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.