Alveary Foundations - Geography Update
We hope you have enjoyed seeing the wonderful updates that have been made to our Foundations course. This week we are sharing another big update, a new Geography section!
For many of us, the word geography conjures up memories of political maps, dots and stars, and place names to memorize. But geography actually touches many areas of study; geology, anthropology, cartography, climatology, history, economics, and more. In a Charlotte Mason education, geography is not a subject to be endured but a living discipline, taught outdoors, through maps, through vivid geographical readers, and through the student's own hands.
What you'll find inside:
- How geography is taught across the grades: From outdoor, hands-on exploration in the early years to regional study, cartography, and map drills in middle and high school.
- An overview of the Five Themes of Geography: How these themes frame the way students learn to read the world around them.
- Mapmaking and Map Work explained: Why students sketch, study, and draw maps from memory, and how that practice builds genuine geographical understanding.
- Reflection questions: To help you think through how this approach differs from the way you learned geography, and why it matters.
- Further Reading: Articles to dive deeper into the heart of this subject.
In Mason's Own Words:
Charlotte Mason devoted two sections of Home Education to geography; Section IX: Out-of-Door Geography and Section XVII: Geography. She also returns to the subject in Philosophy of Education. These readings are linked in the new section and are well worth your time.
We hope this section gives you a richer picture of what geography can look like in your home. Head over to the Alveary Foundations Course to explore the new Geography section in Relational Methods. We look forward to sharing more updates with you next week!
Spotlight: As a reminder, all 2025–26 memberships will end on June 30. To maintain uninterrupted access to all resources, please plan to renew before that date. If you will not finish your lessons by June 30, you may download your lesson plans before your membership expires. Any downloaded lesson plan links will remain active.
Notes:
- Printing: The print shop through Humble Heart is now open. Order your lesson plans today and enjoy convenient flat-rate shipping right to your doorstep.
- Living Nature Reader Update: We are so excited to announce that the third and final volume of Walks with a Naturalist is now available here on Amazon! Volume 3 will be on the Grade 3 program in 2027-28, so those with younger children may want to hold off for now and enjoy Volumes 1-2 instead.
- The Hive: The Hive is for current Alveary members only. As the 2025-26 membership comes to an end this is a reminder to renew your membership by June 30 to stay in the Hive.
- Modern Language: We know many of you are eager to receive the French lesson plans. We apologize for the delay and will share an update as soon as they are available. Thank you for your patience. We are happy to announce that the Spanish lesson plans are now available.
- Friends & Fellow Labourers: Join us for a conversation on self-education, personal growth, and cultivating a rich intellectual life alongside your children. Alveary members who joined in April can use their complimentary code to attend for free. Cultivating Self-Education As A Mother-Educator, Saturday 27 June 2026 from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm Learn more here.
- Living Book Press Sale: Sale alert! 20% off all Living Book Press products & 50% off audiobooks! The sale begins June 29th and ends July 12th. Happy shopping!
Have a wonderful weekend!
