Using literature to teach geography may not be the first idea that most come up with when they think of a geography curriculum. When I think of geography, I think of maps, facts about different states and countries, and really… just plain old boring studies that I have no interest in (and my kids would have no interest in, either.) But, what if I told you that literature may be the very best tool in learning about geography in your homeschool?

Using literature to teach geography

What would you do if you received a curriculum full of the most beautiful book suggestions, a blank journal just waiting to be filled, and the most beautiful map books you’ve ever seen? Well, if you’re anything like me, you’d do a little happy dance as soon as you get it!!

My Exploring the World and My Exploring the 50 States geography journals are filled with all the things I mentioned above, and whenever we dig it out of our homeschool cabinet, it makes me so excited to learn about geography! The books that are included are picked from the best of the best- many of them are Caldecott Award winners, others are classics, and most are known to be some of the best out there. We are total literature lovers over here, especially when we find an awesome curriculum that uses picture books, so this curriculum was like finding gold to me!

Rabbit Trails Homeschool is a company that uses literature to teach geography and all sorts of other topics in history, language arts, science, and more. They have something for all elementary and middle school learners, but using My Exploring geography journals has been a total joy in our home. It’s designed for elementary age students, but even my middle schooler joins in on the lessons.

Igniting wonder in your homeschool

When we try to teach using the kill and drill method, my kids would never be able to memorize the facts that they have about the countries that My Exploring the World covers. But, when we read about these countries, learn about the animals and nature in those areas, plus other fun facts, my kids want to learn more. They head on over to the map on our wall and find where the country is, where the cities are that are discussed in some of the books, what countries surround this foreign land. By reading and using litearture to teach geography, we’re igniting wonder in our homeschool.

Picture books open up a whole new world to kids when it comes to learning about geography. When you’d often just learn facts about places, picture books open up so many avenues to learn about culture as well. There is a picture book suggested for each country on top of the map books, plus a video, so this brings about a deeper learning and understanding in culture than you’d ever get while learning from a text book.

What’s included in the My Exploring geography journals?

All of the Rabbit Trails units are PDF downloads, so we’re able to dig right in. I love that! No waiting for shipping so I can start planning right away. The map books that both of these journals are based on are MAPS by Aleksandra and Daniel Mizielinska for My Exploring the World journal, and The 50 States book by Gabrielle Balkan for My Exploring the 50 States journal. These can both be purchased on Amazon, borrowed from your library, or purchased used on sites like Thriftbooks. Then, you can dive into the suggested picture books by finding them from your library, watching them on YouTube, or purchasing your very favorites.

Open up this same world of wonder in your homeschool

You can get the My Exploring geography journals to use in your home, or any other of Rabbit Trails Homeschool’s amazing curriculum options. They’ve become a staple in our home and I’ve fallen in love with building our home library with the wonderful books that are suggested. Head on over and check out all of Rabbit Trails’ options yourself so you can fall in love, too.

For more homeschool history and geography resources click the image below.