July 2010 Meeting Summary

Today's Geography Club meeting went smoothly. Some of the kids found it challenging, but I don't think there is anything that is too challenging.

We started the meeting with each child identifying as many of the 50 states as possible. They were given a map of the United States with each of the states numbered. On a separate sheet of paper, they were to write the name of the state by number. Abbreviations could be used and spelling doesn't count. We will do this at the beginning of each meeting and we are looking for improvement each time.



After that, we talked briefly why God would want us to study geography. When I asked the kids, their answers included
"If we learn about animals in our area, we could also learn about animals in other areas."
"God wants us to know about His creation."

I read through a list of 10 reasons why God wants us to study geography from the Encyclopedia of Bible Truths on School Subjects (Personal note: This is a book I highly recommend to parents for those times when kids say "why do we have to learn this anyway." There is scripture to back up all of the points made in the book.)

We went on to learn about the state quarter program. Most of the materials we used were from the US Mint. We played a game where each child was given a state quarter and a card with a state capital on it. A child would read the card that might say "Who has Harrisburg". The child with the correct quarter would raise his hand and say, "I have Pennsylvania!"



We took extra time to look at Pennsylvania's quarter and really look at all the details on it.



We then talked about Letterboxing and plans for our group to do Letterboxing projects for this year.

We concluded the meeting with some questions from the National Geographic Bee. I explained that even if you don't know the answer directly, you can take what you do know and apply it to come up with the right answer. I really like this bee because it requires thinking skills. We did a few practice questions, going slowly discussing how we could get to the correct answer.

Homework was handed out and the meeting was adjourned.

In the next week, I will attempt to post resources that we used. If I am unable to post them to this blog, I will email participants directly.

July 2010 Meeting

Hello fellow geographers!

We have 21 members for our Geography Club this year and we are full. I am so excited about the list of children who will be coming and participating.

Our first meeting will be this Friday, July 23 from 1-4pm at my home. We will be focusing on state quarters and license plates. About half way through our meeting, we will take a 5 to 10 minute break and have a snack. I will provide pretzels and apple juice. If your child would rather have something else, then have your child bring it in a bag. They will be asked to save their snack for snack time if they do bring a snack.

I live at 375 Green Ridge Road, New Oxford (about 2 miles north of Cross Keys). If you need directions, let me know.

Parents are not required to stay for the meeting.

Items to bring:

A school box with the following ~

Sharpened pencils

Something to color with (crayons, colored pencils, or markers)

Scissors

Glue (white Elmer's glue or a glue stick is fine)

A folder or 3-ring binder to keep Geo Club papers in.

Snack (Optional - see note above)

I know some of you told me that your child would not be attending, however

it would be very helpful to me if you could email me back to let me know if your child(ren) will be attending or not. That way, I am sure to have enough supplies on hand.

One more note, it seems that I have a schedule conflict for the August meeting. I would like to reschedule August's meeting to September 3. I realize that is the Friday before Labor Day. If too many cannot make it, we may just cancel that meeting all together. I need to hear from you. If Sept 3 will or will not work for you, please let me know.

Thanks!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on Friday!

Patti

Atlas

For those who are participating in Geography Club this year, it is recommended that each student have an atlas. The best atlas I have found is the National Geographic Concise Atlas of the World. I will have a couple of copies of this atlas available for meetings, but students need a good atlas for homework (looking for homework answers on the internet is discouraged). Over the last two years, we have found this atlas to be a fantastic resource.

Here is a link where you can get the atlas through Amazon.com:

Welcome!

Welcome!

CHESS is preparing for our 3rd year of Geography Club. We have an exciting year planned and hope you are able to join us. Space is very limited, but if you are interested, please contact Patti Hunt. There may be room.

Come and explore your world in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. The Geography Club will meet once a month and explore the 5 themes of geography through various activities. Meetings will be at Patti Hunt's house and is for students ages 8 and up.

Meeting time is 1-4pm and dates for 2010-11 are as follows:

July 23 ~ US State License Plates and Quarters; Learn about Letterboxing

August 27 This date is being changed to September 3 due to a scheduling conflict ~ Flags

September 17 ~ Inca Odyssey / South America; Field trip to Codorus for Letterboxing (weather permitting)

October 15 ~ Microstates (countries with less than 200 square miles)

November 19 ~ Seven Wonders

January 21 ~ The Olympics

February 18 ~ Historical Maps

March 18 ~ Technology activity

April 22 ~ Exploring Activity / Washington DC

May 20 ~ Geography Fair or field trip

To participate in the Geography Club, contact Patti Hunt at

homeschoolmarm@yahoo.com

or (717)465-9838

Fee per child per meeting:

CHESS Member $3 per meeting or $20 for the year.

A $3 nonrefundable deposit is requested to hold your spot for Geography Club.

Notes:

If your child will turn 8 sometime during the school year and you would like them to participate, please talk to Patti.

All topics are subject to change, but will not change one month before the meeting.

Children must be CHESS members in order to participate in this group.

Some meetings may take place at local parks like Gettysburg Rec. Park or Codorus. Most meetings will be at Patti's house near Cross Keys.