I Heart... Geography


This week is Geography Awareness Week (November 16-22)!  And National Geographic has some incredible tools to help kids (and adults) learn a little more geography.  Check out My Wonderful World -- a website for kids and teens , parents , and teachers  devoted entirely to geography.

I thoroughly tested my Global IQ and enjoyed doing it (though I need to work on my African countries).  There is a range of games for kids, teens, and adults on topics ranging from biodiversity and African safaris to languages and Geocaching.  There is also a place to lobby for more geography education in your local schools.  You can even print your own wall map of the world -- for free!

Check out My Wonderful World -- and spread the word!

A Little Link Love

I'd anticipate that next week the North American Blogosphere will be pretty quiet as those of us in the US gorge on turkeys and pies, but this week has been particularly busy. So, here are a few items I found most interesting (and there seems to be a family theme this week)...

Link Love

Wandering Educators:  Following the technical snafu, my post about Google Earth's Ancient Rome layer is now live.  Check it out!  I did a test drive over the weekend, and it rocks!  There's a curriculum development contest for all you teachers, too.

Family TravelLogue:  I've been following Sheila's trip to China very carefully (on the China 2.0 Tour ).  And you know how I like trains, so I was particularly interested in her account (complete with video) of traveling from Beijing to Shanghai by overnight train.

Mother of All Trips:  I often am asked for hotel recommendations in Rome, and I am always happy to get new ones, too.  This week Mara recommends Hotel Lancelot as a great place to stay with children in Rome.  I've never been there, but I am going to check it out when I am back in Rome in February.

Travels with Children:  A few days ago Minnemom put up a great post about the importance of taking children to museums and the exposure they get to other cultures and traditions.

Delicious Baby:  Debbie gets the best stuff!  And she gives it away, too.  This week it is a Flip Video Camera -- way cool!  Just leave a comment, and you'll be entered to win.  Deadline:  Monday, Nov 24.

And just for fun...

The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks:  I am sending some love to this blog because I am a grammar and punctuation snob, and it is always good to find others who share my... sickness.

See Ancient Rome in 3D

Note:  Wandering Educators has resolved their technical issues, and the post is now live!  


Today over at Wandering Educators I am blogging about Google Earth's new Ancient Rome layer.  It is a pretty amazing way to strip away 2000 years of history in Rome.

Here's a snippet:
Wandering the streets of Rome or wrapped up in a quilt while reading about the Eternal City, it can be difficult to imagine what ancient Rome once looked like. On my first visit I was amazed to suddenly realize that there were unexcavated ruins under just about everything in the city center and beyond. Visiting museums like that at San Clemente andCrypta Balbioffer a glimpse of what lies beneath, but now we have another tool that may be even more helpful. Google Earth has teamed up with the University of Virginia’s Rome Reborn 2.0 project to create a 3D map of Ancient Rome.
Check it out at Wandering Educators !