Teaching your children about the world around them is a great thing, but how do you go from liking the idea to putting together a practical plan to actually make it happen?
How do you add in one more thing among the reading, writing, math, and spelling?
…without losing your mind in the process?
It’s a daunting just making sure you’re covering all the basics, isn’t it?
Each year, as one school year winds down, I start to look forward to the next one. You see, I’m a planner. I love to sit down and see the big picture of where we are and what we’re going to cover in our homeschool journey over the next year.
But more than that, I like being able to break up our curriculum into bite-sized pieces we can work on each day. I’ve found that if I just plan to go through a particular science textbook over the course of the school year, we won’t get started when we should. We won’t have as much fun with it as we could. And it ends up being more stressful – a lot more stressful – later on in the year.
So this year, as I sat down with a stack of curriculum, I decided to take you along on my planning journey. Particularly on how I use Adventures Around the World with my own children.
You Want In On The Secret?
Can I let you in on a secret? When I first started writing Adventures Around the World, I was writing it just for my kids! I wanted to give them a fun, engaging way to interact with the world around them while still having some structure to what we were learning about each country.
You see, I couldn’t find any curriculum to match what I wanted. It seemed that everything I found glossed over stuff and required me to purchase a bunch of extra materials just to be able to present the material in the curriculum I purchased.
Or, they took it from an “Encompass-Everything” perspective where all the handwriting, math, science, history, and reading – every subject! – was wrapped up in one study that started with a specific country. And that approach didn’t work for me, either. I already had our math curriculum. I already had our science curriculum. I didn’t need to change all these other things just to add in learning about the world.
And so, I started putting together a program for my own kids. One that they would enjoy. One where we could cook and taste the food. One that would highlight the animals and give fun (and sometimes silly) facts about them. One that would be fun and engaging and hands-on. One where we could dream a little and think, “If I get the chance to visit this country, what are some things worth checking out while I’m there?” One where we would be learning, but learning in a way that felt easy and natural.
Oh, it’s gotten a cover update over the past couple of years. I’ve typed it and spell-checked it (you would not want to see my handwritten scribble notes that I started with!). And as we put together the details for this upcoming homeschooling year, my children are looking forward to exploring our incredible earth by taking an Adventure Around the World.
The entire Adventures Around the World series is available on the online store. You can find it in the navigation menu or click this link.
You Gotta Know This…
But how do you put it together? On a practical level, what does it look like to plan for and use Adventures Around the World?
Oh, it sounds great in theory! But what does it look like in reality?
To answer that question, I need to give you just a tiny bit more information on Adventures Around the World. But first, I need to tell you that you can get the FULL Botswana packet for FREE just by clicking on this link (or the picture). Everything I’m about to lay out for you in this post is yours with just a few mouse clicks to claim your copy!
The information in each Adventures Around the World country is divided up into 7 big sections. These sections cover things like Clothes & Culture, Geography & Travel, Local Creatures, Fun Facts, and more.
Now, scattered throughout these sections are activities, games, recipes, and crafts. And because each country is different, the activities, games, and crafts show up in different places. They are always included, but based on the uniqueness of each country and the different activities, crafts, and games, they show up where they best fit.
Let’s see if I can break this down a little better by walking you through how I set up our study of Botswana.
By the way, if you want to check out everything the Adventures Around the World series has to offer, you can grab your very first Adventures Around the World lesson completely free. This First Lesson will give you an inside glimpse into 3 Adventure Around the World countries to give you a tiny taste of what you can expect with each and every country in this series.
This post contains affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure policy for more details.
The Practical Plan
The way I’ve decided to set things up is to take a week to walk through the material in the Adventures Around the World: Botswana packet.
First up, I took a look at the Diving Deeper resources and tracked down where one of our favorite adventure books landed on our bookshelves: Travels with Gannon & Wyatt: Botswana. This book series is a great and exciting read for everyone in our family and I want to make sure to use this book as our read-aloud book the week we explore Botswana. (You can read more about the Travels with Gannon & Wyatt series here.)
Now comes the time to break up the information into daily, bite-sized pieces…
Monday…
On Monday, I want to set the stage for learning about Botswana. The best way to do that is to go through the Fast Facts section. This will give us information about the language, time zone, capital city, flag, size of the country, and more. Plus, there are 2 simple activities that will help us get a better picture of the country. Between checking out the information and doing the activities, it should take us about 10 minutes to get through the information.
As we’re taking a look at the country today, we’re also going to go through the Geography & Travel section. This will give us a picture of what things are in the country. Everything from game parks and incredible geographical locations to monuments and museums. This section is packed with information with a lot of Fun Facts scattered throughout. I’m going to figure about 10-15 minutes to read this section, but it could last a lot longer if we start talking and looking things up!
Tuesday…
On Tuesday, we’re going to dive into the Culture & Language of Botswana. And by that I mean we’re going to go through the section called Culture & Language!
In this section we’ll find a little bit of history. Don’t worry, it’s not a book! But in order to understand about a country, you need to have an idea of where they’ve come from, right?
We’ll also talk about the different languages spoken in Botswana, along with doing an activity to take the language from characters on a page and bring it to life.
And finally, we’ll talk about some of the culture of Botswana. We’ll check out a video of traditional music as well as make a craft to highlight the culture.
Working through this section will probably take us about 15 minutes, excluding the craft. Now, if we start getting into the language activity, it could take longer, but if my kids are having fun and learning, I’m not about to stop them!
I’m going to plan a good 30 minutes for the culture craft. It’s not a complicated craft, but this one does involve paint, so I’m adding in time for set up and clean up into my planning. The thing I love about adding crafts into a study of the country is that my kids remember what they created and what it stands for months and even years after our study of that particular country is over!
Wednesday…
Today is animal day! We’re going to go through the Local Creatures section of the Botswana packet, which is simply packed with information and fun facts about all the animals you can find in the country.
Reading through this section will only take about 5-10 minutes, but I’m going to add in the African Animals Quiz (included in the packet) to our animal day today. Adding in the quiz will take an extra 10 minutes or so.
That will make for about 15-20 minutes of exploring Botswana…unless we get sidetracked and start talking more about cool animals, which is entirely possible with my children…
Thursday…
On Thursday, we’re going to talk through the Festivals & Feasts section of the Adventures Around the World packet. This section should only take us about 5 minutes.
We’ll finish up our day with the Fun Facts section – which is just like what it sounds! A collection of fun and interesting facts about the country. This section will take us about 5-10 minutes.
Now, today would be a great day to dig a little deeper and see if we want to learn more about the country of Botswana using the resources in the Diving Deeper section. We might be able to find some more videos or even a tour of the country by checking out the additional resources webpage that’s available once you get the Adventures Around the World: Botswana packet.
Friday…
Today, we’re going to wrap up our adventure in Botswana by reading through the Clothes & Cuisine section. Now, reading through this section should only take us about 5-10 minutes, but we’re not going to stop there.
Included in the Adventures Around the World packet is a Botswanan recipe, so we’re going to head to the kitchen and make this dish for dinner. It seems like a fitting end to our Botswana week to have a Botswana dinner night!
Not Truly The End
And there you have it, a glimpse into how we will be working through our study on the country of Botswana.
Now, obviously this is just a tiny glimpse. The full Adventures Around the World: Botswana packet is 31 pages long and packed with information for you to explore. Not only that, but included in the packet are links to dedicated resource pages, extra resources, and tutorials. In other words, I want you to have all the information and resources you need to make your Adventure Around the World a huge success!
If you want to take a look inside Adventures Around the World for yourself, why not grab your very own copy of your First Lesson? This First Lesson is completely free and allows you to see a tiny glimpse into 3 Adventures Around the World countries. All you need to do is sign up just below and your free First Lesson will land in your inbox within moments.
What are you waiting for? There’s a whole world out there to explore! Let’s make it a fun adventure!
The entire Adventures Around the World series is available on the online store. You can find it in the navigation menu or click this link.
Additional Resources:
- How to Create Your Yearly Curriculum Plan
- 12 Reasons to Fall in Love with Adventures Around the World
- Epic Travel Adventures for You to Explore: Travels with Gannon & Wyatt
- How to Use Adventures Around the World in Every Area of Your Homeschool
Resources
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Elizabeth Tatham, founder of Inspiration in the Everyday, is a homeschooling momma of 5 who loves helping other homeschooling mommas create a unique homeschooling adventure your kids will love…without the overwhelm! Join in on the journey with 7 simple steps to make your homeschooling day go faster, easier, and with less tears here.