Our 50 States Review – US Geography by Notgrass
Our 50 States Review – US Geography by Notgrass. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word geography or US geography?
For me personally, the phrase US geography takes me back to the third grade in public school, watching Mrs. R at the front of the classroom in front of a huge map of the United States that she pulled down from a roller above the chalkboard. She pointed to that map with a big wooden pointer and droned on about things like “Columbus is the capital of Ohio. Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. Albany is the capital of New York.” All while smacking that wooden pointer menacingly against the map.
My reaction? Yawn. I don’t know too many third graders (or anyone of any age for that matter) who get excited about that kind of thing.
When I began homeschooling my daughters, US geography is another one of those things I had to change my mindset about, like so many other remnants of my public school experience. I wanted something different and better for my daughters. As with other subjects, including history and language arts, I wanted them to form meaningful connections to the information they were learning. I wanted our learning to be delightfully inspired, even about a typically dry topic like geography!
Thankfully, there are better choices when it comes to US geography homeschool curriculum. One of those choices I recommend is Our 50 States from Notgrass History. Notgrass is well-known for bringing history to life in engaging ways, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that they’ve done the same for United States geography for grades 1-4.
Disclosure: I received Our 50 States geography curriculum at no cost in exchange for a review. A positive review was not required. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Our 50 States US Geography Curriculum
Our 50 States uses a literature-rich, unit study-type approach to US geography. This means it’s much more than just memorizing facts and figures. It’s a feast of ideas, as Charlotte Mason would say, related to the geography of each state. This US geography curriculum is a good pair with the Early American History curriculum from Notgrass.
If you’re familiar with Charlotte Mason’s principle of using living books to learn about things, then you know that Our 50 States is not your average boring textbook. It is full of fascinating facts, discussion topics, recommended reading, and just enough details to pique the curiosity of young learners.
US Geography for the Elementary Years
The full-color, glossy textbook for Our 50 States is filled with beautiful photos and illustrations for each state. They do review the US geography regions and divide the book into regions to make it easier to add connections to the map. Each of the 50 states has its own section within those regional divisions.
U.S. geography facts are provided in a narrative format, making the information engaging to read rather than just population numbers and map locations. Those “boring facts and figures” from my public school experience I mentioned earlier are given context within the Our 50 States textbook. This makes US geography much more memorable and applicable for kids.
What kinds of things do kids learn about the 50 states?
- Each state has a narrative about what it’s best known for, including famous people from the state as well as notable events
- Scenic attractions and historical landmarks
- A bit about its economy
- A Bible verse
The lessons are clearly laid out and easy to follow, making it easy for planning. It’s designed to be a year-long curriculum, but as with many homeschool resources, you can tweak it to suit your schedule.
There is no guesswork here for homeschool moms. You can open and go with the lessons in the textbook. Teacher prep is minimal, too. Just reading the textbook aloud would be enough to give your kids a good grasp on United States geography, but Our 50 States carries the learning even further.
At the end of each state section is a collection of companion activities to do. This includes hands-on activities, so you can make the learning multisensory and even more in-depth. There are also family activities that you can all do together, like art, music, poetry, field trips, and more. A fun feature you’ll find is a link to stream or download songs–a unique song to go with each of the 50 states!
Also included in the curriculum package is the Atlas Workbook, which has activities to go along with each state. They include:
- Geography vocabulary words
- A page to draw landforms related to the state
- Map activities
- Coloring activities (following directions skills are practiced to complete these)
- More photos of the state bird, flower, flag, and tree
There is also a Lesson Review Workbook with fill-in-the-blank worksheets that can be used for review or open-book tests as children complete the lessons. There is a section at the back for Regional Tests with circle-the-answer questions. The accompanying Answer Key and Literature Guide includes the answers to the review and test questions.
Another great feature of the Answer Key and Literature Guide is the recommended reading. These are the living literature selections that you can incorporate into your read-aloud time or assign to your children to go along with the lessons in the textbook. Each book is carefully selected to dovetail with the state’s lessons, and the reading schedule is provided so you can plan it in advance. There is a synopsis of each book included for your convenience, too. Again, there is no guesswork here.
Our 50 States Review Summary
If you’re one of those homeschool moms who wants to make learning more engaging, more meaningful, and more memorable, lean in close. Our 50 States is a great choice for you! It allows for the narration and discussion, the relaxed unit study approach, and the beautiful living books you want to include in your homeschool, but it does not cause you to panic that you’re not doing enough, chase down extra resources and projects, or lack the structure you want to feel confident in teaching geography. It is a great balance that Charlotte Mason and relaxed homeschoolers can appreciate, yet structured enough to satisfy your needs for planning and ease of use.
If you’re homeschooling elementary-age children, I recommend checking out Our 50 States today!
Also, if you want to get to know Notgrass Publishers and the heart behind the company, you’ll want to read this post from Charlene Notgrass.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Sara Jordan is the blogger behind Heart and Soul Homeschooling, a site created in 2008 to encourage and equip homeschool moms to provide a delight-directed education to their children with confidence. She is a speaker, consultant, and mom of three homeschooled daughters. Sara has a degree in Social Work with an emphasis on Early Childhood Development, which began her interest in educational alternatives like homeschooling. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
