The Child's Geography series was started by Ann Voskamp, who was inspired by Virgil Hillyer's Child's Geography. Hillyer is famous for his conversational tone and engaging way of presenting facts. Voskamp wanted an up-to-date version of Hillyer's geography while still preserving his style and approach. Thus the series is written in his style, while being explicitly God-centric. Explore the Holy Land takes children country by country through the middle east, with a "prayer walk" after each country is covered.

How Does This Work?

This isn't a textbook so much as a history book for parents and children to read together. Voskamp suggests gathering the children on a comfy couch and reading the text out loud. Throughout each chapter children are asked to verbally narrate the information learned back to the teacher. At the end of the chapter children write "field notes" telling about their "adventures."

The CD-Rom contains the resources and activities that correspond to the text, including a "bringing it home" section that incorporates art, books, food, music, and poetry from the various countries.

Though suggested for grades 1-6, the writing style and activities skew a bit young. They would probably be a lot of fun done in a mixed age group, such as a large family, but older children may need something more challenging if they're going to be doing geography alone.

Our Honest Opinion:

This a fun, friendly, engaging introduction to geography that's geared toward the parent wanting to teach multiple grades at once. It's more laid-back than a lot of other geography curriculum you'll find, which means the scheduling is more flexible, and for this age range that's not a bad thing.

Our one complaint about this volume is that its formatting is sloppier and more distracting than the previous volume. Still, it captures the geography and culture of the middle east, and we think it'd be a great jumping-off point for more in-depth study later on.

Review by Lauren Shearer Lauren Shearer writes words for fun and profit. She also makes films, but everyone knows you can't make a profit doing that. Her other hobby is consistently volunteering way too much of her time. You can read more of her reviews here.

Review by Lauren Shearer
Lauren Shearer writes words for fun and profit. She also makes films, but everyone knows you can't make a profit doing that. Her other hobby is consistently volunteering way too much of her time. You can read more of her reviews here.