Visits to Geography by Simply Charlotte Mason ??

[Moxie]

I'm looking at Visits to Geography by Simply Charlotte Mason for my 6th and 7th graders. I'm concerned that it takes a whole year to get through Europe, a whole year for the Middle East, etc. At that rate, there will be a large part of the world my 7th grader will miss. Would it be too much to do it in half a year?

 

Also, in looking at the European sample, she suggests a book "The British Empire and the Great Divisions of the Globe". Any thoughts on it? She says it is 100 years old and that children will need to research on their own for updated information--that will go over like a lead balloon in this house. I need to keep this pretty simple.

 

I assume both kids need a copy?

[momto2Cs]

:lurk5: Curious about all those same questions!

[Holly]

I purchased the Africa one to use over the summer.  It's intended to be done once a week, but I think you could easily do it twice a week.  I purchased the e-book so I could make multiple copies.  My DC love using the Geopuzzles in addition to map drills.  We often start with a puzzle and move on to the map drill.

[Moxie]

Bumping

[themayflies]

Bump.  Does anyone else have experience with this?  I would love to hear what you thought.

[Moxie]

I'm the OP. We did start using it. We're planning on doing 2 books this year. They are pretty quick lessons and I really love the reading that goes with them (can't recall the names--lots of pictures of how people live in other places). Let me know if you have any other questions!

[ChrissySC]

Just to make some sense of this ... if you consider that you are doing geography and not history studies, you really have to consider how many different people (cultures), landscapes (environments), and physical locations there are to study.  This would not mean that you would exclude the history of their development as a society/culture, but you would not focus, for instance, on the world wars and their associated battles unless they absolutely had an effect on the people.  As you look at it from this perspctive, and depending on how many different cultures you address, you could very well stay in Europe for years.  :)

 

Now, consider that the normal classical cycle is a four-year or five-year history cycle.  You are going to cover the world's people and their differences, and as such you should expect years of study too.  I actually think this is a great idea for the second cycle.  I'm glad you mentioned it!  Let me know how you find the studies and what you do to condense the physical studies.  It sounds like a wonderful experience.  I love CM's way of letting children research and discover.

[pitterpatter]

I know this post is almost a year old. Would love to hear more about this series. I just came across it today. I like what I see in the samples.

[Moxie]

It's very easy to use.  There are only two extra books that you have to get to make it work.  I wouldn't say my kids are geography whizzes now but they have learned quite a bit.

[happypamama]

Reported

[fenni]

We have been using Visits to Africa this year and I'm very pleased with how many countries my boys can now label.  I have decided, though, that I will only purchase the book for 6th or 7th grade and up in the future.  My 8 yr. old has learned many countries, but it is difficult for him to label the map.  He just tells me the names.  They also like to work the Geopuzzle, so in the future I will just have the 5th or 6th grade and under crowd work the Geopuzzle, do an occasional map drill, and orally discuss the Meet the Family questions.

[bluebonnetgirl]

Bumping for any recent updates.....

[nixpix5]

We used Visits to Africa in conjunction with Draw Africa, 10 days in Africa and Geopuzzle Africa. We used all recommended books for each visit and then found other books for each other country in Africa. My kids were K and 1st. They can now map all of Africa and label them from memory. I wouldn't say their skill in this came from SCM. It was Draw Africa and 10 days in Africa that were the biggest help along with reading books from each country. All I have to say is something like "where did they grow Mangrove Trees to provide food and resources for the country" and they can easily recall Eritrea which they can remember sits against the salty Nile which triggers their memory in turn for everywhere else we studied. It is fascinating.

 

I used the questions in SCM orally and we would discuss them. The two main books "Hungry Planet" and "Material World" were huge hits here. I originally checked them out at the library but finally bought used copies due to use. We plan on using Visits to Europe when we do the Middle Ages but we will also use Draw Europe and other resources.

 

For us changing it up helped. One day we would hand draw the ccountries with me at the white board, the next week we might trace them, the third week we might just label the SCM blank maps, one week we cut out construction paper shapes and made a puzzle of the countries we had learned so far. Keeping it as multi sensory as possible will get them there.

Edited July 30, 2017 by nixpix5

[bluebonnetgirl]

Thank you for the feedback nixpix!