Teaching geography at home
Maps, places in the news, travel by book and a globe on the table.
The Library of Congress hosts historic and modern maps that can be viewed free online, and its collections are a source for map lessons. Geography at home starts with a globe and a wall map: find where you are, where a story takes place, and where a relative lives. Add one new country or state a week, with a book and a recipe from there.
Checked October 29, 2026.
This is a plain-words summary, not legal advice. Laws change: check your state's current law and its education department before you act.
A way to start
- Put up a world map and a US map.
- Find each place a story or news item mentions.
- Draw a map of your street, then of your town.
- Cook or read something from a different place each week.
The free path
Curriculum, if you want one
History and geography curricula compared. They are listed side by side with no ranking, and each one carries a one-word faith-based or secular label.
You don't have to be good at this to teach it
A globe, a library card and curiosity are enough.
Check your state
Some states list the subjects a homeschool must cover. See the law page for your state.
Sources
- Library of Congress (checked October 29, 2026)