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Waterlily
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| Posted: June 14 2012 at 8:33pm | IP Logged
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I'm working on putting together a program for U.S. Geography for next year. Would you share some of your favorite resources? anything-- Games, puzzles, video, audio, fiction, nonfiction, and specifically Catholic stuff...
Here's what I've gathered so far:
Geography from A to Z
United States Coloring Book (Dover)
Sticker Atlas of the United States
Natural Wonders of North America (National Geographic)
Paddle-to-the-Sea
Minn of the Mississippi
several books about individual states (Sea to Shining Sea series)
one book from the State Alphabet Series by Sleeping Bear Press
Geopuzzles: US and Canada
Thinking about getting:
Scrambled States of America (book and game)
Eat Your Way Through the USA
I also want to include Catholic history/pilgrimage sites/holy Catholic people with each state. I've gathered a lot of info from the thread here on saints,blesseds, etc for the states,(THANKS!) and from the internet.
Would love recommendations for (hopefully Catholic)stories or saint biographies from each region such as the following. (I have not previewed any of these--would love input from those who have read them).
*Never the Golden City; Father Kino: Priest to the Pimas (Southwest)
*Henriette Delille: Rebellious Saint (Southeast)
*stories about Isaac Jogues, Kateri Tekawitha, Elizabeth Seton, Mother Cabrini, St. John Neumann (Northeast--there are many choices there!)
*The Explorations of Pere Marquette (Mississippi river states)
*Saint Herman of Alaska; Damien of Molokai (Alaska, Hawaii)
*Never Turn Back: Father Serra's Mission (Pacific)
*need some stuff for the great plains states
America has such a rich Catholic history!!
(Can you tell I'm really excited about this project?)
I've already started writing out the unit on Florida (I found out the Pensacola is now believed to be the site of the first Catholic Mass in America, in 1559, even before the founding of St. Augustine in 1565!)
Thanks for any resources you can add!
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Angel
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| Posted: June 14 2012 at 9:28pm | IP Logged
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I'll just put in a plug for Scrambled States of America... all my kids have *loved* this book! I'm not sure how much geography they learned, but they've all had a lot of fun with it. 
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Angela
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pumpkinmom
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I will need to take notes! We are going to do this a year from now. We are focusing on history this year and geography the next. I did buy Trail Guide to US History, but haven't looked at it too much. I have several Saint books picked out from Emmanuel books circled. I am thinking about 10 Days in the States game. I bought the 10 days in the Americas this past year and my boys enjoy it. I really have nothing else to add to your great list!
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Cassie
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guitarnan
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| Posted: June 14 2012 at 9:33pm | IP Logged
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We have the Scrambled States of America card game and it is hilariously funny as well as educational!
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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MaryM
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| Posted: June 15 2012 at 3:53am | IP Logged
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This sounds like so much fun. Great resources so far and love the focus on connecting it to Catholic history and figures of faith. There are other Catholics you can focus on who aren't saints or blessed , as well.
Did you see this thread? Studying the States(US) Resources & Ideas - it links to many of the threads available here on the topic of studying the states, so there are lots of favorite resources listed. Many of mine you have mentioned - others I've included on the other lists How the States got Their Shapes, Lynne Chenney's 50 States, United Tweets of America, and Sheppard software games online to name a few off the top of my head.
Waterlily wrote:
| *need some stuff for the great plains states |
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Giant Of The Western Trail - about Fr. Pierre-Jean DeSmet which would cover Misourri, Iowa, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon
Both St. Katharine Drexel (NE, NM) and St. Rose Deschene (KS, MO) would be good for midwest.
Saint Katharine Drexel: Friend of the Oppressed is the Vision book reprinted by Ignatius.
Dear Philippine;: The Mission of Mother Duchesne - Vision book not reprinted, oop
Let me mention an AMAZING resource I love to bring up here for those not aware. Treasure Chest of Fun & Fact was a whole series of comic books published by Pflaum from 1947-1972. The ones that are no longer under copyright (up to the mid 1960's) have been scanned page by page and are archived at this site which is part of Catholic University of America's archives. The comics were originally published for use in Catholic schools during those years and covered topics of the Catholic faith and American history/patriotism so would be great for stories of Catholics in different US regions. Some examples of folks I mentioend above:
Mission Star of the West part 1 (about St. Rose)
Mission Star of the West part 2
Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, S.J.
There are lots of stories in these different series:
God's Frontiersmen
They Opened the West
They Setteld the West
Also have you seen Ecce Homo Press has a series called Glory of America that has children's books for several US saints? Study guides and activity books. too.
Waterlily wrote:
| I've already started writing out the unit on Florida (I found out the Pensacola is now believed to be the site of the first Catholic Mass in America, in 1559, even before the founding of St. Augustine in 1565!) |
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Another cool piece of Florida history that is Catholic is Fort Mose. It's the site of the first legally sanctioned free African settlement in what is now the United States (1738). The story is fascinating and has Catholic connections as converting to the Faith was one of the requirements of residency.
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Mary M. in Denver
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Waterlily
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| Posted: June 15 2012 at 5:30pm | IP Logged
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Wow, Mary, you are a fountain of information!
Thank you sooooo much. I missed that thread on
Studying the States! I've just been searching for US Geography or American Geography...duh.
And I was searching for a book on Fr. De Smet!!! My husband admires him very much, and we're even planning on naming our next boy Pierre after him (if we are so blessed)!!
Yes, I've seen the Glory of America series and was thinking about using those, too.
But I had never heard of Ft. Mose!! And I've been to St. Augustine several times. How did I miss that? Awesome information.
Love those comics from treasure chest! I'm printing them out now for my kids.
You can see how ignorant I am, and how much more studying and information gathering I have to do!!
Thanks again, and let me know if you think of anything else.
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MaryM
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Glad to help. Will add more as I think of it. Someday I would like to make a chronological or geographical list of all the Catholic history stories from Treasure Chest to find htem more easily for studies like this.
Waterlily wrote:
| But I had never heard of Ft. Mose!! And I've been to St. Augustine several times. How did I miss that? Awesome information. |
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Because it is pretty obscure information and never something taught to us in US history books.The archaeological finding of Ft. Mose site was in the 1980's so fairly recent. There just isn't that much awareness of it. I only heard about it when I found this new book at our library last year - Fort Mose: And the Story of the Man Who Built the First Free Black Settlement in Colonial America. It is very interesting.
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Mary M. in Denver
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SeaStar
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Bumping this thread up with a couple of questions....
My library has exactly one of the Sleeping Bear geography books about the states. Wah. They are fairly pricey to buy new. Are they worth the cost? Not that I would buy them all- maybe just one per region of the US.
Also-
I am interested in doing some geography crafts beyond keeping a states notebook. Has anyone found any fun craft kits or any package deals that pertain to US history or the states? I have one book about making your own totem poles that comes with some cool stencils. That is the type of thing I am looking for... I also have a US states cookbook, which we are enjoying cooking from as a "craft".
Any other ideas?
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JennGM
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SeaStar wrote:
Bumping this thread up with a couple of questions....
My library has exactly one of the Sleeping Bear geography books about the states. Wah. They are fairly pricey to buy new. Are they worth the cost? Not that I would buy them all- maybe just one per region of the US. |
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I'm not super impressed by the Sleeping Bear alphabet books. We check them out, but they aren't one that I can read aloud that engages the younger one. The older son will read them, but they don't draw him in. Perhaps it's the "sameness" of the format that gets old. I don't find them as engaging like a living book, but more informative facts.
Anyway, I decided against buying them, unless I find them used for cheap.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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wamegomom
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Thanks, Mary, for posting the information about St. Rose Philippine Duchesne. I met a nun a few years ago at the St. Mary, KS, Indian Mission Museum who told me that her great-grandmother was taught her prayers by St. Rose. Very cool!
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wamegomom
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Also, what about Boys' Town and Father Flanagan?
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guitarnan
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Brown Paper School has a book about American Indians that includes crafts along with lots of Native American stories and legends...we used the legends as read-alouds and did the craft projects that worked for us.
(...if you're really interested, I have a copy I might be persuaded to sell, but this is not a sales pitch)
Don't forget about cooking your way across the USA...I have a cookbook along that theme somewhere, with a recipe for every state. Fun!
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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MaryM
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wamegomom wrote:
| Thanks, Mary, for posting the information about St. Rose Philippine Duchesne. I met a nun a few years ago at the St. Mary, KS, Indian Mission Museum who told me that her great-grandmother was taught her prayers by St. Rose. Very cool! |
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You are right, that is super cool! Anyone who has real contact with a saint.
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Mary M. in Denver
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SeaStar
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JennGM wrote:
I'm not super impressed by the Sleeping Bear alphabet books. We check them out, but they aren't one that I can read aloud that engages the younger one. The older son will read them, but they don't draw him in. Perhaps it's the "sameness" of the format that gets old. I don't find them as engaging like a living book, but more informative facts.
Anyway, I decided against buying them, unless I find them used for cheap. |
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Thanks, Jenn. I keep looking at the one I could check out and thinking: who is the target audience here? It's a bit long for a picture book read aloud for littles, and the other info is pretty detailed and seems a bit overwhelming to me, as an adult.
I thought perhaps others in the series might be different, livelier... or something. I will keep an eye out for used copies, but I don't think these will go on my wish list.
I did have to buy, though, The United Tweets of America. My dd loved the library copy and kept studying all the illustrations. 
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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JennGM
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SeaStar wrote:
| I did have to buy, though, The United Tweets of America. My dd loved the library copy and kept studying all the illustrations. |
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This is a well-loved book here. I was about to type above that I WOULD recommend buying that one! How funny.
But it isn't by Sleeping Bear Press.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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SeaStar
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guitarnan wrote:
| We have the Scrambled States of America card game and it is hilariously funny as well as educational! |
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Thanks for the recommendation, Nancy. My kids are really enjoying this one.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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4Real Forums : Across Time and Place
Topic: Favorite Resources for U.S. Geography
