Geography is Anything But Boring!

Have you ever thought about where our basic food comes from? Have your kids ever asked you about it? Just about every time I go to the grocery store, I think about how grateful I am for our farmers who grow all this stuff we eat – the wonderful abundance of fruit, veggies and grains (especially organic!) we have to choose from. I think we all take for granted the work others do to make sure we have healthy food to eat! I grow a few tomato plants in buckets every year and know how much works goes into that. So I can surely appreciate what it takes to feed the world!

One great way to explore the world with your kids is to learn about crop production. The US Department of Agriculture offers some great tables that list crop production from countries all around the world.

http://www.cksinfo.com

I learned some interesting things:

• The US produces the most corn, but India produces a lot more cotton than we do.
• India produces about 66% more rice than China.
• There is a lot of peanut production in the nations of Sub Sahara Africa.
• The US leads the world in soybean production.
• Russia produces more wheat than the US, but India produces more than Russia.

If you look at the data with your children, talk about the reasons different countries grow more of  a crop than other countries do. (Climate, population, land size). Discuss how we all help each other out by supplying food to other nations.

With Thanksgiving just one week away, this is a great time for us all to be thankful for our food!

Geography is not only about knowing where places are on a map. It’s also about people and their cultures, weather, distance, nature and more. Here are four fascinating primitive cultures for you to explore:

• The Dani of Irian Jaya
• The Yanmami of the Amazon
• The Tasaday of the Phillipines
• Australian Aborigines

Australia Aboriginal Flags

http://webclipart.about.com

San Diego Family Magazine has posted our contest. And while I was checking it out, I started to browse around the website. I looked at the home page and immediately felt welcome. It is homey! And I love the soothing colors and beautiful, uncluttered design. I think you’ll agree.

The resources for people in the San Diego area are excellent. (I can tell you that we have nothing this well organized or easy to use that I’ve found for Miami!) There’s a complete list of after school activities in the area for kids. How great is that? There’s a list of companies that help plan and stage events and fundraisers, a resource guide for parents of babies, a comprehensive fall school directory, list of support groups, contests, family travel tips, events calendar, movie reviews, crafts for kids, book reviews, toy reviews and craft projects. You’ll even find a local dining guide, restaurant reviews and recipes. And if all that were not enough, there are articles pertaining to specific neighborhoods in the San Diego area.

I guess life really is better in California.

If you are planning a visit to San Diego, check out San Diego Family before you go. If you live there, then you are probably already a frequent visitor and subscriber to the site.

Quick! Look at a map of the USA. Can you immediately find:

http://free-stock-photos.com

1. Lake Huron
2. Washington DC
3. The Missouri River
4. 3 states that are home to Yellowstone National Park
5. New York City
6. Lake Okeechobee
7. Lake Tahoe
8. The Grand Canyon
9. Mount Rushmore
10. 4 states containing Rocky Mountain National Park

Click here to read an interesting article by my expert Geographer friend, Dr. Joseph Kerski. Mapping and Analyzing our Changing World. No one knows more about mapping software than Dr. K! If you are unfamiliar with the educational mapping software available today, you have no idea what you are missing! It is fascinating and so incredibly educational.

Me & Dr. Kerski at the NCGE National Conference in San Juan

Now is the time to improve your geography literacy and encourage those around you as well! This year’s National Geography Awareness Week Theme is:

“Get Lost in Mapping: Find Your Place in the World”

http://www.nationsonline.org

Here’s what you should do right now:

• Read about the National Geography Society’s Giant Traveling Map Project, if you haven’t already. Here’s my interview with Dan Beaupré, Director of Educational Partnerships at NGS.
• Read about the Green Schools Alliance Climate Quilt Campaign. Children around the world are invited to make a patch for a quilt pledging their promise to do their part to help save the planet. In addition to learning about the global environment, this project also teaches geography.
• Go to MyWonderfulWorld.org to sign up for updates on Geography Awareness Week, Expedition Week and for a ton more info about geography!
• Talk to your child’s teachers and school principal about the importance of Geography Education!!

More than half of young Americans are unable to find New York on a map. Read 2006 Roper Survey Here.

Let’s change that now!

International travel can be very exciting. But it can also be dangerous if you don’t educate yourself about where you are going. Check out this article and photo gallery in the Chicago Tribune.

>http://webclipart.about.com

I use to write brochures for cruise lines, including safety travel tips. Sometimes the passengers did not listen – especially when it came to their expensive jewelry and how they carried their cash and passports. But you are smarter!

Here are some common sense tips.

1. Check the US Department of State website for country-specific travel warnings. Don’t ignore warnings! Obviously if you are traveling to a war zone, you’ll be taking chances with your life.
2. Surf the web for recent news about your destination. Each country has its own official website.
3. Don’t travel alone if possible – especially if you are unsure about the safety of your destination.
4. Don’t travel overseas if you do not have adequate funds to make your way safely around.
5. Tell family members at home exactly where you are going and how they can contact you if need be.
6. Check in with a family member or friend every couple of days either by phone or via email.
7. Don’t book hotels without knowing if they are in safe areas or not. Use trusted guidebooks before to make choices. Or better yet, get recommendations from travel agents or friends who have already visited.
8. Bring US Embassy info with you for your destination in case of an emergency.
9. Travel lightly. Heavy luggage is a burden and makes you more of a target for thieves and other criminals.
10. Don’t make yourself stand out by dressing like a tourist – especially a wealthy one. It is better to blend in.
11. Don’t draw attention to yourself by being flashy, loud or offensive in any way.
12. Leave all your jewelry at home.
13. Don’t carry a lot of cash.
14. Use traveler’s checks.
15. Don’t bring credit cards you don’t need.
16. Use a money belt rather than a bag of sorts to carry your passport, credit cards and cash.
17. Don’t leave valuables in your hotel room.
18. Be discreet about your travel plans and hotel stays with seemingly friendly strangers you meet along the way.
19. Educate yourself about the best and safest way to get to and from your hotel and the airport as well as other sites before you go.
20. Think hitchhiking is safe in other places? Think again. Don’t do it. EVER.
21. Be selective about your nighttime entertainment. Ask the hotel staff about recommendations.
22. Women should not go out alone at night.
23. Don’t use ATMs at night.
24. If you don’t feel completely safe, do not fumble outside with a map or guidebook or do anything else that makes it obvious you are a tourist. It is better to go inside a business and ask for directions.
25. If new warnings are issued while you are overseas, do all you can to safely leave the area or hunker down there until it is safe to travel.
26. If you feel unsafe for any reason, follow your instincts.

Many people get into trouble because they just make bad choices.

Don’t be one of those people.

Make good choices, okay?

http://www.webweaver.nu

With the time change and winter approaching, (I have to laugh here, because I am in South Florida) I feel different. It happens to me every year. I want to eat dinner earlier, get into bed earlier and stay home more often. And what about mornings? I wake up to early, and that is why I want to go to bed earlier.  I just plain feel like I have a lot less time to get things done. But it’s really not true. I’ve got to snap out of it.

This got me thinking about the Americans who work during the night hours and sleep during the day. Just how do they do it? I would be totally depressed not seeing the sun – especially after living here! Just think about how a night job would change your life. You could not really socialize or attend daytime events. You’d be home sleeping while everyone else is living. I’ve read how many people doing this need to be treated with florescent light exposure to simulate the sun and get them out of their depression.

I don’t think we were meant to stay up all night. I’ll stick to “normal” hours.

Smart Poodle

© 2009 by Debbie Glade, Smart Poodle Publishing. All rights reserved.

Read my latest review on LA Parent. This book is called Back Home by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Julia Keller. It is a story from a teenager’s point of view about the return of her injured father from the Iraq War. It is so well written, I cannot say enough about it! You’ve got to read this, whether you are a teen or a parent.

You’ve got to see A Christmas Carol in 3D at your local IMax! It is incredibly unique and entertaining.

Jim Carrey stars as Scrooge and also plays the roles of the spirits – past, present and future.  Rather than his usual, silly style of acting, and what I refer to as “overacting,” he does a serious, Oscar-worthy job here. The film was created using stop-motion animation, similar to “The Polar Express.”  It is like combining reality with fantasy resulting in mesmerizing characters. It must have taken a really long time to make this movie. I cannot even imagine what that process is like!

What I love about this version of A Christmas Carol is that it is quite true to Charles Dickens’ original story.  Carrey portrays the misery and unparalleled nastiness of Ebeneezer Scrooge perfectly. That combined with the magic of 3D makes for a most extraordinary movie-going experience. For a Miami girl like me, it was a true pleasure being snowed upon! This animation makes you feel as if you are Scrooge himself, flying with the ghosts, running from fear and being overcome with regret. There are many creepy scenes, and for that reason I say this movie may be too scary for very young children.

The only thing I was not crazy about was a scene where Scrooge is frantically running through the streets, being chased by a dark carriage. The story line here seems to go on and on, and just when you feel relieved that it is over, the creepy carriage reappears a few more times. It did not make a lot of sense to me.

After watching this movie, I asked myself, “What is it about these classic, overly familiar stories that keep us coming back for more?” I think the answer is that we love what we know, yet we want to experience familiarity in original ways. Does that make any sense to you? The fact that Scrooge, a totally unlikeable, unfeeling human can face his own cruelty, be filled with regret and then change, gives us all hope for ourselves and others.

What if you came face-to face with the spirits of your past, present and future? What would you see? What would you want to change?