AmblesideOnline's Patio Chats:
31. Geography
Are you ready to take a trip? We're going to go to some exotic, quaint place. How shall we prepare ourselves? Shall we study up on that place's imports and exports and memorize a list of all the counties and cities there? What? That sounds boring?
Okay. How about a book that takes us on a guided tour, where we read about some of the most interesting places, the most curious customs, and the more colorful locals? Does that sound more interesting?
Your child thinks so. So AO has a few books scheduled that do just this. We hope your child will want to visit some of these places in person someday!
But there's more to geography than books. There are land forms, bodies of water, what's under the ground, cardinal directions -- all of these things can be easily talked about as you take your child for a walk. We've posted a short list of these topics every year in the elementary ages. If you make sure to cover what's on the list every year, you will have completed the whole thing painlessly over six years.
Don't be worried about doing it wrong. Can you explain to your third grader how to tell where east and west is by looking at the sun? To know what a lake is like by looking at a little pond? Yes? Then you'll do just fine. Not sure? We have a couple of online texts that will explain it for both of you. :-)
Long's "Home Geography:" http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12228
Charlotte Mason's "Elementary Geography:"
https://www.amblesideonline.org/elementary-geography
