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Review by Carrie Fernandez

geo-arts

When I received Geography Through Art in the mail from the publisher for review, I didn’t have a lot of expectations about it. I simply needed to feature an art program and Geography Through Art sounded interesting enough. Just so you know, I am not an artsy or crafty person and this subject often gets overlooked in our homeschool. 

As I flipped through it real quick, I thought to myself “another big book of art projects that I would have good intentions about doing, but would get too overwhelmed to keep up with.” Just to be fair, since I was doing a review, I started at page one, reading about the book’s intended use, the different “categories” of each study, etc. You know, the stuff we all usually skip over. The further and further I got, the more interested I became. I wondered “hmmm…maybe this is something even I could do.” 

It starts out discussing the features and symbols, geography notebook you will be creating, art, safety, and teaching tips, and gives you a general supply list. The first section/unit is on the world; planet earth and maps. One of the coolest things I learned was how to make a map with your children and “age it.” By now my interest has piqued! 

It then goes over all of the continents and several countries in each continent. You get an overview of the whole continent and a map and all of the important facts. In the appendix you have several useful templates to use, such as the Countries of the World fact sheet your child can use with the study of each or some of the countries.

The book breaks down the continent into countries and provides art projects to do relating to that specific country and really cool facts about it. For instance, I didn’t know that in Ghana (Africa Continent), a rare (but weird) form of art existed such as coffin art. I also learned in this country about a Kente Cloth and the project corresponding to it is creating one with construction paper.

I am SO pleased with this curriculum. In my non-crafty mind I can see myself actually being able to do this and having fun with it. I consider it an entire elementary geography curriculum if you throw in some library books, extend some of the map lessons, and take advantage of the Countries of the World fact sheet. It definitely is a whole art program and even involves some great history facts. I highly recommend Geography Through Art

Publisher Description:
Geography Through Art is the ultimate book of international art projects. Join your children on an artistic journey to more than twenty-five countries spanning six continents. This Internet-linked book includes a variety of project types, from watercolor to paper mache to sculpting and more. 

Use this book as an exciting way to supplement any study of geography, history, or social studies. Geography Through Art is sure to make a lasting addition to your home or school library. You’ll find yourself reaching for this indispensable guide again and again to delight and engage students in learning about geography through the culture and art of peoples around the world.