Blobbing

We employ a method of learning geography called "blobbing."  The kids start with a horizontal piece of paper and draw a horizontal line through it for the equator.  Then they add a circle or oval or continent-shaped blob for each of the continents.  We do this over and over, learning just a few things at a time to add.  We trace peninsulas, rivers, seas, coastlines.  Sometimes we zoom in and focus a few weeks on a smaller region.  And little by little, week by week, they add more detail and pretty soon have a darn good grasp of not just countries, but seas, rivers, mountain ranges, and cities of the world.  They trace the outlines on a dry-erase map, and then they "blob" it.  They label their work, learning not just the names of places but the spelling as well. 

Here are a few pictures from this morning of Henry and his class working on Northern Europe.

 

And here is what Jude thinks about blobbing:

 

 

Blobbing, among other things, is a technique described in Leigh Bortin's book The Core. 

The class in these pictures is part of our Classical Conversations community.