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Material World: A Global Family Portrait
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This is one of two books listed for geography in Module 4 (history/geography/Bible). Has anyone used it? How did you use it? I’m feeling a little lost without the help of Sonya’s wonderful guides. I’m new to SCM, but not new to CM in general. I have been looking at the guides and was excited about the thought of using one. Then I realized that Module 4 is really where we need to be (based on what we’ve already studied) and there isn’t a guide for this module yet. Bummer!!! I know many of you have been doing this for awhile and have either had to or chosen to “do your own thing” without one of the guides. I’m looking for a little help, especially in the geography department. Anyone?
Leah, I like to just keep Material World on the coffee table in the living room. My children look at it on their own. I’ve also added Hungry Planet, by the same photographer, to the pile. They’re both fascinating — and easy to use! 😉
Thanks! So is Around the World in a Hundred Years the only book I use (along with map drill) for geography? Or are there any other recommendations?
That’s the one I would use for geography. Read about four pages or maybe a half a chapter one day each week and ask for a narration. I would also have a map or globe handy to trace the explorers’ routes as you read about them. Then do a map drill of Europe and the Far East on that geography day each week too.
Oh yes, be on the lookout for a few interesting comments from the author about Christian beliefs. You can either use them as discussion starters or edit as you read aloud.
Thanks so much, Sonya! I’m really looking forward to starting our school year! I will also be looking forward to using your guides the next time around!
Another thing we did with the Material World and Hungry Planet books–we’d look at the picture of a country, and then we’d read part of the text. We’d find the country on a map. I’d assign one kid to look up things like language spoken, money used, population, etc. Then we’d find out about the church in that country, pray for the people in it. When the kids were younger, I made up a simple notebook page for us to record what they learned about the country, and put on a flag sticker, and we kept these in a notebook. One year for extra “zing” we bought a box of stamps and coins on Ebay and stuck those on the page, too. Couldn’t be easier!
It really is an amazing book. My son and I sit together on the couch, and go through each country “visit” thoroughly. I read it out loud, and we look at each picture really carefully. The photo that shows everything the family owns is especially interesting. This is SO much better than any geography textbook! For my son, the information about Haiti was really jaw-dropping.
We are taking this book slowly. It really can be quite an eye opener, and at 15 I think my son can really absorb and appreciate the info it contains.
Thank you for starting this thread, I hadn’t looked into Material World or Hungry Planet before (we haven’t gotten to that Module yet). They look fantastic, definitely something I’d like my children to be looking at now!
Rachel
Thanks everyone for the great ideas! I was excited to find that my local library has both Material World and Hungry Planet along with What the World Eats. We can use them for free until we are able to add them to our family collection. I really appreciate how willing everyone is to take the time to share their ideas. I’ve been missing the support of my homeschooling friends since our family moved to a new area. With this forum, I don’t feel so isolated and alone in my homeschooling efforts. I love having like-minded people to turn to for wisdom and advice. Thanks for your “Titus 2” attitudes!
Menzel has also done Women in the Material World, a followup to Material World, or so my library says. I’ve got those, Hungry Planet, and What the World Eats(which I’ve seen before) coming as they become available. Has anyone looked at A School Like Mine by Penny Smith? I’ve looked through that one as well and it was interesting. Very approachable for kids, and there were different schools besides our ‘public schools’ as it covered 6 continents. I really enjoyed reading it.
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