Geography help

[Fwm23]

I will have a 6th and 4th grader (and 3 younger...) in the fall. I was thinking of doing states and capitals with both, but that woud have the older one not completing geography before high school. We have done some, but his retention is very low. We have been doing map drills on Africa this year, but I'm pretty sure that barring Egypt he doesn't know Africa. He can probably also locate China, England, Italy and some of South America. Any thoughts?

[CarrieAnne]

States and capitals will be quick and straightforward for your 6th grader, I would think. If that child hasn’t had success with a geography study yet, it can be a place to practice really memorizing names and places. However, if you really want the good world geography foundation in the middle school years, I might focus on starting the geography sequence now. Either fly through states and capitals over the summer, have your 6th grader lightly cover the course with the younger sibling while focusing primarily on Geography I, or just let it go. If you do Geography I, you can do the states and capitals review book concurrently as its own mini-study.

[Mom2mthj]

I think States and Capitals, Geo 1, and Geo 2 would be enough before High School. I wouldn’t skip States and Capitals just to do Geo 3. Given his struggles this year I would be concerned about the same comparison issue that you mentioned in the other thread. Have you looked at Geo 1? The goal is to locate a list of countries on a blank map and to name and spell country and capital. There are some flash cards with the flags on the front to color in. If his retention has been low, you might look at what resources simply classical is using for geography or ask for some suggestions over on the special needs board. My kids have enjoyed doing puzzles where is piece is a country in the region or a state in the USA.

[Emily L]

If it were me, I would try my best to use lots of different resources for states and capitals to shore that up before starting Geo 1 next year. Try the sticker maps MP sells, try the flashcards, try Stack the States, try Seterra, etc. And if that level of focus isn't improving things, that's when you really need to talk to the Simply Classical folks about why he's not able to make those facts stick. I think at that age you should be able to get those to stick without a huge time commitment over the course of the rest of the spring, unless there are other learning challenges. And if there are, that's totally fine, but you'd want to know that before deciding on his curriculum for next year.

[Fwm23]

I kind of like the idea of doing states and capitals now. I think both kids could do it. I can drop the workbook and correct spelling requirements because he really struggles with spelling. We haven't really tried hard to memorize them yet, but they are familiar with several. I like the sticker book and flashcards. We also hve a nice wooden puzzle that used to be mine. I think well have a try.

[Mom2mthj]

My son really likes the USA and Canada geopuzzle. The pieces with the exception of the smallest states are cut one state to a piece.