Where In The World Is...

I will never forget the day when Mari (while she was in 5th-grade public school) came to me and asked, "Mama, is Canada a state?"

It took a second to regain my composure and it also took a little bit of mental strength to keep from bad-mouthing the school out loud. How could a 12-year-old not know that Canada is an entire country?! This moment cemented the fact that public schools are failing our children and I could do a better job teaching them myself.

There was a quote I read which said something like "If you aren't qualified to teach your children at home with the knowledge you received from public school, why would you send them to the same institution that failed you?"

It was a lot more succinct and elegant, but that's the gist of it. As a child, public school definitely failed me. I struggled through all of middle and high school with no help from my teachers. I find myself learning right along with my daughter each and every day, which I think is pretty cool!

Anywho, we are currently taking baby steps with Geography. I have a few different curriculums (or is it "curriculi," or "curriculume?" LOL) but have found the most effective to be something I just made up off the top of my head. With this way of learning, the facts and locations of countries are still fixed in Mari's head months and months later.

Here's what we do:

I pull up this photo of the world and Mari chooses a country she wants to learn about, then I have her draw the country and its flag at the top of her paper. Underneath her drawings, I'll write out about 10 questions for her to answer. Things like:

"Which hemisphere is your country located in?"

"Name 3 or more countries that border your country."

"What language do they speak?"

"Name four items your country imports and exports."

"When was the last war your country fought? Who were they at war with and why?"

"Who are your country's allies?"

"Are there any celebrities from your country?"

"What is the capital of your country and where is it located? (North, South, East, West?)"

Once she's done answering the questions, we go to YouTube and I will find a few videos that talk about the country's food (because Mari loves Food Network,) their people, fun facts, geographical information like climate, etc.

Our favorite Geography channel is Geography Now! because they discuss everything from the country's political climate to racial demographics, animal and plant life and so much more. Sadly, they record their videos in alphabetical order and they are somewhere in the Gs, I think. So we have to fend for ourselves when Mari wants to learn about Venezuela or Nigeria.

She is learning so much about the world this way... and so am I! And the best part is, she remembers it! She still tells people about Santa's mailbox in Greenland. We keep a little notebook filled with all of her Geography papers. She's pretty proud of them!

What are you all doing for Geography?

Anxiety Booster

Like many homeschoolers, math is a topic that boosts my anxiety like no other and makes me feel like a total failure who is destroying my child's entire future.

A few summers ago, we used CTC Math, which is the program that got my daughter up to grade level. She did one or two lessons each weekday without complaint. I am still subscribed but don't use it as much because the "older" levels don't have interactive lessons. You have to print out worksheets and fill them out that way. Now, we tried this, but my daughter didn't like it at all. The questions on the worksheets were more complicated and difficult than the problems Pat went over in the instructional videos. For example, he'd go over single digit multiplication in the video, then the worksheet will ask you to figure out 459 x 66. That was frustrating for her and she was no longer enjoying math.

So now, we are doing Mastering Essential Math Skills Book One.


I went with Book One so I could make sure she knew all of the basics. It starts off with addition and subtraction, then works its way to more complex topics. Each new lesson contains four review questions that go over previously learned topics, and there is a word problem at the end of each lesson. The author used to be a middle-school teacher and using this method, by the end of the school year, his sixth-grade students were ready for sull-on Algebra!

Although it is okay, I still feel anxious that she isn't doing enough. This isn't the most exciting program but she gets it done, it's quick and she completely understands it. The explanations are super simple and easy to understand. They're the kind of straight to the point instructions that I would give myself (if I knew what I was doing!)

But there is still that gut-wrenching, gnawing feeling that it isn't enough, ya know?

I see all of these other homeschoolers like "Oh yeah, my six-year-old Marcy does 3 hours of Beast Academy, a chapter of Math Mammoth and an hour of Singapore Math each day! She loves it!" And I'm over here like "Erm... my 6th grader does 20 minutes of math five days a week." *hangs head in shame and wonders just how much I am ruining her chance of being accepted into college*

We've tried Dreambox, Math Mammoth and a bunch of other conceptual math programs but my kids just don't think that way. They do best with "old school" math that is straight to the point. I've looked into Shiller Math... until I saw that price tag! Thought about Rod & Staff and MEP but I read they're both teacher intensive and math is NOT my strong suit so I wouldn't be comfortable with that.

We need a math that's straight to the point with clear and concise video instructions, and so far, I haven't been able to find anything that fits our needs and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

What about you guys? What do you use? Do you have any suggestions for us?

I'm all ears!



Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. Although your support doesn't cost you anything extra, it does help put a few extra cents in my pocket. Thanks for understanding!