One Thing More: Geography CC Cycle 3

This entry is part 16 of 38 in the series Classsical Conversations

classical conversations cycle 3, one thing more for geography, match-ups and extras for US geography

Our kids are growing up SO FAST! As we finished up 3rd grade with my oldest this year, I reminisced about the beginning of the year. Our first day of school was filled with tears over a simple math problem. There were tears for a couple of weeks if we didn’t begin the week with Pagoo. So many tears.

I took in all the information those tears taught me, made adjustments, prayed, had delicate conversations with this 8 year old wonder before my eyes. And together, we learned so much in 3rd grade.

At the end of the year, we stacked up all the books we had read together discussing the merits of each one. We had traveled to the farthest reaches of Asia with Marco Polo, plunged to the depths of tiny tide pools tossed about with Pagoo, and suffered through Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Long Winter. I looked at my girl, sitting before me and marveled at how far she had come in one year.

I wouldn’t have the joy of witnessing this without the bonds we have forged through our homeschooling journey. The seeds sown, the struggles strained; the fruit is beginning to ripen.

This post may include affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase based on my recommendation, I get a small remuneration at no extra expense to you. I only recommend things I use and believe to be a blessing.

The Struggle with Too Much & Not Enough

Now preparing to enter our first year of Essentials, I feel, in large measure, we are ready. And yet, I struggle with the questions of balance. The struggle between “too much” and “not enough” is real.

I find myself reminding myself of the simplicity of the curriculum we have chosen as the foundation for our school years – Classical Conversations. When I am tempted to pile on – to add extras, to make it bigger than it already is; I remind myself this is a a beautiful feast, but it is possible to overeat.

I have seen the lists. You may have seen them, too. They include stacks of books for each week, for each subject. It is impossible to get to it all, much less gain benefit from them. And picking just a few resources out of the vast array becomes another difficulty. There has to be a simpler way.

I contend, we should focus on one thing more in one subject area. And we should allow our students to pick their “one thing more” subject. I am encouraging my second-timers to choose a favorite “one thing more” for this year. And I am planning to support them, not with an overwhelming feast of resources, but with one extra morsel.

One Thing More

Last year I shared our One Thing More lists for cycle 2 for those students who are going through a cycle for the 2nd time. The idea behind these lists are for the student to choose one subject, and do one thing more each week of the 24 weeks. The lists are not meant to be exhaustive. They are intended to be simple extras.

And as we look forward to our second time through cycle 3 (for 2 students), I have begun to compile One Thing More lists for them. This post focuses on adding resources (small morsels) to Cycle 3 Geography. Look for forthcoming installments for other subjects.

As I stated above, the options for match-ups can be overwhelming. When I pulled together this list, I wanted to be as succinct as possible. It needed to be a super short list of resources for us. And it is! Even I had to fight the temptations to make it too big, reminding myself constantly of the dangers of too much of a good thing. Nonetheless, I have chosen some seriously wonderful and simple resources for Cycle 3 Geography!

I encourage you to peruse our One Thing More lists for Cycle 3. Our community is a late-start community due to the present circumstances in our state, so please forgive me if these are a bit later than your start date. I invite you to find the subject in which your student would want One Thing More. Gather the limited and enjoy!

I have started writing enough about Classical Conversations that I created a segment of my mailing list devoted to CC. If you are interested in receiving updates on our CC journey, encouragement for your CC journey, and notification of new resources to help you, please sign up here. If you are already a subscriber, it will NOT double-subscribe you.

A Word about Geography Resources

It is impossible to separate a region’s geography from a region’s cultural history. Well, I guess you could; but then geography would lose much of its richness. I have tried to find resources that give the second-time student a feel for the history tied into the geography. The more links we can give our kids between the two subjects, the better they will be able to connect the dots.

Since Cycle 3 is focused on the United States, the very best way to study the geography is to get out and see some of the places. We are making it a goal to visit at least 3 of the major places mentioned in the Cycle 3 memory work. Depending on where you live, you could visit more or less. Just visit! Experience is such a big component to understanding in the early years of learning. If you happen to have a 4th grade student, you and your family can get a free pass to all the National Parks here.

One Thing More – Cycle 3 Geography

Without further ado, here is the list of resources I included in our One Thing More for Cycle 3 Geography:

I also made some resources which are available in my Shop:

These resources are not all meant to be consumed completely. A few of the resources are for reading a chapter or two. Most of the resources are available on Scribd, which I highly recommend as a homeschool resource. Those that are available as of the writing of this article are noted with an asterisk here and on the Match-up.

What to do with these resources? Besides reading the books and doing the activities, I envision most of these to be narration-friendly. The books may also become fodder for weekly presentations on community day. Your student could create a journal of their geography discoveries, too.

One Last Thing

Another thing I just wanted to let you know about, especially if you have a geography-interested kid is the Nat Geo Bee. Similar to the Spelling Bee they show on ESPN these days, the Nat Geo Bee is an academic competition for geography. It is open to students in 4th through 8th grades and is open to homeschool students. There are a number of requirements and more information is available here.

I pray these resources are a blessing to you on your students second time through Cycle 3.

classical conversations cycle 3, one thing more for geography, match-ups and extras for US geography

Series Navigation<< What We are Actually Doing for CC Cycle 3…ReallyOne Thing More: CC Cycle 3 – Latin >>

Leave a Reply