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Hands-On Simple And Best Homeschool Geography Ideas & Tips

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Homeschool geography is so much more than coloring a boring map. You’re sure to find a homeschool geography idea or curriculum activity here at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.

Geography is a branch of science which includes all parts of the earth’s physical features and the inhabitants.

And that means it is the study of almost anything about the earth.

Look at this list of things:

  • people
  • plants
  • animals
  • land
  • sea
  • and air features.
Hands-On Simple And Best Homeschool Geography Ideas & Tips

One huge difference about geography as a science versus other sciences is that subjects are investigated in the place they are and not as a subject.

Homeschool Geography

It really opens up the way for many investigate slants and hands-on geography ideas.

First, look at these posts about how to teach geography.

Next, look at some hands-on ideas for learning about geography.

Hands-on Geography Ideas

Additionally, look at some of these tips for curriculum.

Geography Curriculum and Printables

WATER GEOGRAPHY

GEOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES

WORLD GEOGRAPHY

Marco Polo Unit Study – Salt Dough Map + Free Printable Map Flags

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I have a Marco Polo Unit Study salt dough map activity today. Also, check out my Free Marco Polo Unit Study, Lapbook, and Hands-on Ideas.

Tiny never tires of salt dough maps.  It is one of his favorite go to geography projects.

Our Marco Polo unit study is not only an awesome unit study for a salt dough map, but the map is a project he can mostly do by himself now.

We gathered our supplies and yes we are finally starting to add to our school supplies here in Ecuador. Thank goodness they have Pizza Hut delivery here so we have a box for our project.

This is the basic recipe I am always sharing in case you don’t have it already.

Hands-on Geography

Too, when we left the states, I made sure our suitcases had plenty of room for our much loved atlases.

We made it here to South America with our atlases in great shape and now that books in English are almost non-existent here, we take care real good care of what we do have.

No running to drool over books at Barnes & Noble here.

Back to our project.After mixing the dough, we just drew by free hand on the box with a pencil and then traced back over with a permanent marker.

Not only did we add some of the places visited by Marco Polo, but Tiny wanted to label some of the areas around it, so we did.

Also, look at some of these books to add to your study.

Marco Polo Books for Kids

10 Marco Polo Books & Resources for Kids Who Love Reading and Being Read To

Add some of these fun books about Marco Polo to your home library or use them in your unit studies.

More Activities to Go With the Salt Dough Map

Marco Polo Unit Study – Salt Dough Map + Free Printable Map Flags

Too, I made some printable flags to put on the salt dough map.

A few places, I added in the name that would have been used back in the time of Marco Polo and then put the name of the modern day city to help Tiny make a connection.

Names are boring to learn about unless they make sense today.

Remember, before the salt dough dries, stick a toothpick in the dough so when it dries, the hole is there already for the flag pennant.

There is just something a lot more engaging for Tiny to add the pennants on some of the places Marco Polo traveled instead of labeling a printed out map, which would have been a lot more easier for me.

Then again, he remembers geography a lot better this way.

At the last minute, he decided he wanted to paint the trail of Marco Polo’s travels white because it would be easier for him to remember.

Don’t you love it when your kids come up with their own ways of remembering information?

I love it because Tiny was so ultimately satisfied with his work.

Too, though hands-on ideas sometimes are time consuming or in our case we plod along over a few days working on them, you don’t have to do much more review because they retain so much information in the beginning.

How to Download the DIY Printable Map Flags

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Marco Polo Unit Study, Lapbook, and Hands-on Ideas

Hands-on History Activities for Learning about Ancient Civilizations

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You’ll love these hands on history ancient civilizations activities. Also, you’ll love my pages Ancient Civilizations and Ancient Civilization II.

Many things we use today come from the powerful empires of the past, but ancient history can sometimes be a challenge when teaching our kids.

Making a connection to the past through hands-on learning helps a child to not only remember what he has learned, but helps him to develop critical thinking skills. By doing this instead of just memorizing, a child interacts with the past and this cements learning. CLICK here to grab an idea or two for Hands-on History Activities for Kids for Learning about Ancient Civilization!!

Making a connection to the past through hands-on learning helps a child to not only remember what he has learned but helps him to develop critical thinking skills. 

By doing this instead of just memorizing, a child interacts with the past and this cements learning.

HANDS-ON HISTORY CONNECTING TO THE PAST

Do not feel intimidated either if you are not the crafty artsy type of person because hands-on history activities for learning about ancient civilizations do not have to be complicated.

Grab a few of these ideas.

 Mesopotamia

mesopotamia alphabet

Draw the ABC’s of Mesopotamia.This is just way too cool and it’s a language arts lesson too.

The pictures are water color pencil with marker outline.

Carve a cuneiform cylinder seal using clay or play the royal game of Ur.

cuneiform-cylinder-seals-slide      Game of Ur
{source}                                      {source}
Draw a ziggurat or build a ziggurat and hut.

And I love this hands-on geography, history and map curriculum I used because it fits hands-on learning at any age!

ziggurat-drawing    hut
{source}                                                     {source}

Include some easy notebooking about Ancient Sumeria.

The Indus Valley

(Modern Day Pakistan)

Do a connect the dots of Mohenjo-Daro or build the city of Mohenjo-Daro.

Mohenjo_Daro_connect_dots
Mohenjo-Daro

Ancient China

Grab these paper dolls or make some terracotta warriors.

china
soldiers

Build a pagoda or make Ming plates.

build-a-pagoda-slide    MingPlates1
{source}                                             {source}

Also, we love, love the activities from Home School in the Woods.

Hands-on History Activities for Learning about Ancient Civilizations

Read here about the hands-on activities for 14 great empires or you can look at the guide we used.

Phoencia

(Modern day Lebanon)

Ancient Phoenicia Craft Roundup

Check out my post about making a boat, creating some purple dye or learning the Phoenician alphabet.

Hands on History Ancient Civilizations Activities

Next, here are more hands-on history ancient civilizations activities.

Assyria and Ancient Babylon

(Modern day Iraq or northern part of Mesopotamia)

Be sure to check out how to teach history in 14 lessons. You’ll love this curriculum if you need to teach history in broad strokes!


Also, read Why I Love and Use BrimWood Press History here.

And here is my hanging gardens of Babylon craft.

        hanging gardens of babylon
                                               

Ancient Greece

Create a playscape or ancient world and have a Greek feast.

greekworld    greek-feast
{source}                                                 {source}

Play a Greek mythology matching card game or make a Grecian urn.

Greek Mythology Matching Game_General    grecian urn
{source}                                        {source}

Do a paper model of the Parthenon or make an ancient Greek water clock.

paper-parthenon_clip_image002    How to Make a Water Clock
                                                           

Ancient Egypt

 Use a shoebox to make a mini Egyptian Sarcophagus or mummify a rubber chicken.

king-tut-sarcophagus-
rubber chicken

   

Go from paper plate to creating an Egyptian collar or make a minibook printable on the Pharaohs crown using this free .pdf.

from paperplate to egyptian necklace    double crown
                                                          

Include a sugar cube pyramid, cookie map or make yummy mummy hot dogs or make papyrus.

Ancient-Egypt-Activities--1024x1024   papyrus
                                                                         {source}

Grab the Ancient Egyptian printable game I created or grab this free printable maze.Ancient-Egypt-Collage-Snake-Game-        akhenaten-maze-m
                                                                                    {source}

Ancient Rome

Make a styrofoam Colosseum or dig for the city of Pompeii.

the-colosseum        Digging-up-Pompeii
{source}                                          {source}

Make an easy peazy Roman costume or build an Roman aqueduct.

How to Make an Easy Peazy Roman Costume    aqueduct

Make an easy Roman mosaic.

mosaics

{source}

Hands-on History Activities for Learning about Ancient Civilizations

And don’t forget, I created a lapbook about Ancient Civilizations. It is more like an overview on them.

Do you see anything to get you your kids inspired about learning about the Ancient Civilizations while keeping history hands-on?|

South America Unit Study–Vocabulary & Copy work

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Today I have the next part of our unit study on South America ready.  I have vocabulary words and copy work.

South America Unit Study–Vocabulary & Copy work

Because I had to get so many last minute details done for the party and because I have been working with Tiny on composition this year, I wanted to keep the vocabulary words fun too instead of listening to the whining and moaning doing lots of writing.

Vocabulary Words South America Unit @ Tinas Dynamic Homeschool Plus

So I made the words to be used in one of two ways. You can cut them out, fold in half, glue and use like flash cards. The word is on the front and the definition is on the back. Or, you can cut the strip in half and do a mix/match where you have them match the word to the definition. Either way is a lot more fun than writing, which right now Tiny has an aversion to.

Letter by Simon Bolivar South America Unit @ Tinas Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Today, he will be doing some easy copy work. We read a short passage or a letter, a primary source, written by Simon Bolivar about how he wanted to unite South America. So it was perfect to use for our copy work.

You know I told you that I have all my boys do copy work for a long time, even into high school and that I sneak some in too for myself at night.  I am a true believer and fan of copy work because you can just concentrate on the beauty of words or ideas at the moment and can either be inspired or not. There is no analysis or etymology, it is just you and the delight of words. It’s a way too of igniting a love of writing and vocabulary for a victim of burnout.

Enjoy the newest printables for our unit study. I will be working on getting my photos together of our graduation party so I can share with you and getting my house whipped back into some kind of shape today.

South America Printable Minibooks

Also, look at these minibooks which come in the free South America lapbook 27 page download.

  • Animals of the Galapagos fan book which includes the Giant Tortoise, Lava Lizard, Marine Iguana, Green Turtle, Galapagos Penguins, Magnificent Frigate Bird, Blue-Footed Booby, and Blue-Banded Goby.
  • Comparing Mountain Climate Zones
  • Simon Bolivar Copywork
  • Map of South America to label and one labeled
  • Machu Picchu – Lost City of the Inca
  • Negrinho – A dessert from Brazil
  • How to Memorize the Countries of South America and Dependent
  • Map Flags to put on your salt dough map
  • 2 – The Galapagos Island layered book. One prefilled with facts and one blank to add your own information.
  • Vocabulary Pocket and Vocabulary Words

More South America Unit Study Resources

Ocean Currents and The Galapagos1

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Mini Unit Study Of Turkey For Kids | Free Country Report

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have a mini unit study about Turkey. Too, look at my page Homeschool Geography for hands-on and simple ideas and tips.

Did you guess which country my boys chose at the Geography Quest?

Yep it was Turkey. To be honest, I was a tad shocked but happy at the same time that they chose that country. You’ll love these ideas for a mini unit study about Turkey.

Mini Unit Study Of Turkey For Kids | Free Country Report

My oldest son, Mr. Senior 2013, got the final say on country choice since this is his last year to school {sniffle}.

Somewhere along your homeschool journey you wonder if “too much history” is too much. {mmmm does that sense?} You pray most of what you teach your sons sticks with them.

When he chose to talk about Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, and write his essay on it,  I was thrilled because of the rich history of the country.

Easy Homeschool Unit Study Turkey

Mini Unit Study Of Turkey For Kids | Free Country Report

It is absolutely fascinating to study about the beautiful buildings like the Hagia Sophia which still stand today, but also to learn of the diverse influence of the country.

One could spend a lengthy unit study just on the influence of Christians on Constantinople then the Muslim influence.

However, since this was our not back to school Geography Quest with our field  trip group, we had to condense it to about a week of study.

One small point to remember about planning and doing unit studies is that when a topic lends itself to one or more subjects easily than others, don’t force a fit.

If you can’t find a topic for one subject like science or art, focus to enrich the subject/s that your topic does naturally flow with and teach. 

Emphasis should be given to learning what interests you and your kids and it should be age appropriate.

Here are some of the topics we read about in our country mini unit study.

Mini Unit Study on the Country of Turkey

Mini homeschool unit study about the Country of Turkey | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Science:  Tiny, my youngest son, chose to do a report about the cape hyrax. The biology of any country is a good topic for younger children.

The cape  hyrax, or rock rabbit is similar to a badger and he tied in the fact that the early colonist mistook this animal for a badger. He researched this topic on his own because that is what interested him.

Social Studies: He also wanted to show money from that country. It is important when doing a unit study about countries to point out that other money is not play money.

My husband went to the foreign exchange commission and got some Turkish money for us to take and share with the group.

Mini homeschool unit study about the Country of Turkey | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

My middle son, Mr. Awesome, who is my social creature had to read about a variety of topics and influence on the people.

Social Studies:  He explained about a Turkish bazaar or the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. He was interested in the clothing, the fascinating way they still make carpets and rugs from ancient ways.

He just couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that after Constantinople was invaded by the Ottoman Turks they started construction on the building that is still part of the Grand Bazaar. Spices, Turkish pipes {yes he had to view Turkish pipes} clothes, and weapons he had to investigate.

Country of Turkey Quick and Fun Unit Study at Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Along with that he had to talk about Turkish delight which is like a confection candy.

Having never been to Turkey, we can only imagine what true homemade Turkish delight tasted like.

My oldest soon started passing out Turkish delight, that we ordered from a place in Washington, to share with the group. I told you we ate our way through the countries.

Geography of Turkey

Bible/Physical Geography: Then we focused some on the physical geography of the country. Mount Ararat is the highest point in Turkey.

The Bible speaks in Genesis 8:4 about the ark coming to rest on Mount Ararat. So we had to discuss whether the ark was discovered or not.

Studying more about the physical geography, it leads one to wonder where exactly did the ark land and Noah unload the animals.

Also, this is not the only time Mount Ararat is spoken about in the Bible. The region is referred to in the book of 2 Kings too.

Mount Ararat is called by the Turks Aghri Dagh (Mount of the Ark) and by the Persians Koh-i-nuh (Noah’s Mountain). It led to quite the discussion with all of the kids.

Of course then you have to discuss that both the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the Bible are major rivers in Turkey.

We could hardly leave the Bible part topic because Asia Minor in the Bible is mostly Turkey and that opens up all the discussions of the lives of the early Christians.

Phew…..you see why I was thrilled when he first chose it but wondering uhmmm how to do this in one week.

There was more discussion about the physical geography of the country because Istanbul is the only major city that straddles both the Europe and Asian continents.

Was that an advantage or disadvantage in fighting wars?

Turkey Co-op Ideas for learning about the country at Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Then Mr. Senior 2013 wanted to focus on the history of not just the whole country but on Istanbul. Remember  I had mentioned how a unit study is like a funnel, and you want to narrow down to the subtopic that interests your family.

Country of Turkey Homeschool Unit Study

Ancient History/Art: Before he spent time talking on Istanbul, he started off with the story of the Trojan war. He showed how part is made up, part true and some speculation that surrounds the city of Troy.

Then, he did point out that that area is now Turkey.

He moved quickly to focus on the Ottoman Turks conquering the city as well as talking about the Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia is only one building among many that are full of the intricate Turkish artwork.

People coming from Europe called Turkey “Land of the Sunrise” and the early Christians called it “second holy land”.

Istanbul is also called “Crossroads of the World” because of the meeting of cultures there.

He studied about Alexander the Great, but didn’t present this to the group as that would have been “too much”. {Whoa back Mr. Senior 2013 there are small kids too at the Geography Quest}. He did mention Sultan Mehmed II because he was the conquering invader in Constantinople.

All of this led to a discussion about Islam as well with my older two sons. Tiny was looking at pictures of his rock rabbit because he wasn’t interested in this subject.

That is the beauty again of unit studies. Stay on them as long as your children’s appetite is being satisfied.

The youngest ones can stop. Their appetite is satisfied.

One thing I did notice was that there was not a lot of what I consider good resources on this unit study topic.

There were lots of books that told the history of Istanbul. Even after several visits to our library, the books barely mentioned this area that has thousands of years of history.

Books About Turkey the Country

11 Books About the Country of Turkey

Add these books to your reading day or to a unit study to learn about the fascinating country of Turkey.

Between my passport that Tiny showed to the group, the Turkish liras or money and passing out Turkish delight we got all of this in our mini unit study.

We had to save time to savor the other countries presented at the Geography Quest by the other families.

Some of the other kids wore hats that you would think come from France to the Mexican shirts worn by the boys.

We had a great time kicking off our school year and the last year for Mr. Senior 2013. {I may go into sappy mode}.

Mini Unit Study Of Turkey For Kids | Free Country Report

I hope these pages help you in your study about the countries.

We learned about Costa Rica, France, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Romania and Turkey.

MORE TURKEY COUNTRY UNIT STUDY RESOURCES

These pages have a place to keep fast facts and then one part to do a mini report as you work your way through the countries. I do think we need to do this for another time or at least keep doing some more countries.

Country of Turkey Unit Study Resources

Naturally, we covered a variety of subjects and did not force a fit.

Too, I found these Turkish quotes.

So, when we ended this mini unit study we did copywork.

“Listen a hundred times; ponder a thousand times; speak once.”

A wise man remembers his friends at all times; a fool, only when he has need of them.”

“A lion sleeps in the heart of every brave man.”

A cup of coffee commits one to forty years of friendship.”

“Man is harder than iron, stronger than stone and more fragile than a rose.”

Quick and Fun Homeschool Unit Study about the Country of Turkey. You'll love it over at Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus. CLICK HERE!

MORE HOMESCHOOL GEOGRAPHY

HOW TO GET THE FREE TURKEY GEOGRAPHY COUNTRY REPORT

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