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First Steps in the Study of Geography.
THE little child comes unconsciously to the study of geography. The simple observations made in play about the home, or in the fields may be the very first lessons. His personal experience on the seashore, in exploring a ravine, with various types of weather, in watching the rising or setting of the sun, or in observing the moon and stars, his experience in travel or at a store — all form the basis for later studies in geography. As he comes to know of the occupations in the home, on the farm or in the city, he is laying the foundations for the study of geography.
By some, these first lessons might be called nature studies, but there is no eharp line to be drawn between nature study and geography; in fact, most of the lessons in what is called nature study with children are a legitimate part of a course in geography. In schools where work in geography is outlined for all grades from the first to the eighth, inclusive, the work for the first three years is commonly based on the observation of natural phenomena. Thus, during the first eight or nine years of a child's life, he is rapidly acquiring a knowledge of the earth and of some of the people of the earth that should form the basis of the first more formal lessons in geography.
In most American schools home geography is taken up in the fourth grade. That geography should include, in addition to a study of the home and its immediate surroundings, the study of the natural region in which the home is located. In this way the home will be seen in a certain natural setting. A vivid picture of the life throughout that region should be built up in the child's mind. This first large picture built up in the study of geography is based chiefly upon the personal observations and experiences of the child. These personal observations and experiences may, of course, be supplemented by those of the other children in the class, or by those of the teacher. They can be supplemented very effectively by the study of pictures, lantern slides and industrial exhibits. Anything which illustrates the physical features, the climate, the natural resources, or the activities of the people living in that natural region may be used to enrich the image in the child's mind. In all of this work the teaching should be done through the eye.
By means of imaginary journeys, the child should visit the homes of many different people. This will lead him to the study of various natural regions where the life is controlled by very different geographic conditions. Eegions should be selected where the physical features, climate and resources are distinctly different from those at home. A visit to an Eskimo home might be chosen, and the child should live with the Eskimos, in imagination, a summer and a winter. Pictures, drawings, maps and museum exhibits should be used to make the mental pictures that are being fixed in the child's mind as accurate and vivid as possible. Illustrative material is absolutely essential. The most effective instruction will be through the eye. It is doubtful if any amount of descriptive language alone can fix in the mind of a child, who has always lived in the temperate zone, a correct image of an Eskimo home, of the Eskimos caring for their reindeer herds or
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