Charlotte Mason thought geography a vital subject in the feast, but where do maps fit into the lessons and what are the most effective ways to use them? Emily unpacks her most recent research and dispels some popular myths about map work.
Listen Now:
“Geography should be learnt chiefly from maps. Pictorial readings and talks introduce him to the subject, but so soon as his geography lessons become definite they are to be learnt, in the first place, from the map. This is an important principle to bear in mind. The child who gets no ideas from considering the map, say of Italy or of Russia, has no knowledge of geography, however many facts about places he may be able to produce. Therefore, he should begin this study by learning the meaning of a map and how to use it. he must learn to draw a plan of his schoolroom, etc., according to scale, go on to the plan of a field, consider how to make the plan of his town, and be carried gradually from the idea of a plan to that of a map; always beginning with the notion of an explorer who finds the land and measures it, and by means of the sun and stars, is able to record just where it is on the earth’s surface, east or west, north or south.” (1/278)
Ambleside Geography Book 2, Charlotte Mason
Ambleside Geography Book 3, Charlotte Mason
Ambleside Geography Book 4, Charlotte Mason
Ambleside Geography Book 5, Charlotte Mason
Map Making with Children, Sobol
Rand McNally Atlas of World History, R. R. Palmer
Student Atlases: These are the most inexpensive option but have severe limitations. Their price makes them useful in purchasing the most up-to-date information.
Middle-Level Atlases: These are a step up from student atlases and these in particular are good because they include more details of non-US countries rather than simply continents
- The Children’s World Atlas, Colin Arrowsmith. Sandy Creek, 2011.
- National Geographic World Atlas for Young Explorers, Third Edition, National Geographic, 2007.
Comprehensive Atlases: These are beautiful, and large, and robust.
- National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition, National Geographic, 2007. (This is not the latest edition, but very reasonably priced copies can be found used. The Tenth Edition was published in 2014, and can also be found used less expensively than a new edition.)
- Oxford Atlas of the World, Twenty-Fifth Edition, Oxford, 2018. (This is updated annually, and is more reasonably priced than the one above, but again, recent editions are even more reasonable used)
- National Geographic Family Reference Atlas of the World, Fourth Edition, National Geographic, 2016.
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Episode 146: Physical Geography
Physical Geography in the Early Years through Form I
The Book of Centuries and How to Keep One, Mrs. Bernau (Parents’ Review, Vol. 39, pp. 224-235)
Great episode as always – Just when I feel like I am getting this Charlotte Mason education down a revealing look at how much I am missing. As I work to figure this all out, I am grateful that I have the opportunity to provide my children with so much that I did not get in my education, but I am getting it now:)
Isn’t that the truth! Truly, education never ends.
-Liz
For some reason, there is no link to listen to this episode.
It’s showing up for us—right under the episode description and “Listen Now:”
Thank you so much for all this information – listening to the podcast was a bit like drinking from a fire hose (!) but SO helpful.
Do you know of any other online sources for the Geographical Readers books 4 and 5 than the links you posted? I’m in the UK and (I suspect for copyright reasons) the page says no ebook is available. I downloaded the first two for free from lulu.com, and I’ve seen the online version of the third on Gateway to the Classics (The Baldwin Project as was), but I’ve not yet managed to find a way to access the last two books, which I’m keen to see.
I’m sorry Katie, for the fire hose effect!
The Google Books links are the only ones I know of, but I was under the impression that they would be in the public domain in the UK too! Since they are in the United States, I wonder if I could post some of the page images myself. I don’t think that the information would be really helpful, even though you’re coming from the same locale as CM, because the information is so outdated, but I do think seeing the types of map questions she used would be helpful.
No need to apologise, Emily – it was a very invigorating fire hose! (I think it was partly my own fault for listening to mapping straight after the Leisure Reading episode – lots to take in from both episodes.)
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ve had the same problem with other public domain works e.g. The New Handwriting, where people in the US have said they see ebooks listed on the same webpage where I don’t see any (and nor did someone else from Europe – so I know it’s not just me being incompetent).
If you do get chance to share any map questions some time, that would be interesting, but I know you have a lot on your plate at the moment, so don’t feel bad if you never get round to it! I’m going to investigate hard copies of the readers anyway, because I want a print version of The Counties of England to use next year. Although it’s outdated, I think it works really well as an accompaniment to British history (we read some of it last year before realising CM didn’t use it until Form II, and I liked it). It looks like some of the hard copies might possibly contain all the readers, but I’m not 100% sure until I get as far as contacting the sellers.
Oh, I never thought it was your fault, Katie! I just had (obviously a mistaken) the understanding that the copyright date for public domain was the same in the UK as somehow that applies to UK published books accessed in the US.
I will try and print some PDF pages of the map questions for Books 4 and 5 and link to that folder in the next few weeks. You know, after the holiday festivities and soaking up newborn snuggles gives me a bit more time!
Don’t worry, I wasn’t thinking that you were insinuating incompetence on my part. 🙂
A quick Google suggests the copyright date is the same for the US and the UK, so it’s a bit baffling really.
Thank you for the offer. But do concentrate on those newborn snuggles!
I’m a bit surprised by all the kids had to know before they reached school age… notions of distance, direction and elevation… could it be that she was referring to school age in her time, meaning somewhere around 9? I think in her first volume she makes a distinction between home education and school education…
I think the things to keep in mind here, Fannie, are these are *by the way* lessons that happen naturally in the course of the hours out-of-doors. You take it slow, and the progression is very natural and as the child is ready. I also think you’ll want to keep in mind that this is their first introduction to these concepts, not a complete, thorough mastery of these ideas. I tried to make it clear that the progression just naturally extends into their formal lessons, and you can see this reflected in the above linked document. I do think that CM is referring to concepts to be learned before formal lessons would start at age 6, however, as you will notice that the tasks assigned to them in that first year of school in the programmes draw heavily on these basic concepts (pacing, etc. would be essential in making the plans she required). Obviously, we must always start with where the child is at, and if she hasn’t learned these ideas by the way before starting school, we just simply work on them in the afternoon outdoor time as needed.
Thank you for your quick reply. I had the misconception that children shouldn’t be taught anything before age 6 and so my child missed out on letter games and direction/pacing games 🙁 well, now I know better and I accept the fact that I will be surprised again as I keep learning about her and her programme. Anyhow, thank you again for your hard work.
Fannie–
Please don’t feel guilty. Just like we do with our children, we must start where we are and go on from there!