Geography 1 by Memoria Press - Review

I have a confession to make.  I am a confirmed “geography-phobe.” Now, I know that isn’t really a word, but it describes the relationship I have had with Geography studies since I was in elementary school.  I didn’t realize the affect this had on my children until I noticed their lack of understanding  of current events in the world.  When they didn’t know where Egypt was on a map, or Syria, or Africa, I knew there was a problem.  We are schooling year round this year.  As part of our studies, Geography is getting a huge emphasis.  We received the complete Geography 1 set from Memoria Press for purpose of review.  I knew from the moment I examined the Memoria Press website that this was going to be a Geography curriculum that even I could understand.

     The Geography 1 set contains the Geography 1 Text, Geography 1 Workbook, Geography 1 Teacher Guide, United States Review (Student), and United States Review Key (Quizzes and Tests included). For $48, this is an amazingly complete curriculum.  Geography 1 is intended for students in grades 4-8.  I have been using it with my daughter, who has just completed seventh grade, and my son, who has just completed 10th grade.  Since we are so lacking in Geography skills around here, he was definitely not too old to use the curriculum.  In Geography 1, we have been working on studying the Geography of the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. 

     This curriculum approaches Geography in a different way than I have ever seen. It actually makes Geography come to life and seem relevant. The regions we are studying may seem a bit familiar to you.  These are the regions that made up the historical Roman Empire.  My kids have been learning about different countries in these regions, the capitals of these countries, some of the history of the countries as well as present day information about the countries, and how these countries relate to the ancient Roman Empire.  We are having school time 4 days a week, so we work on one country each day and review the other countries we have studied each day.  The kids read the lesson for the day and then complete the correlating workbook page.  There are quizzes after every few lessons.  These quizzes are simple if students are reviewing everyday.  My daughter is the organized and color-coded type.  She has a system of colors that she uses on the maps on the workbook pages.  For examples, one of the first workbook pages she completed had a map of the entire Middle East.  She colored it with colored pencils and assigned each country a color. Then, as she studied each country individually, she made sure to color that country in its assigned color.   My son didn’t go that far – he is more of the ‘just the facts’ type.  He simply enjoyed reading and completing the worksheets and memorizing the facts.  Grading their work was simple with the Teacher Guide.  It contains everything I need to facilitate the curriculum. 

     We are also using the United States Review.  My daughter is much farther along in this than my son because she memorized her states and capitals several years ago.  It has become a challenge to him to learn the states and capitals and be able to recall them faster than her.  The United States Review workbook is very simple to use and is purely a book of worksheets reviewing the states and capitals, by region.  The quizzes cover each region and are very simple to understand. My kids do a workbook page each day and then review.  If they score below 90% on a quiz, they spend time reviewing and take the quiz again. 

     All in all, Memoria Press Geography 1 is a hit in our home!  I have learned as much as my kids.  We are going to continue to use Geography 1 over the summer and then move into Geography 2 in the Fall.  I really think that the things we all have been learning will enhance our other lessons. 

     Many of my friends on the Schoolhouse Review Crew have been reviewing Geography 1 as well as Prima Latina by Memoria Press.  To read their reviews, click on the banner below.