Best Homeschool Geography Curriculum for Elementary

This post contains affiliate links and we may earn a commission when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Our picks for the best homeschool geography curriculum for elementary:

Geography is a favorite subject for many homeschooled kids and parents alike. Who doesn’t love learning about different places in the world and the people who live there? If you are looking for a homeschool geography curriculum appropriate for elementary-aged kids, you’ll have lots of great options to choose from. In this article, we’ll tell you about some of our favorite homeschool geography curriculums for elementary kids. If you have older kids, be sure to check out our other articles, Best Homeschool High School Geography Curriculum and Best Homeschool Middle School Geography Curriculum. 

Best Literature-Based Option

Beautiful Feet Books Elementary Literature Packs

If you’re looking for a wonderful literature-based approach to elementary geography, we recommend the geography-based literature packs by Beautiful Feet Books. Each pack contains a collection of wonderful age-appropriate titles, along with a teacher guide that makes lesson planning a breeze. The colorful guides include great background information for parents, a day-by-day schedule of what to read, corresponding activities, and suggestions for additional books, art projects, and recipes. And you can move through these packs at whatever pace you choose, making them ideal for homeschoolers who need a structured curriculum that also provides lots of flexibility.

For geography at the elementary level, there are several great literature pack options. We’ve heard many parents raving about the new U.S. Geography Through Literature Pack for grades K-3. This pack includes the teacher guide, a map, and eleven books focused on U.S. geography. Kids will not only learn about various regions of the U.S. through these stories, but they will also acquire geography knowledge such as mapping, state symbols, directions, and more. 

If you’re looking for a more comprehensive literature-based U.S. geography program for an older elementary student, Beautiful Feet’s Holling C. Holling Geography Pack for grades 4-6 is a fabulous option. This curriculum explores all 50 states and requires only one lesson a week for a year-long study.

And if you are looking to introduce your younger elementary students to world geography, consider Beautiful Feet’s Around the World with Picture Books 2-part series. Part 1 explores Asia, Africa, Australia, and Africa, while Part 2 covers Europe and South America. The two packs need not be done in order – it’s fine if you want to use just one of these packs, or if you want to use Part 2 before Part 1. Each pack contains lesson plans, journaling ideas, beautiful illustrations, and plenty of recommendations for corresponding reading, art, and cooking activities.

Best for Independent Learners

Around the World in 180 Days, Sherrie Payne

If you are looking for a geography program that your elementary student can work on fairly independently, learning valuable research skills along the way, we recommend Around the World in 180 Days by Sherrie Payne. Units are organized by continent, and the basis of the program involves students finding answers to questions that are. The author gives suggestions for books and other resources where the answers can be found. Physical geography, culture, history, and world religions are all studied in this program. 

Kids will develop valuable research and writing skills as they work through Around in the World in 180 Days. Speaking and writing assignments are also included to help students learn to better communicate what they are learning. Because this program can accommodate kids at any grade level (even high school), it’s a great option if you want to use the same geography curriculum for kids of different ages. Older kids can help their younger siblings find answers to the research questions Payne provides.

To begin this program, you’ll need the Around the World in 180 Days 2-volume set, which includes both the student workbook and teacher’s guide.

Best History-Based Geography Program

A Child’s Geography, Master Books

If you are looking for a history-based geography program that your child can use through the elementary years, consider A Child’s Geography from Master Books. This series includes five volumes appropriate for kids in grades 1-6. The first of these is the least historical in its approach, focusing on physical geography and earth science. The rest of the volumes focus on different regions of the world based on specific historical frameworks: the geography of the Holy Land is explored in Volume 2, the Classical World in Volume 3, medieval kingdoms in Volume IV, and the Viking world in Volume V.

Each volume of A Child’s Geography provides an easy-to-follow 36-week structure, making for an open-and-go curriculum that parents love. Parents will need to read the text to their children, though older elementary children may be able to do some of the reading on their own. Most parents enjoy the program as much as their kids, with each volume including plenty of beautiful illustrations, photographs, and colorful maps. Kids learn geography through reading, mapping, completing puzzles, and hands-on projects like making recipes. 

A Child’s Geography is a solidly Christian program, incorporating a Biblical perspective throughout the series. If you are a non-Christian or secular homeschooler, you may find this series still provides a good framework for your child’s geography studies, but you’ll want to adapt the program to fit your own family’s needs.

The five volumes of A Child’s Geography are:

Best Christian-Based Program

Elementary Geography & Cultures, Master Books

If you are looking for a wonderful Christian-based geography program for older elementary kids (grades 4-6), consider Elementary Geography & Cultures from Master Books. Like A Child’s Geography, also published by Master Books, this curriculum provides a dynamic, nicely structured program perfect for those who want their kids to learn geography from a Biblical perspective. 

This curriculum makes teaching your child geography easy. The Teacher Guide includes daily lesson plans based on a 4-5 days/week schedule (if used at this pace, it will take one school year to complete this course). This curriculum is open-and-go, incorporating many different teaching methods, from reading and doing worksheets to puzzles, coloring activities, and cooking projects. The printed materials themselves are bright and colorful, including visually engaging maps and plenty of color photographs. 

This is truly a world geography course, where kids will learn about a variety of countries and cultures around the globe. They will also learn about the development of language and study physical geography, ecosystems, and earth history, all from a Christian point of view. 

To begin Elementary Geography & Cultures you’ll need to purchase the Elementary Geography & Cultures Teacher Guide, the Passport to the World book, and the Children’s Atlas of God’s World. 

Best for Struggling and Visual Learners

Trick Geography, Patty Blackmer

If your student struggles with geography or is a visual learner, we recommend you check out the Trick Geography series by Patty Blackmer. Designed for kids in grades 3 and up, Trick Geography is a unique program in that it uses fun word associations and correlated images to “trick” kids into remembering the names of the countries and cities they are learning about. The program uses images of things that are phonetically similar to the names of various geographical locations, visually embedding them into the maps that students are studying. When learning the country Botswana, for example, students will study a map that includes an image of a dotted swan (“dot”-“swan” = “Botswana”). A similar method incorporating more images and whole “trick” sentences is used to teach world capitals.

Trick Geography is a well-structured, open-and-go curriculum that parents love because it requires no prep time. The teacher guides provide lesson plans, with most lessons including map study and using a mnemonic image to help kids remember the various place names. The program provides numerous types of activities to help students solidify their knowledge, such as puzzles, flashcards, quizzes, and tests. 

There are several Trick Geography programs available, with each one focusing on a different continent or region of the world. Each program will take approximately 5-9 weeks to complete. A world course is also available, but this will probably take most elementary kids more than a year to complete (it could certainly be stretched out over a two-year period). Each course includes a teacher guide and consumable student book. These can be purchased separately or together as a package. The following courses are available:

– Trick Geography: USA – you’ll need the Trick Geography: USA Teacher Guide and the Trick Geography: USA Student Book, available as a package here.

– Trick Geography: Asia – you’ll need the Trick Geography: Asia Teacher Guide and the Trick Geography: Asia Student Book, available as a package here.

– Trick Geography: Americas and Oceana – you’ll need the Trick Geography: Americas and Oceana Teacher Guide and the Trick Geography: Americas and Oceana Student Book, available as a package here.

– Trick Geography: Africa – you’ll need the Trick Geography: Africa Teacher Guide and the Trick Geography: Africa Student Book, available as a package here.

– Trick Geography: Europe – you’ll need the Trick Geography: Europe Teacher Guide and the Trick Geography: Europe Student Book, available as a package here.

– Trick Geography: World – you’ll need the Trick Geography: World Teacher Guide and the Trick Geography: World Student Book. A Trick Geography: World Test Book is also available, and all three books can be purchased as a package here.

Best Mapping Program

ArtK12 Draw the World Series, Kristin J. Draeger

If you are looking for a mapping curriculum that can be used on its own or in conjunction with another geography program (such as the literature-inspired Beautiful Feet book packs), we highly recommend the ArtK12 Draw the World series by Kristin J. Draeger. Designed for grades 3 and up, each book in this series carefully teaches students how to draw detailed, accurate outline maps of countries, political borders, bodies of water, and much more. This is an easy program to incorporate into your homeschool schedule, as lessons are short and can be done in conjunction with other geography or social studies curriculums, if you choose.

You could almost think of this program as a geography course disguised as an art class. Kids are taught in small segments, detail by detail, about how to accurately draw maps of various geographical features and world locations; in the process, they commit those locations to memory. Gradually, they are able to make larger and larger maps (of whole continents, for example), developing valuable self-confidence along the way. You’ll be shocked at how well a third grader can draw an accurate map after using this curriculum!

This series includes nine volumes, each focused on a different region of the world:

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a homeschool geography curriculum for your elementary student, you’ll find lots of great options to choose from! If you have older kids, be sure to check out our other articles, Best Homeschool High School Geography Curriculum and Best Homeschool Middle School Geography Curriculum.