Tag: literature-based

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A Beautiful Way to Learn the USA – Homeschool Geography Curriculum Review

This year in our homeschool, our goal is to learn the 50 States! We found the perfect unit study to help us along the way as well as brush up our geography skills. Beautiful Feet Books just released a new Geography Through Literature program and I am so excited to share it with you! 

Beautiful Feet Books sent me a free copy to share my honest review, as always any opinions expressed are my own.
Beautiful Feet Book's Primary Geography study incorporates wonderful resource books that teach basic geography terms and concepts as well as takes you on a journey through USA geography history. Learning through literature is a real winner in our home and I encourage you to try it out!

Overview of Beautiful Feet Book’s Primary Geography

I have a special place in my heart for literature based curriculum. The approach to teaching subjects using a vast variety of books works so well in our home. Beautiful Feet Book’s Primary Geography study incorporates wonderful resource books that teach basic geography terms and concepts as well as takes you on a journey through USA geography history. Learning through literature is a real winner in our home and I encourage you to try it out!

They did such a great job blending geography and learning the USA!

Beautiful Feet Book's Primary Geography study incorporates wonderful resource books that teach basic geography terms and concepts as well as takes you on a journey through USA geography history. Learning through literature is a real winner in our home and I encourage you to try it out!
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What’s included in Beautiful Feet Book’s Primary Geography?

If you are new to Beautiful Feet Books, their programs include a course teacher guide and books going along with the course guide. Here is what you get in the Geography Through Literature K-3 Pack:

If you are new to Beautiful Feet Books, their programs include a course teacher guide and books going along with the course guide.
  • 1 Beautiful Teacher/ Course Guide – 36 Lessons
  • 1 USA Map – It’s Huge and will be Colored during the lessons!
  • 11 Books – From Amazing Geography Resource Books to Beautiful Picture Books
Check out the Geography through literature k-3 pack & all the books here

How Much Prep & How Many Lessons are in Beautiful Feet Book’s Primary Geography

The Geography through Literature K-3 is 36 pre-planned lessons. You can do 1 lesson per week, which would last a traditional school year or 2 lessons per week to finish up in half a year. Also you could be like us and work through 3-4 lessons per week, because its that good! As far as prep goes, this unit was pretty open and go. I printed out some of the picture downloads from the website and just had those ready when we got to those lessons.

What I really enjoyed was all the additional books and videos provided to take a deeper dive! If your child was really engaged in a certain topic then these help you keep that eagerness to learn and find more great resources.

The Geography through Literature K-3 is 36 pre-planned lessons. You can do 1 lesson per week, which would last a traditional school year or 2 lessons per week to finish up in half a year. Also you could be like us and work through 3-4 lessons per week, because its that good! As far as prep goes, this unit was pretty open and go. I printed out some of the picture downloads from the website and just had those ready when we got to those lessons.
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My Favorite Part about Beautiful Feet Book’s Primary Geography

In this unit study, you are provided some books that are more of a reference guide that you utilize throughout the entire unit. Geography from A to Z and Our 50 States were some of my favorite resources in the entire unit. They are fun and engaging for kids but super educational. These resources will be used for years to come!

In this unit study, you are provided some books that are more of a reference guide that you utilize throughout the entire unit. Geography from A to Z and Our 50 States were some of my favorite resources in the entire unit. They are fun and engaging for kids but super educational. These resources will be used for years to come!

I highly recommend this unit from Beautiful Feet Books, its a beautiful way to introduce geography and the USA to early elementary students. This is a must add to any homeschool geography curriculum. Check out this entire unit and everything else Beautiful Feet Books has to offer here: Beautiful Feet Books Geography through Literature

I also filmed an in-depth video review and unboxing video here showcasing all the GREAT things that come in this unit study!

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Why Did We Choose a Literature-Based Homeschool Curriculum?

As we are adjusting to another year of homeschool, I decided to make a change in our curriculum. We had a not-so-great experience with our first round of a family style history unit. After that, I decided to investigate a curriculum company that has had my interest since I first wanted to homeschool.

There are a few reasons this company had my interest-

  1. They plan EVERYTHING for you, yes you read that correctly, they plan everything for you. This was really important to me as a working and homeschooling mom to multiple kids.
  2. History is hard to understand in general BUT my kids are avid readers and love reading books, so a literature-based curriculum was a winner!

Ok so, now that have your attention, we decided to use BookShark’s Level D History with Reading + Language Arts for my 9-year-old daughter going into her 4th grade year.

So how exactly does BookShark work? From BookShark’s Website:

Reading with History D links BookShark’s proprietary subjects together. History, Geography, Read-Alouds, Readers and Language Arts are integrated (Language Arts can be purchased separately). Meet Paul Revere in a history book, then see him in a Reader. Get to know George Washington in a biography, then see him again through children’s eyes in Johnny Tremain and Phoebe the Spy. As your children learn and discover in this style, they’ll make astonishing connections between the people, places and events in American History.

https://www.bookshark.com/reading-with-history-d

This curriculum includes Family Read Alouds, Independent Readers, and so much more! My daughter will learn American History through both fiction and non-fiction stories that will prompt for bigger discussions.

Did I mention they plan it all out for you? THIS IS AMAZING!

BookShark’s curriculum comes with a 36 week, 4 days/week instructor guide that plans out EACH and EVERY day for you! They plan out all the readings, activities, so all you have to do is open and go!

We are so excited to be using this literature-based homeschool curriculm from BookShark! Interested in learning more? Check out their website here I also created a video on why we chose BookShark. Check that out below: