Home School Product Reviews

Finally, a way to actually get Geography done!

I had purchased some cool geography curriculums in the past, only to have them languish on the shelf as we struggled to complete our other work. Then I found Daily Geography. Mondays take longer because we read through the lesson, but the rest of the week is a breeze. Each day contains two questions based on Monday’s reading. Each week also has some vocabulary words which can be reviewed daily if you choose. I’m so glad to find a good geography program that we can actually get done!

I was looking for something easy and painless to teach my son history and geography but it also had to be engaging, fun and interesting. I wasn’t sure about trying SOS (Switched on Schoolhouse History and Geography) but I am SO glad I did. It is wonderful. My 14 yo son is excited to do his history everyday and spent 2 hours yesterday exploring the links provided in the lesson with interest and enthusiasm. I wished I had used this earlier. We are also going to buy the science. I love it! Another bonus was this was even less expensive than buying it from Alpha Omega directly. So thank you Timberdoodle for offering this great product at a great price!

LIFE SAVER!!!

I sure wish I found this (Daily Geography Grade 1) a few years back! I have tried to create my own geography lessons and wasted so much time and money. This book is simple, to the point and FUN to do. My kids look forward to it and so I have them do it at free time since they constantly want and ask to do it. I love how they start simple and use a bedroom floor plan (the kids really understood) and it goes from there.I am having so much fun re-learning with them. No fluff! Love, love, love it.

Window on the World is a great tool when studying geography. It opens one’s eyes too the different cultures, religions, and (my personal favorite) ways to pray for them using beautiful graphics and helpful facts! I’ve loved how it ushers children to look at the world with compassion, and helps them better understand (and see) those they are encouraged to pray for! Although this has been geared for an older child, I had no problem with gearing it down for my kindergartner. The pictures alone bring out some awesome questions (that lead to awesome conversations). The only thing I would change is that it would cover every culture!

The Global Animal Puzzle is our first attempt at doing a “grown-up” puzzle together (parents and 8 year old daughter).  DD has already learned quite a bit from doing geography puzzles for children, so I was thrilled to see her eyes light up when she recognized the name of a country and knew which continent it was part of.  It is slow going (mainly because we have to keep stashing it in the sewing room when her younger siblings are up…they are definitely not ready for the Global Animal Puzzle!), but we are loving the time spent together and the learning involved in doing this beautiful, high-quality puzzle together.

Oberlin, OH

Hugg-A-Planet's World Globe

Hugg-a-Planet has been a great first globe for our children. The colors are bright and give good contrast between countries and oceans.  The fabric and construction are durable and withstand the hugging, sitting, and general rough use of our Pre-K children.  The stuffing has shifted a little due to all the learning love over the past 2 years in our home, but that does not affect it’s function or our appreciation.  Now if I could just get my children to cease hurtling it through space…

The Global Puzzle

A great tool for our four boys ages 6 – 13

This has been a great tool for our four boys ages 6 – 13. They spent hours working on it and have memorized many countries that were new to them. They have all been asking to get it out again. Some pieces are very small so we had to watch the toddler and baby and also be very careful to pick any pieces that fall so we won’t lose them.

Complete Collection of Maps

A wonderful collection of blackline maps, teacher answer maps, Knowledge Quest’s MapTrek is the perfect resource for World History Maps. I found the lesson plans an added bonus.  We are using Map Trek maps in our timeline notebook as well as our Geography and History units, I love being able to print just the maps I need and have copied the maps to my e-reader for lesson planning without printing. A great resource for all ages.

I am so excited to finally get these puzzles! I have been looking at them for a long time, and finally decided to make the plunge and buy the set, and I am so thrilled! As soon as they arrived, I popped open the box and jumped right in on the Africa puzzle. I love that the puzzle pieces are each the shape of the country, and the different colors help it go together quickly. I found myself short a piece, so I called Customer Service, and within two weeks, they had GeoPuzzle mail me the missing country, so now, Africa is complete! This is the way we are using them for learning right now. We are studying the United States, so we pull out the U.S & Canada puzzle, and I help the kids get it going by building the border. Then, they use the box cover to work their way across the country. As they get more familiar with it, they are using the box cover less and less. One nice thing about these puzzles is that my four year old can even do them, with a little help. He loves puzzles and will often work the US puzzle, while I am doing seat work with his 8 year old sister. I love things that work for the whole family!

Geopuzzles Set

I highly recommend these Geopuzzles. My son has been doing them for 2 years now and still has not lost interest. He challenges himself to dump 1-5 puzzles out and put each continent together. He has learned geography in a fun way and has integrated the shapes of countries so well that he will be eating a graham cracker and tell me, ‘Mom, look; Ghana!’ I nod and smile and think, I need to do those puzzles with him more often! The only down side that I can see is that the very big countries like China are in several pieces instead of one like all the others, thwarting the ability to feel the shape which is the geopuzzles’ greatest accomplishment. It is an excellent tool for learning the geography of the world.