Are you wondering how to teach geography to your children? In Montessori education, we introduce children to the beauty of the world from early on.
Pinay Homeschooler is a blog that shares homeschool and afterschool activity of kids from babies to elementary level.
The Montessori cultural curriculum includes lessons on geography, botany, zoology, science, art, and music.
Kids are going to love exploring geography with these fun, DIY Continent...
Thank you to Lauren Franchek for sharing her beautiful classroom with us! You can find links to explore the other areas of her classroom at the bottom of this page. This is the gorgeous special interest table aka “The Museum”. We rotate the objects to showcase various leaves, plants, animals, remains, etc. that the children find […]
Welcome to the Free Resource Library for Montessori, early childhood and lower elementary teachers, parents and educators! I am thrilled to provide you with a curated selection of free printables. […]
An overview of the Montessori cultural curriculum with resources for geography, history, physical science, botany and zoology, music, and art activities
Use these beautiful watercolor World Continents lacing cards as a fine motor activity to fill out your Montessori Continent Box materials, or simply add them to your shelf as part of a Continents or general geography unit study. Sewing around the continents will help your child refine their fine motor skills as well as provide another opportunity to familiarize themselves with the shape and Montessori colors of the seven continents. This set of lacing cards includes one card for each of the 7 continents, in traditional Montessori colors. Each card comes in two levels of difficulty, for a total of 14 lacing cards. Note that the continent cards are not necessarily accurate in their geographical proportions (with relation to one another) and they are single-sided so as not to confuse children about the shapes of the continents. The cards are sized to fit two on one page. What you will receive: - One PDF file, size 8.5 by 11 inches - 14 continent lacing cards on 8 pages (7 easier, 7 more difficult) You may also be interested in our World Continents shadow matching cards: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1393829501/ ***Note: This is a DIGITAL product. No physical product will be mailed. You will receive your downloadable files immediately after purchase. These files are for personal or single classroom use only. Please do not share, alter, resell, or distribute the files in any way.***
20+ Ways to Teach Montessori Geography Kids Will Love, Montessori Activities, Montessori Geography Shelf, Montessori Preschool, Montessori Toddler, Montessori Curriculum
Long list of free Montessori materials found online; perfect resource for classroom teachers and homeschoolers; free materials for a variety of levels, especially preschoolers through early elementary!
This year Kaleb and I have been wandering around the world via books, Little Passports, and various other things we come across in our
Become a Subscriberand get Free AccessEvery week we add a new culture or geography printable to the 193 resource libraryHelping your kids to fall in love with learning about their world @import url(https://assets.mlcdn.com/fonts.css?version=1701689); .ml-form-embedSubmitLoad{display:inline-block;width:20px;height:20px}.g-recaptcha{transform:scale(1);-webkit-transform:scale(1);transform-origin:0 0;-webkit-transform-origin:0 0}.sr-only{position:absolute;width:1px;height:1px;padding:0;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);border:0}.ml-form-embedSubmitLoad:after{content:" ";display:block;width:11px;height:11px;margin:1px;border-radius:50%;border:4px solid #fff;border-color:#fff #fff #fff transparent;animation:ml-form-embedSubmitLoad 1.2s linear infinite}@keyframes ml-form-embedSubmitLoad{0%{transform:rotate(0)}100%{transform:rotate(360deg)}}#mlb2-5980647.ml-form-embedContainer{box-sizing:border-box;display:table;margin:0 auto;position:static;width:100%!important}#mlb2-5980647.ml-form-embedContainer button,#mlb2-5980647.ml-form-embedContainer h4,#mlb2-5980647.ml-form-embedContainer p,#mlb2-5980647.ml-form-embedContainer span{text-transform:none!important;letter-spacing:normal!important}#mlb2-5980647.ml-form-embedContainer .ml-form-embedWrapper{background-color:#fff;border-width:4px;border-color:#0acecd;border-radius:25px;border-style:solid;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block!important;margin:0;padding:0;position:relative}#mlb2-5980647.ml-form-embedContainer .ml-form-embedWrapper.embedDefault,#mlb2-5980647.ml-form-embedContainer .ml-form-embedWrapper.embedPopup{width:100%}#mlb2-5980647.ml-form-embedContainer .ml-form-embedWrapper.embedForm{max-width:100%;width:100%}#mlb2-5980647.ml-form-embedContainer
A few items from East Asia on our shelves for the children to examine These photo-description cards are from the Asia A-Z Montessori Printables Pack Writing numbers in Chinese Origami fun A simple zen garden found at the dollar store Learning how to make some Chinese and Japanese characters with our Sumi E Board […]
5 fun Montessori landform activities that will help kids recognize basic land and water forms in no time!
How to teach geography without a curriculum. Learn to explore maps, cultures, and landforms without using geography curriculum.
Continent Folders? You're thinking, "You mean Continent Boxes, right?" Nope. I mean Continent Folders. They actually also go by "Montessori cultural folders" as well. Either name is accurate and neither name fully describes them! These were originally going to be our Montessori Continent Boxes. Now they are toy boxes. I like the idea of the continent boxes (cultural boxes) - and I had even bought a set of stackable drawers to use for just such purpose, before I went to AMI Primary Montessori training. We could still use them as continent/cultural boxes, but I never really found the need for them in my household. Instead I re-purposed them to hold Legoboy's small toys: small animals, train tracks, cars, small scenery pieces, etc. He still uses them, but now has them reorganized according to his own (internalized, elementary-level, crazy-from-the-outside) organization. Ultimately, I went with what I received in Montessori training. Folders. The continent/cultural folders spark discussion, they promote interest... and then we can pull out the objects we have around the environment which the child is surrounded by for further discussion and experiences: books in the reading area, artifacts used as decoration around the environment (also used for polishing, dusting, flower-arranging, etc.), games to play with friends and family, etc. The objects and experiences are throughout life, rather than kept together in one box. The child is surrounded by cultural objects rather than having them boxed up. The child can go into the environment and gather appropriate objects for this study. LATER UPDATE (just this paragraph) - these materials seem so SIMPLISTIC and many people have told me "no, the cultural/continent boxes are a much better idea because it is all 3-d; some pictures can be added there too." That is your choice. Here are some points to consider to ensure a full Montessori balance/experience: are you providing keys? so that your child can explore and have something to discover for his own self? do you still have some cultural objects around the environment that your child can discover and say, "Oh! this is the Eiffel Tower from France! We have a picture of this in our Europe culture folder!" And it is something they can polish, clean, draw, etc. thus part of the environment around the child. the continent/cultural folders are also intended to incite conversation and story-telling (these are extensions on the album page) I personally decided that this one material, the Montessori cultural folders, allowed me to provide ALL of the above, with fewer actual objects from the get-go --- we could explore culture and continents and countries without spending hours/days/weeks/months/years collecting objects before even getting started. We could get started with the images, then discover all the cultural items already around our home! For me, my time is precious and I chose not to spend it on deciding which continent box to place a polar bear in (polar bears are present in Asia, Europe and North America by the way - and I have photos of each kind of polar bear in their proper continent - so much easier to find pictures than objects - and cheaper ;) -- then we have a few polar bears around and we discuss what all continents they belong on). At the time I created these cultural folders, I was just coming off a $5/month Montessori materials budget (I upped the budget a bit for during the training course - I spent what was needed, but also strove to minimize expenses - I think with lamination (paid at the training center), folders, colors, pencils, colored paper (most of which I had on hand already but a few things I purchased), donated magazines, I MAYBE spent $4 on the entire set - if that. I also pooled resources with other trainees, which helped. Time: 4 hours, plus 1/2 hour gathering items, 1/2 hour cleaning up ----- 5 hours. (END UPDATE) Image traced on with a print-out of the continent or with the world puzzle map pieces Colored in. Displayed in an elevated rack The images inside the cultural continent folders contain a variety of images from that continent - mounted on appropriate colored paper or cardstock, with a brief description on the back. They are intended to spark conversation and questions - leading to further studies as the children get older. This work can start at age 3 after they have worked with the world puzzle map and we want to share information on each continent. There are animals represented, people from various cultures on that continent, photos of food and national dress, etc. Our images all came from National Geographic magazines, but cut-up books could be used, images printed from the internet, etc. The continent folders then sub-divide into a variety of topics (not photographed here) - these can be smaller packets or pouches, or even a book on the topic (that's what we did - just read books, watched videos, or had real-life experiences with the sub-topics). This work is found in the Spoken Language section of the AMI Language album. The continent folders photographed here I had made for training and then used them at home with Legoboy. I was marked down for them because I didn't use all lowercase letters (since these are for such young children - younger Montessori children will write in all lower-case to start, then move to capitals at age 5 and 6, without the use of sandpaper letters). Technically I could have left them unlabeled altogether and not been marked down at all. Disclaimer though: My son has a hard time "caring" about capital letters anymore (despite starting to write with capital block letters) - so I do not regret having this material available to him with proper capitalization. At least he KNOWS where the capital letters go. How was this particular set of cultural folders made? It is a set of file folders - 1 file folder for each continent (in this set) - I chose to keep the tabs all in one place, but could have alternated them (the original plan was that the sub-sets would have tabs in different locations, so the children re-sort them easily based on the tab location). I used packing tape to close up the sides; then covered it in color construction paper (wish I'd used cardstock because construction paper fades) just over the folds. Laminated the whole thing (had to slit the lamination to re-open the pouch). If I were to do it again, I think I would prefer to use contact paper - only because the contact paper could wrap around the sides more securely. Or use colored pocket folders (now that pink and white are more easily found than when I was in primary training) and laminate those for sturdiness. I always thought Legoboy would add to these picture sets in elementary - that was/is his typical thing. For some reason, he didn't; instead he delved into cultural studies, loves reading books and watching videos - he can talk to you about different things when he is interested - and he loves to learn about other cultures. But he has never sought to add to the images. Just when I think I have him pegged ;) Continent folders can be an alternate to the bulkier continent boxes - or can be an addition to them. I highly recommend having multi-cultural items around your home - not just in the boxes. Alternate what is out at various times so that items can rotate into the box and out to the environment. I personally prefer to have an image of someone using the chop-sticks, with a quick description on the back, have a conversation with my child - then he "discovers" we have chopsticks in the kitchen where they would actually be used (instead of as an artifact in the box) - perhaps because I conveniently left them where he would find them (hehe - that's called strewing - homeschool moms get good at that) - and then we pull up a YouTube video to show us how to USE them. It just feels more real to me. In the end, I see the benefit of both continent boxes and continent folders, and lean towards the cultural/continent folders as my "core" with the boxes as peripheral. Your mileage will vary ;) Links for additional information on continent/cultural folders: This continent folder set doesn't quite match what is in my own AMI albums: http://www.montessoriprintshop.com/Montessori_Extension_Lesson.html Downloadables of animal images - though still not quite the same description: http://www.montessorimaterials.org/geo.htm One sample of using pocket folders - hers gets to it but my training dictated colored background on the cards (could be an optional feature if you have coding somewhere else so the photos can be re-sorted to their proper folders): http://bellachampion.blogspot.com/2011/10/real-montessori-continent-folders.html This continent folder set looks really neat actually: http://montessori123.com/products/complete-set-of-images-for-all-continents And these cultural folders sound about right too: http://www.absorbentminds.co.uk/cgi-bin/ss000001.pl?page=search&SS=continents+folders&search.x=-328&search.y=-149&search=ACTION&PR=-1&TB=A
Ideas and resources for preparing Montessori continent boxes after children work with the Montessori continent map
Pinay Homeschooler is a blog that shares homeschool and afterschool activity of kids from babies to elementary level.
Free, printable Montessori-inspired cards to help kids learn about animals all over the world.
Montessori-inspired Africa themed learning activities and free printables for kids.
Montessori-inspired Asia learning activities and free printables for kids.
I am in my 30’s and will be honest I remember very little geography. I think it just did not interest me when I was younger. Which is why I was so adamant I would find a way to make it fun and more interesting to my child. I love the idea of Montessori Continent Boxes but wanted...
Easy Ways to Teach Montessori Culture with Free Printables, Continent Boxes, Multicultural Books and Activities including Zoology, Science, Botany, Geography, History, Art and Music
Pinay Homeschooler is a blog that shares homeschool and afterschool activity of kids from babies to elementary level.
Pinay Homeschooler is a blog that shares homeschool and afterschool activity of kids from babies to elementary level.
Pinay Homeschooler is a blog that shares homeschool and afterschool activity of kids from babies to elementary level.
Children can learn about the continents with this free printable set that makes learning fun and interactive. After our Solar System Activities I figured we needed...
Free, printable, Montessori-Inspired cards featuring terms relevant to Brazilian culture such as Christ the Redeemer, Copacabana, Amazon Rainforest, & Carnival
We’ve been learning about the continent Australia! One of our parents brought along some wonderful items from Australia to share with us. Boomerangs! Holding a Koala What’s on the Shelf? Here’s our unit studies shelf with materials about Australia Geography of Australia This is our Australia Geography folder full of images from Australia and the Pacific […]
Everything your kids never knew they wanted to know about Madagascar. (Spoiler alert: watching Penguins of Madagascar isn't that educational.)
This Australia Lapbook contains lots of fun and interesting elements as well as hands-on activity for children to learn about this unique country.
Outdoor learning activities and games are trendy among children, especially during the summer holidays. Children benefit a great deal from spending time outside exploring and adventuring in the green outdoors. Nature’s classroom is fascinating and incredibly diverse. These ideas will inspire you to spend some fun and meaningful time with your child outdoors.
Montessori Animals and Continents Printables, Great Hands-on activities for learning about animals and continents. Animals continents worksheet, animals and their continents activities, Montessori animals of seven continents, animal continents activity sheets, what animal can be found on every continent, Montessori continents printables
Here are the contents of our North America unit studies box. You can read more about how we store our unit studies supplies here. Of course, it would be VERY un-Montessori of us to give the box as-is to our students! Ah, much better! Here are the materials displayed neatly on the shelves so the […]
The First Great Lesson awakens awe and wonder in the child, and gives them a framework to hang later physical earth and science lessons from.
Europe learning activities and free printables for kids.
Earth learning activities and free printables for kids.
