Geography: It's Not Business. It's Personal.
I didn't start cramming geography facts down my kids' throats until geography facts became important to me.
And when was that?
It was when I was introduced to someone new in my life--a little girl I today call "my daughter."
She's from a place called "China," and up until then--that country was just some far away land I might have reached if I dug with my shovel long enough.
But the moment I pulled out her picture from a FedEx pack, geography became personal.
She blew open my world, really. What I thought was the simple adding of a child to my family became so much more. Suddenly I "got" that there were other people in the world. And I "got" that there were real people with real feelings and real needs.
Recently, I gave you a big ol' list of recommended resources for teaching kids about geography. But there's more than facts and figures when teaching them about the world. It has to be personal. Kids need to put a face with a place to make it sink in.
Here are several ways you can help them do that:
And when was that?
It was when I was introduced to someone new in my life--a little girl I today call "my daughter."
She's from a place called "China," and up until then--that country was just some far away land I might have reached if I dug with my shovel long enough.
But the moment I pulled out her picture from a FedEx pack, geography became personal.
She blew open my world, really. What I thought was the simple adding of a child to my family became so much more. Suddenly I "got" that there were other people in the world. And I "got" that there were real people with real feelings and real needs.
Recently, I gave you a big ol' list of recommended resources for teaching kids about geography. But there's more than facts and figures when teaching them about the world. It has to be personal. Kids need to put a face with a place to make it sink in.
Here are several ways you can help them do that:
- Host an exchange student or connect with a family who is hosting an exchange student
- Sponsor a child through Compassion or World Vision
- Support a missionary working in another country
- Take a missions trip to another country
- Send regular letters to someone serving in the military overseas
- Interact with a family who has adopted internationally
What would you add to the list?
4 comments:
It is so true that meeting someone from another country that you can personally identify with helps you to care more about people from other countries.
My husband has had a heart for China for a very long time. But it wasn't until we met a man here who lived in China and suffered in prison there for 16 years for speaking his opinion, that we really felt a longing in our hearts to help the people there.
Now I can genuinely say that there is a love in my heart for the people there.
Thanks so much for sharing and for helping others to understand and care about people from other geographic locations.
One thing that makes people from other countries seem real to me is reading biographies. Two good ones that I can think of off the top of my head--Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, and Infidel (Somalia).
I lived overseas in Africa for almost 15 years (from age 4 until 18). I think that's one of the very best things I learned early on -- that there are, like you said, REAL people in places around the world. People who laugh and cry and struggle and love their kids. One of my biggest hopes and dreams is that I can help my kids have this same love for people who live in other countries. I guess it's starting with the fact that my daughter has a best friend who is from India and speaks very little English.
Um, okay...her referral picture: ADORABLE! And I love that her fleece says "Girl" on it. :)
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