The Culture Materials ~ The Sandpaper and Continents Globes

The Montessori casa (preschool) classroom is divided into five areas.  These areas are Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics and Culture.  This blog post is about the Sandpaper and Continents Globes which fall within the Culture area of the classroom.  The Culture area is comprised of different subjects - Geography, Zoology, Botany, History and Science.  (Art and Music are also considered to be part of the Culture area.)

The study of Geography usually begins with the globes.

The Sandpaper Globe (left) and The Continents Globe (right)

Sandpaper Globe

The Sandpaper Globe is introduced first.  (Note:  This globe is also referred to as the Land and Water Globe.)  In order for the child to move into detail about the specific continents of the world, they must have a concept of a globe representing land and water.   The surface of this globe shows land (represented by brown sandpaper) and water (represented by a smooth blue surface).

The Sandpaper Globe (a.k.a. The Land and Water Globe)

The child is shown how to hold the globe with one hand on the base and one hand on top.  You may begin the lesson by stating something such as "We live on the Earth.  This globe is smaller than our Earth, but it shows us what the Earth looks like.  Our Earth is made of land and water."

Land is introduced.  "This is land.  We can stand on the land."  The child is invited to feel the land portions of the globe.

"This is land."

Water is introduced.  "This is water.  Fish swim in water."  The child is invited to feel the water portions of the globe.  The child is invited to continue exploring the Sandpaper Globe.

"This is water."

Continents Globe

After the children have had the opportunity to explore and work with the Sandpaper Globe, they are introduced to the Continents Globe. (Note:  This globe is also referred to as the Coloured Globe.) 

The Continents Globe (a.k.a. The Coloured Globe)

The Continents Globe is the same size as the Sandpaper Globe.  The surface of the globe shows water as a smooth blue surface.  Each continent is smooth and slightly raised.  There is no longer sandpaper to identify the land.   Each continent is a different colour:  yellow for Asia, green for Africa, orange for North America, pink for South America, white for Antarctica, brown for Australasia and red for Europe.


For the introductory lesson, both the Sandpaper and Continents Globes are brought to a mat or table.  The child is invited to examine and explore the globes.   They will notice that the land is no longer brown, but divided into coloured areas.   "We call these large areas of land, continents."  The child is introduced to the names of the continents in a three period lesson.

Exploring The Sandpaper Globe

Exploring The Continents Globe

Working Together to Explore the Globes

After the children have had the opportunity to explore and work with the Continents Globe, they will be introduced to the Puzzle Maps - specifically, the Continents of the World map. 

The Puzzle Maps

The Continents of the World Puzzle Map

This material is introduced to children at 2 1/2 to 3 years of age.

The Glories of Autumn

At our little yellow school, autumn is one of our favourite seasons.  At this time of the year, our outdoor environment ~ two grassy playgrounds, towering pine trees, flower and vegetable gardens all set on half an acre of land ~ provides us with a treasure trove of autumn experiences.  Here are some of them. 

Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle and Migration

On the first day of school in September, the children were surprised to find jars of chrysalises in the classrooms.   Each day the children watched and waited for the butterflies to emerge.

Observing

Observing

A Monarch Chrysalis

   

A butterfly emerges from the chrysalis.

  

 

 We released the butterflies in our butterfly garden.  

    

The metamorphosis of the monarch butterfly is a miraculous occurrence.  How fortunate for all of us to have witnessed it and assisted in their migration to Mexico.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly Craft

Life Cycle of a Butterfly Book

The Autumn Harvest

Our autumn harvest began with our potato harvest.  The children planted seed potatoes in our vegetable garden last spring.  It was lovely to see the delight on the children's faces as they dug the potatoes out of the ground.  We had a bumper crop!

Examining the Parts of a Potato Plant

Labelling the Parts of a Potato Plant

Life Cycle of a Potato Puzzle

A Potato Plant

Digging Potatoes

Our Harvest

We harvested apples on our trip to the apple orchard.

Picking an Apple

 Back at school, we baked some delicious apple sweetie pies.

Cutting Apples

Filling a Tart Shell

Adding the Topping

Little Apple Sweetie Pies

We had an Apple Taste Test and tasted different varieties of apples - Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and McIntosh.   We picked the McIntosh apples at the farm.

Which one is your favourite?  Our wall graph has the answers.

Apple Taste Test Wall Graph

  

Granny Smith are my favourite.

Deciduous and Coniferous (Evergreen) Trees

During the autumn months, we always enjoy exploring trees.  The children learned the parts of the tree.

Parts of the Tree Booklet

We learned the difference between deciduous and coniferous (evergreen) trees.  Our maple trees are deciduous trees.

Collecting Leaves

Our pine trees are coniferous (evergreen) trees.  Can you believe each of our towering pines began life as a tiny seed?

Reading the book From Seed to Pine Tree .

Those pines are huge!

Looking at our towering pine trees.

There is always so much to discover in our outdoor environments.  The children collected some lovely treasures from our trees.

Our Collection

We worked together to sort and classify our finds.

 

 

 

 

Bark

 

Branches

 

Leaves

Needles

 

Seeds

Our Animal Friends

Our animal friends are preparing for the winter.  The little squirrels are knocking down pine cones from our coniferous trees and storing them for the winter.  We found one of their hiding spots!

The squirrel is hiding pine cones in our 'snag'.

Pumpkins

We learned about the life cycle of a pumpkin and the parts of a pumpkin.

The Parts of a Pumpkin

 

The Parts of a Pumpkin

 

 

 

 

The Parts of a Pumpkin

Hollowing a Pumpkin

Our open outdoor classroom also encourages gross motor skills, observation, and sorting activities.  The natural environment enables us to flutter with the butterflies, watch an earthworm wiggle, hop with the frogs, collect twigs, pebbles and pine cones all the while listening to the sounds of the birds.  We are never happier than when we are basking in the glow of nature's wonder.

Why is a natural outdoor environment so important in Montessori education?  Since the beginning of her work over one hundred years ago, a basic tenent of Montessori's psychology and curriculum for children is the universal need for attachment to nature and the subsequent personality integration that evolves from outdoor activity.  Dr. Montessori believed that Montessori education is not just what happens inside.  She placed a heavy emphasis on nature and the outdoor environment.  The outdoor environment should be an extension of the indoor environment providing children with real experiences in nature.  Our little yellow school could not provide a complete Montessori education without our natural and expansive outdoor environment.  It is invaluable.

There must be provision for the child to have contact with nature; to understand and appreciate the order, the harmony and the beauty in nature.

~ Maria Montessori