Im looking for curriculum for next year and im needing suggestions for geography and history.... i dont even kno where to start
If you want secular, check out Story of the World. If you want from a Christian world view, try Mystery of History. They're very similar, except for their world view.
Ditto to Jackies post! I wish I started these earlier I would have gone through both sets lol. We really loved them!
We really like Scholastic Maps books. They are one per grade leve and short and to the point. Teaches basic geography stuff, and lets them practice handwriting!
Since we had only one year left in a very US History-rich area, we opted for US History for this year (1st and 3rd). We used the Scholastic Maps workbook edies mentioned above, and supplemented a little with the new series by Highlights called Which Way, USA. For the history side of things, we used a couple of spines (DK Smithsonian Children's Encyclopedia of US History and the 1st grade Core Knowledge book, What Your 1st Grader Needs to Know). We supplemented with TONS of living books, some History Pockets, more field trips than I can count, documentaries (and short videos on Historychannel.com), and other tv shows such as Liberty's Kids. A friend chose to do more cultural awareness through various spines for 1st grade; many people I know have used Story of the World and have enjoyed it. The only word of caution for those who are Catholic though is that once the Reformation is reached, there may be a slight Protestant bent. Some choose to omit this section while some choose to also add in some Catholic resources for a well-balanced view of both sides.
For first grade, I dislike most of what I've seen for social studies, so I put together my own units which aren't exactly lapbooking or notebooking, more like "color booking" where we talk about topics (and read some books) and then the student colors a picture (or does a worksheet kind of puzzle or something that I've found in a purchased coloring book or online) about the topic, which we then gather up when done and staple into a manila folder to make a "book". So far this year we've done Friends and Family, we're finishing up Community Helpers (Jobs), and will do a state history (our state gov website has some pages for kids including coloring pages). I also have a Dover coloring book on American Presidents. We alternate between science topics and social studies topics.
OK... so I've been researching these suggestions for the last two days.... Story of the World is looking promising... although Scholastic Maps is what I really wanted... but it seems that they are out of print? they are super expensive on Amazon, and not available on the scholastic website. Mystery of History seems way too advanced... I've read that it was written for 4-8th grades. I'm thinking about History Pockets and Beginning Geography, but both of those seem to be more supplements than core curriculum... idk what to do.. I'm finding that there isn't much available in 1st grade history especially
Oh, check out Hillyer's A Child's History of the World. It's a great read-aloud, with very short chapters. It DOES start out with the Big Bang Theory; some people skip the first two chapters.
Ive been checking out evan moor... some of those workbooks are sitting in my amazon cart right now, waiting to be bought. will also look at a childs history of the world... has anyone used any Scott Foresman curriculum?
Here is the Scholastic Maps workbook we have been using...we also incorporate the globe and our history: http://shop.scholastic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay_14467_-1_10001_10004
Steck-Vaughn also has a series called Maps, Globes, and Graphs that has levels for first grade (Book A) through 6-8 http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&key...:aps,k:steck vaughn maps globes graphs&page=1 and I see there's one listed as for adults, too (I'm going to imagine this is intended for GED students). There are TMs, too.
If you're wanting map workbooks, I found these on Christianbook.com in my search for social studies for this age group. They have great reviews and have different grade levels! http://www.christianbook.com/maps-s...ode=WW&netp_id=551782&event=EBRN&view=details As for Scott Foresman, I have the "All Together" textbook and workbook because the local Christian school uses this book. I like it, but to me it is "secular" because I haven't read anything about Christianity in it yet, but it's not a huge issue. The other complaint is that it is very much so geared towards kids that go to school. We have simply used different descriptions for parts that pertain to being at school. It explains things in very simple, easy to understand terms which is fantastic! I am thinking about getting People & Places for my son next year.
