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!