Geography - part 2 - the fun stuff

I began introducing "geography" with a globe, when my son was 3. Montessori always starts with the basics in any subject, and here it is simple: what is land, and what is water? I made "land and water trays" in pie pans with plaster. On our globe, we put a tack where we live, and one where Jesus lived. I made a relief map of Israel and a simple puzzle of the Holy Land. We have a model of the solar system.

Then I found a good but cheap ($9) wooden puzzle map of the 50 States at Target, and I glued a clear bead onto each piece for pegs. (This allows the child to easily remove one piece at a time.) Not expecting much, I was surprised to learn that my son had quickly learned the name, shape, location, and state motto (which was on the map) of nearly all the states. He had done this completely on his own, I had never looked at the puzzle with him before. I realized how effective puzzle maps could be, and put continent maps on my wish list - but because they are expensive, they sat on that list for quite some time! I would overhear him saying things like "look, I made Tennessee!" while eating a cracker, or "I'm going exploring in Montana!" while using his imagination at the park.

I got 8 containers for continent kits - one for each continent, and one for all of the continents (which is presented first.) Each kit has a book or two in it. I have coins from around the world, carved animals from Africa, chopsticks for Asia, and so on. (We will continue adding to these indefinitely.) I have 2 of the pdf. files from MontessoriForEveryone - the Continents and North America. These have 3-part-cards of animals, important places, and flags, as well as maps, which I made pin maps out of on cork board.

One challenge to puzzle maps is that they are large, and it took me a while to find reasonably-priced shelving to hold them. I paid $30 for some wire shelves from Target that are just right, 18" deep.

Shelving with 2 of our 6 puzzle maps on it - now they are full!

The puzzle maps come with control maps, which I labeled with country names, neighboring continents, and major bodies of water. The child puts the puzzle pieces on top of the control chart while reading the name of the country; later when he puts the pieces back in the puzzle, he can "guess" the name of the country before he lifts it off of the control chart.

One reason I buy materials like this is that I'm confident they will resell fine some day when we are "finished" with them... And this is the type of material I'd be happy to share with another family for a few weeks or months at a time.

Geography part 1 - a defense

(sara): Okay, before I share our geography/culture materials, I want to provide my idea of a "defense" to the question: why bother spending time, money, and classroom space on geography for young children? I've been asked this question, point blank, so just to clear the air, here are some thoughts off the top of my head:

• what "should" children be doing instead, watching cartoons? :)
• in Montessori experience, children in this precious 3-6 age group simply love learning new vocabulary. It takes no more effort for them to learn scientific plant names than to learn how to count to 10, they simply repeat the words you say and absorb them. We feed this love of words by providing them in a variety of ways, one of which is geography. Simply knowing what things are called, reciting poems or the list of 50 States, as my boys easily have gives the child true self esteem and confidence.
• From the neurological perspective, there is evidence that memorizing at an early age lays a cellular foundation that makes memorizing easier in later life - that is, beyond age 6. (The saying goes, by the time a human is 6 years old, their brain is basically "cooked." All the major neural pathways in the brain are formed.)
• Geography is the platform from which we learn about culture. Once a child has a basic grasp of what the planet is like and the names of basic places (continents, oceans, countries, etc.) then understanding culture is so much easier. When we read stories about different cultures - which happens a lot - now my 5yo will have a mental idea of where it is taking place. It's an important life lesson for each of us to learn that the universe does not revolve around us as individuals.
• In Montessori, and in the way I interact with my children, I am not the source of all knowledge. I readily admit to them what I do not know - like the names and spellings of all the countries in the world - but I express a desire to learn them along with the children. This is very different from the public school situations I found myself in growing up, where the teacher sat at this big desk, all the children sat facing her, and she was the one dispensing knowledge. But children can learn to discover information on their own, and I think we want our children to see learning as a life-long process, not a destination.

Happy Easter!

Blessings to all in this Octave of Eater, and throughout all 50 days of celebration! Last year I posted this picture of our baptism materials:

During Easter we first present the Risen Christ to our children with the image of LIGHT, and secondly we present the symbol of WATER as the beginning of our life with Him. Some parishes recycle their large Easter candles, but I've learned that many don't; they are simply put into storage. What a beautiful way to make use of these blessed candles, by taking them out of storage and putting them into our homes to teach our children about them! I know the priest I received ours from was a bit taken aback by my request, but I fully explained to him what we were going to use it for, and even sent him a copy of Moira's presentation and a copy of the photo above.

I've also been meaning to ask which books we have among us about the Catechesis. We could pass around the ones we aren't currently reading.

The main one to read is The Good Shepherd and the Child.

I also have: Listening to God with Children.

Living Liturgy.

A is for Altar.

3-part-card holders

A Montessori standard that I love using are 3-part cards. (You can see an example of a presentation here.) They are a great way for learning new words - both increasing vocabulary and learning how to read & spell the words. Younger children use them simply for matching, and then matching labels. Older children match a label to a photo, and use the control cards to check their own work.

Anyway, my pregnancy nausea has finally subsided (Praise God!) so I have more energy and motivation to do things now. However, the nausea was replaced by a lot of lower back pain, so I am choosing tasks which involve time on my derriere, like blogging and sewing! Yes, after a nearly 2-year absence, I got out my sewing machine and completed many tasks that have been gathering dust on my to-do list. One of those tasks was to make some holders for 3-part cards. I made several using a stiff plastic sheet to make them see-through; they were easy and I was very pleased with how they turned out. Let me know if anyone wants one, or wants the instructions. Some examples:

Mainly I wanted these holders to go in the continent boxes that I have been putting together. (I have been planning these for a very long time!) The first one is completed - now I'm putting finishing touches on 7 more, one for each continent. When they are ready, I'll do a geography post about them.

Another Cenacle

(sara): As a follow-up to the Seder Meal, we got out the Cenacle presentation from last year, brushed off the dust, and touched up the paint. I haven't made darling figures as some of you other moms have done - our 12 Apostles are wooden spools with wooden spheres glued on top! (I borrowed your idea for writing the name of each Apostle on the bottom. I didn't add the symbols, but might use those for another activity. I did include Judas, for historical purposes, rather than Mathias.) Jesus is a Sacred Heart statue Father Andrew gave me. I do like the cardboard building, however, because it clearly shows the Cenacle having an "upper room", and if you turn it around, there's a convenient place for storage on the first floor! Our "table" turned upside down is a storage container, and the Holy Grail and unleavened bread were cut out of a religious-goods catalog. Finally, I printed out the main Scripture phrase, as I do with each presentation, for the sake of my son who knows how to read.

Seder Meal

Matzoh

(sara): We've already had our Seder Meal. Hubby is having a second eye surgery on Holy Thursday, so we had our meal early this year. We were joined by our 5yo. For the second year in a row, we used this script. The dinner seemed much "easier" to prepare this year, since I sort-of knew what I was doing!

Above is last year's meal, ready to begin. This year I added a beautiful table cloth and 2 tapers in crystal candle holders. The boys oohed and ahhed over the table!

And here is the matzoh (unleavened bread) wrapped in cloth.

Imagine your family sitting down to dinner one night, and being served only crackers and wine. We teach our children about the Eucharist being a "meal", but without an image of the Passover Meal in their heads, I think their comprehension is impoverished. (Speaking from experience! I didn't know anything about the Passover until high school, and not in much depth until I took an OT class from Steubenville.) Yet this weekend, my sleepy son watched with great interest as 3 times during the meal, his father took a piece of unleavened bread, broke it, and distributed a piece to each of us. That's an image that I hope to give him each year during our Seder meal. The first piece was eaten with bitter herb and haroseth. The second piece with the meal of lamb. And the third, with only the Cup of Blessing (the 3rd cup of red wine.) I know that a Seder meal is not a common tradition in many families, but it will be in ours!

"rainbow letters"

(sara): combining ideas from Lynnette & Montessori teacher Karen Tayler, we've been happily doing what we call "rainbow letters" in the classroom. Set-ups are always left-to-right, as in reading. On the left is a basket of 6 Ferby pencils, in the center is a binder with one large bubble letter or number on each page, on the right is a guide for the rainbow colors. The child practices staying inside the lines 6 times in a row - that's the beauty of it. Before beginning a new letter, he traces the sandpaper letter the way I demonstrate, with his first 2 fingers. Thanks for the inspiration, Lynnette!

wheat

(sara): I just searched for "wheat" and "wheat field" on Google images and found this darling picture!



Also a diagram of wheat growth here and a coloring page here. My seedlings are 1-2 inches tall now, and I'm going to present this Gospel passage today.

Stations of the Cross Mobile

My four-year old and I made this mobile for the Stations of the Cross. She has been able to name all 14 stations by looking at the symbol or picture and can narrate what happened during each station. It has just been a really good visual cue. I did most of the prep work of cutting, copying, gluing, etc and she punched all the holes in the symbols and helped me string them on the hanger.
Shannon

Cenacle P.S.

(Anne:) The only thing still to do for the Cenacle presentation is make the upper room. I plan to use Moira's outline and make it out of a box like she suggests. Hope it turns out well!

Cenacle Presentation

(Anne:) Last night, Amy and I made a LOT of little men......for the Cenacle presentation of course. We made the twelve apostles and then glued their symbols on the bottom. Maybe Amy could post the link for the symbols in the comments.

We made Jesus wearing a white tunic with a red sash to make Him look very different from an apostle so He was easily recognizable.

The candlesticks are upside down golf tees painted black on the bottom, left white in the middle, and yellow at the tips.

The white pitcher and bowl is from the dollhouse section at Hobby Lobby.

The chalice and paten are from the small wood section at Michael's. ("Finial dowel cap with 1/4 in hole" and "3/4 in circle" are what the packages call them.)

Good Shepherd presentation

(Anne:) Ready to present!  Materials I used: large piece of green felt, Willow tree shepherd and sheep (I know, I know, there's only 3, but I will add more later to correctly have a whole flock!), and fence from Michael's (in the small wood section) which are connected by small strips of gray felt glued onto the fence and a small square of velcro on the gate so it can be closed and stay shut. (Amy used the same fence and these are all Justin's ideas! He actually glued the corners together and put dowels in to reinforce, so theirs is fixed, whereas mine, with the felt is flexible....Both good.)  Because I'm using Amy's script (see earlier post), I don't need the dark strip or water, etc.  Can't wait to present!  Probably today or tomorrow...

good shepherd

(Sara): As you probably all know, the Good Shepherd presentation is the main one in this catechesis, hence the title of the program!! The whole aim of catechesis is to teach young children about God, and when the original catechists began exploring how to do this, they tried presenting God from a variety of true approaches: God as Father, Creator, Saviour, friend, and so on. The one image that all the children seemed very much attracted to, however, was the idea of God as our Good Shepherd. Children 3-6 understand well their need for protection and are fascinated by the idea that the Shepherd calls each of the sheep by name...

I highly recommend reading the 4Real thread Amy linked to in the previous post after reading your presentation in Moira's album.

I'll attach an old photo of our sheep fold; last year I added a gate made from sticks also. I have read that CGS materials may vary by culture, and most of the fences where I grew up are made from limbs. The base spins; it was an old, wooden cake server I found in my mom's basement! My mother-in-law made us a shepherd figure out of Sculpey. Although 2D figures are standard for this presentation, I have not asked dh to make them for me. Yet.

Good Shepherd

(Amy:) My materials for this presentation are ALMOST ready...pictures to come. We have a busy weekend with ds's birthday but I'm hoping to present soon.

With all of the previous presentations I've done so far, I've pretty much used Moira's script almost word for word. I noticed that her Good Shepherd presentation varies considerably from what I read in The Good Shepherd and the Child by Cavaletti/Coulter/Gobbi/Montanaro, so I've been working on writing my own as a combination of (mostly) the book, Moira's album, and a post on 4Real by someone who went through training.

(Specifically, Moira combines the Good Shepherd with the Found Sheep. I didn’t include the Found Sheep in this presentation. I also didn’t do the wolf, the dangerous place, the green pasture, or the blue water. Also, I followed the format in the Good Shepherd and the Child, which narrates the parable, then guides reflection, then reads the parable from the Bible, then introduces the materials.)

I know I'm causing a looooong post here - I'd love to just link to a file if I had the capabilities rather than subject you to the whole thing if you aren't interested. But if you do read through it I would definitely appreciate feedback (remember... I haven't presented this yet). Thanks!

****************************

Beforehand, talk about what a shepherd is (watches over sheep and takes care of them each day), what a sheepfold is, and how the sheep are safe and protected in the sheepfold.

I. Introduce and narrate the parable.

Remember how we waited during Advent, for Jesus to come to Earth? He came as a tiny baby, and when He grew up He began to teach the people. They were very attracted by what He said. They wondered, “Who is He?” because he was like everybody else, but he spoke in such a special way. When they asked him, “Jesus, who are you?”, he told them, “I am the Good Shepherd.” He was not just any shepherd, but the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd knows all his sheep by their names. Even though he has many, many sheep, he still knows each one by its name.

The sheep begin to recognize his voice and to listen to him. A bond is created between the shepherd who knows them by their name and the sheep who listen to his voice. He guides them to good pastures. He walks ahead of them, to protect and defend them if there is any danger. They follow him because they know his voice. They would not follow a stranger.

The Good Shepherd gives his life for his sheep. He defends his sheep, even with his life.

The voice of the Good Shepherd reaches very, very far. There are so many sheep. There are also some sheep who do not yet belong to his sheepfold. But the Shepherd knows every one by name. Little by little all these other sheep will turn towards him too, and little by little all the sheep will come to him. Then there will be only one flock and only one shepherd.

II. Invite reflections and prayerful responses

Who can the sheep be…?

They must be so precious to the shepherd…

He gives his own life for them…

He looks for them…

He knows each by its name…

Do you think these are the same type of sheep as we see in the fields…?

(If yes):

Do you think so…?

I am not so sure…

They are so precious to the shepherd…

Maybe they are something or someone more important…?

(IF and only if they understand that we are the sheep):

So you think we are the sheep…?

We are so many, yet he knows each of us by our name…?

Then we are so loved…?

We are cared for in that way…!

III. Light candle and read from Bible

John 10: 3b-5, 10b-11, 14-16

See wording p. 49 of The Good Shepherd and the Child

IV. Introduce material and make simple movements while re-reading text

(Do not speak and move the figures at the same time.)

(take out sheepfold)

This is a sheepfold.

The Shepherd calls the sheep by their name and the sheep come into the sheepfold.

(put out the shepherd figure, then place the sheep one at a time into the sheepfold)

The sheep are safe and happy in the sheepfold with their Shepherd. The Shepherd guides them out and walks ahead of them.

(move the shepherd a few steps forward, then move the sheep out of the fold slowly, putting them one after another behind the shepherd)

The sheep listen to the Shepherd’s voice and follow him.

He shows them the path.

He walks ahead of them and guides them to the good pasture.

At the end of each day, the Shepherd calls His sheep home. He calls each one by their name.

The Shepherd sees each sheep safely home.

(shepherd figure leads around the sheepfold, with sheep following…and back into the sheepfold. The shepherd stands at gate until all sheep are in fold, then he goes in too. Shut the gate.)