprised at how comfortable they will become with a globe or map in their hand.
Keep in mind that geography needn't be taught as a lone subject. Incorporate it into your daily routine. A bit here and a bit there and you have gently taught them without forcing in a time slot that you don't have! When you read about bugs in North America, have them point to North America on the globe. When a country is named in a book you read to your children, pause at that moment and have them find it on a map. When a passage describes a famous river, have them find it in an atlas. I think you get the point… Geography can be easily integrated into anything you are studying!

Here are some of our favorite picture books relating to geography:


Geography in General ~ Picture Books


World Geography ~ Picture Books



U.S. Geography ~ Picture Books
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    Friday, September 16, 2011

    Awful Assumptions & Associations ~ Guarding Our Heart & Home


    I was just reading the 2nd Book of Samuel where King David is crowned over all Israel. He remembered a few people who were good to him in his time of need and wanted to show his gratitude...
    "In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. David thought, "I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me." So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father. When David's men came to the land of the Ammonites,  the Ammonite nobles said to Hanun their lord, "Do you think David is honoring your father by sending men to you to express sympathy? Hasn't David sent them to you to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?" So Hanun seized David's men, shaved off half of each man's beard, cut off their garments in the middle at the buttocks, and sent them away." 
    ~ 2 Samuel 10:1-4
    The result of this hasty judgement toward David's good intentions was eventually the slaughter of the Ammonites. What was supposed to have been a blessing became a curse. What a sobering story!


    Awful Assumptions…

    It got me to thinking… How many times do we judge good intentions thus so? Our husband might say something that we take the "wrong way" or a friend may think she is doing you a favor which you take as an insult? Are we surmising too much when we know too little? (And then assuming the worst?) Do we create havoc where peace was intended like we shared with King David? We must be careful how we view situations. We shouldn't be so eager to judge actions in a poor light or jump to conclusions. It is so easy to assume the worst, but in the end it can destroy relationships!


    Awful Associations...

    Another part of this story that was thought provoking to me, were the nobles who were counseling Hanun. They truly gave him poor advice and it cost them their lives. Do you have any family or friends who act in the same manner? Do they "stir the pot" in your marriage (such as, "I can't believe you let your husband get away with that…") Do you notice that "drama" follows these people everywhere they speak? Guard your hearts and homes from such persons who enjoy bringing "flavor" to life by re-interpreting situations and facts and bringing controversy where ever they go.
    "These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren." (Proverbs 6:16-19)
    "Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners." (1 Corinthians 15:33) 
    "Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.  For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.  Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established." (Proverbs 24:1-3) 
    David's men insulted by the Ammonites

    Ladies, let us guard our heart and home from such mischief! 
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    Wednesday, September 14, 2011

    Autumn Inspired Activities


    "Autumn time is melancholy;
    Then the Winter storms are nigh;
    'Mid the garden's fading relics
    Mournful gusts are heard to sigh.

    Autumn's a luxuriant season;
    Then the Harvest glads our sight,
    Fruits grow ripe; and, glittering pheasants,
    You must fall for our delight."

    ~ Excerpt from "Seasons" by Sara Coleridge

    Motherly Love by Jacob Henricus Maris

    Autumn 
    by Emily Dickinson

    The morns are meeker than they were,
    The nuts are getting brown;
    The berry’s cheek is plumper,
    The rose is out of town.

    The maple wears a gayer scarf,
    The field a scarlet gown.
    Lest I should be old-fashioned,
    I’ll put a trinket on.

    • Read some autumn inspired poems to your family while drinking hot cider.
    • Read some autumn inspired picture books:

    Down Buttermilk Lane by Barbara Mitchell

     
    Why Do Leaves Change Color? by Betsy Maestro

    How Do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro


     
    • Go apple picking.
    • Visit a pumpkin patch.
    • Make apple and/or pumpkin pies with your children.
    • Do some bark rubbings (If you have a tree field guide, label the type of tree you rubbed and cut out your specimans and paste onto a poster board to hang in your home for fall fun).
    • Do some iron on leaf crafts (When you have them completed, punch holes through the top of each leaf; run yarn or ribbon through the holes and make a leaf garland for your fireplace mantle or any other place in the house to give some autumn flavor to your home. The children will be thrilled to see their work displayed).
    • Decorate your hearth or windows with a pinecone banner. Using this clip art from the Graphics Fairy, have each child color a few "cones" and attach to string and hang as a garland. You may want to decorate with some brown glitter. 
    • Light your fireplace (if you have one) and snuggle together with all of the above…

    Or go outside and play in the leaves!

    Autumn by Norman Garstin

    Do some yard work while the weather is so crisp and clean…

    Start a compost pile with all those leaves…
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    Saturday, September 10, 2011

    Bouquet of Beets and Serving Suggestions


    Welcome to segment number three on our first ever autumn garden. We had never planted beets before and had no clue what we were doing… But they did all the work and thinking for us. All we did was scatter some of the seeds into a little row, cover with earth and God's order of creation did the rest. Beets have the most beautiful and brilliant color in their stems. The root itself (the beet) reminds me of "jewels of the soil".

    Fresh from the Ground

    Beets are a good source of:
    • Dietary fiber
    • Vitamin C
    • Iron
    • Magnesium
    • Manganese
    • Potassium
    • Niacin



    Serving Suggestions:

    Boil them until tender, peel them and slice them up for salads. Very tasty! Drizzle with Italian or ranch dressing.



    You can also can pickled beets which are very delicious. I have shared our tutorial here.

    Beets and any other garden produce can also be used in our "End of the Harvest" Soup. Visit here for the recipe!

    Bouquet of Beets

    What else can you do with them? Beets me! Do you have some suggestions?


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