I am excited today to share discovering geography through a field trip to Incan ruins. Also, look at my page Meso-America Free Unit Study and Lapbook. And Homeschool Geography for more hands-on and simple ideas and tips.
After finally finding a home here in South America, we’re ready for some “school”.
We have all been excited about folding geography back into our school day.
You know I told you I use North Star Geography for two really big reasons.
One reason I love is is that I can adapt it for both my middle school and high school teen.
It is easier with a high school geography to tweak it to fit a younger child.
And not so easy to lesson plan for an older kid with an elementary resource.
Second, there are two or more activities or ideas listed to do with each lesson plan.
Geography at the middle school and high school level should stay hands-on and interactive.
However, resources for interactive activities are not easy to find at this age.
Not many provide the teacher with two or three brainstorming ideas to enhance the curriculum with.
I feel a resource should always ease the teacher planning by providing activities.
Incan Ruins Geography
So when we studied about the biosphere, which includes learning about the flora, fauna and ecosystems, I just knew we had to do the second activity suggested in the curriculum.
We wanted to learn about the area we live in now.
(inhibited child of mine)
We didn’t have to go far to do this activity.
Look at these local ancient Incan ruins or Pumapungo Archaeological Park.
We took a field trip there; they were built in the late fifteenth century.
Here we could learn not only about the native flora and fauna, but also tie in history.
It’s almost impossible to study either geography or history separately.
Why? Because things like the ecosystem and surroundings affected the development of a culture and it’s history.
It reads “Tupac inka Yupanqui, and later his son Huiana Capac, dignified these provinces of the Canaris and what they called Tumipampa with buildings and royal houses, adorned the chambers with herbs, plants, and animals of gold and silver; the entrances were plated with gold, and settings of fine stones, emeralds, and turquoise; they constructed a famous temple of the sun, also plated with gold and silver . . .” Inca Garilosa de la Vega
Pumapungo was made of several buildings like the Palace of Wayna-Kapa.
Learning World Geography Hands-On
This had a high temple, terraces and even a cool tunnel of the northern Incan empire.
Though this isn’t quite all of the view of the ruins, I just had to pull back when taking the picture.
I want you to get the full flavor of this majestic site.
The ancient ruins are part of an old Incan city Tomebamba.
Most of the stones were carried off by the Spanish conquistadors to build the city of Cuenca.
The Spanish conquistadors left very little, but enough that one could determine each section.
Inside were the Temple of the Sun and the Convent of the Virgins of the Sun.
This is where the Incan made brick. These were like underground big furnaces.
Then below this level is where they housed birds native to the area along with local fauna.
Of course all of this entails different levels and much walking.
We just had to take our time walking down. This is the view going down.
And this is the view coming up.
Flora and Fauna of South America
But the walk was well worth the time and oxygen needed to get back up. Look what we learned about in the walk down.
It reads “The Inca . . .had a house and patio full of birds, and monkeys and long-tailed monkeys, and macaws and parrots, and parakeets, and sparrow hawks and cururi . . . and many other birds of the highlands and the yungus . . .” Guaman Poma de Ayala
White-Throated Toucan.
We hadn’t seen a guy like this at our zoo back home.
This is a Bearded Guan.
A Chestnut Fronted Macaw.
Next, look at a few books to add to your unit study.
Books About Meso-America for Kids
5 Resources for Learning about Meso-America, the Aztec, Inca, and Maya
Add some of these books to your unit study about Meso-America.
This fun, fact-filled book for kids ages 6–9 is the ultimate guide to three great civilizations of the American continents—the Maya, Incas, and Aztecs. Entertaining and educating young readers through a combination of close-up images, quirky trivia facts, quiz questions, and fascinating tidbits,
it’s the perfect book for any kid who can’t get enough of ancient history.
Journey back in time to experience the rise and fall of the Aztecs, as well as other Mesoamerican peoples, including the Incas and Mayas. You’ll explore their vast empires and lost worlds in spectacular detail, and meet their gods and goddesses and marvel at their precious stones. Join them farming and hunting, team up for sports and games, taste the food and drink, and dance at their celebrations. Then, after centuries of growth and progress, discover how the Spanish conquest
brought these civilizations crashing to their knees.
Track the facts about llamas and other animals of the Andes in this nonfiction companion to the bestselling Magic Tree House series!When Jack and Annie came back from their adventure in Magic Tree House #34: Late Lunch with Llamas, they had lots of questions. Why do people raise llamas? What are llamas' closest relatives? How tall are the Andes mountains? What other animals live there? Find out the answers to these questions and more as Jack and Annie track the facts about llamas and the Andes.
An Incan boy who tends llamas in a hidden valley in Peru learns the traditions and secrets of his ancestors.
Fascinating account of three major civilizations that existed in the New World before Europeans arrived. How did they live? What did they achieve? What happened to them? Seeks to interpret history from a biblical perspective.
More Meso-America Activities
- Make Stunning Salt Dough Incan Jewelry | Incan Crafts for Kids
- 7 Facts About the Inca Empire & Make a Fun Incan Ruins Model
- Geronimo Stilton Adventure The Journey Through Time #2: Back in Time (Mayan Craft)
- Free Lapbook Maya and Fun Hands-on Meso-America Unit Study Ideas
- 9 Free South America Country Reports for Kids Notebooking Pages
- Meso-America Free Unit Study and Lapbook.
Variable Hawk.
Signs were about each bird and the text was in both Spanish and English.
South America Ruins for Kids
The signs explained about diversity and whether it was endangered or not.
Bronze Winged Parrot.
We had to look at this guy for a while too. It is a Black-Chested Eagle.
Everywhere along the site there were signs like the one below in both Spanish and English.
That helped us to appreciate where all the complexes and water sources were located.
(Water in the Andes)
It reads “Water, the essential origin and energizer of life, inspired its sacralization in Andean man. For this reason the myths of it’s origin are linked to rivers and lakes. This conception generated a network of knowledge that developed an ideology of belonging to nature, freed of individual forms of private property. Rather sustaining technologies of the environment were appropriated with systems of supportive social organizations.”
There were beautiful brooks and streams located in the park.
Learning About Ancient Ruins With Kids
Wayna-Kapac ordered a qucha constructed. It means moist ground.
This was in honor of Tiksi Wiraqucha, a divinity venerated in the Andes.
(Orchards and Gardens of the Inca)
It reads “In the time of the Incas that cultivated area was a garden of gold and silver, as existed in the royal house of the King, where there were many herbs and flowers of diverse types, lesser plants, large trees, animals small and large, wild and domesticated, and creatures, such as snakes, large lizards and tiny ones, snails, butterflies and birds, and other large flying fowl . . .there was a large field of corn and the seed called Quinua . . .” Inca Garcilaso de la Vega
We ended our day of geography and history discoveries by adopting the local Ecuadorian way.
That means eating ice cream just about each day.
Delicious homemade ice cream and parlors are found everywhere.
After all, because we don’t want to stand out, we have to blend in.
I hope you and your kids enjoyed the pictures.
We want you to be able to savor this geography adventure as much as we did.
