Off to the coast!

Yes, geography is ongoing, as always. But in home ed land, geography must be very practical, and experience-based, otherwise we aren't doing it.

Oh dear. Chapter 2 is coastal features.

We haven't got a coast. And it's an awful long drive to one.

Instead! We have a local river! We can make the coast come to us!

(Be prepared to use your imagination. A LOT.)

Task: Imagine you are very, very tiny. Create a river from source to mouth. 

You have 45 minutes to do that because it's going to rain. 

The Grit parent will meanwhile come along and give you challenges, like a national policy to build a power station, 

or a local demand that soft engineering is installed, or a controversial decision to give all the coast to the RSPB. 

Stuff like that. 

Then you must tell the complete story of your river and coastline features to all the group.

(p.s. water may flow uphill for the purposes of this activity.)

Shark immediately sets about making a delta and a salt marsh.

 Squirrel makes a volcanic island barely able to stay above the water

Monster digs a limestone cave

And Tiger builds all of Cambridgeshire, complete with drainage ditches that look like claw marks.

Industry wants to colonise Shark's salt marsh (the plastic cone), which she negotiates very well by examining water flows, run-off, industrial waste, and installs a person who comes round and takes water readings to ensure the eco system (the green foam) is able to maintain its SSSI status. Well done, Shark!

Squirrel spends most of her time defending her island against the sea. 

She doesn't move from this defensive position for quite some time. I can, so I am told, go away with my power station 

and plans for national development for her island because it is not up for grabs. It is a private island, now clear off.

 Monster incorporates agricultural land, an industrial complex, a beach, settlement, roads and everything.

As I said, we have to use our imagination. A lot.

 Tiger creates an impressive deep-water harbour with heavy-duty coastline engineering, plus industrial units, power plants, high-rise settlements and road infrastructure but says no to off-shore wind power and I am not arguing. She has become threatening with Cambridgeshire and is ordering everyone off her county or else.

This is Lincoln and don't you forget it.

There! Off we go home happy from our morning's study, before it tips down. And I think I shall count this as another triumph for an active interpretation of a Geography IGCSE syllabus, coastal features.