Our Favorite Geography DIYs

If you have been reading this blog for a long time, then you know that Henry is obsessed with geography. Since he was 3-years-old, geography has had his heart. Even now at 6.5-years-old, he still loves to examine maps, and to use Montessori geography materials. At 3-years-old, Nora's interest isn't quite as intense, but she has still come home from school talking about the world, land and continents. 

Because Henry has had such an intense interest, we do have some DIY Montessori geography work at home. Here is a look at our favorites! 

The continent globe is a staple in Montessori classrooms, it shows a simplified version of the globe by highlighting each continent in a single color. For this simple DIY, you'll need: 

• Acrylic Paint 
• An Old Globe 

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To be honest, this is so popular and beautiful, that it just sits in our playroom as decoration. It's not unusual for one of the kids to quietly contemplate the globe in between choosing work. 

This is another one that we have had for a very long time. I made it when Henry was 3 and it is still very popular today. Here the entire world map is made from felt. I used the template found at Imagine Our Life and made some basic changes. Instead of using two colors, I used one and hand embroidered the outside of the continents in their corresponding colors. 

There are so many things that we have done with this map. It can be used as a simple puzzle, we've matched animals to the map, we've matched landmarks to the map, we have labeled the map, labeled the oceans, labeled the seas. Basically, we have done all the things for years with this! Hands down my favorite and the most used of our geography materials. 

This is another super easy, super fun way to explore geography. Before, really understanding what a continent is, young children can explore the basic elements that make up the world. They do this by exploring what is land, air, and water. To make this work, you'll need: 

• 3 small jars of some kind 
• a little dirt and a little water 
• some sort of manipulative to sort {pictures, stickers, figures} that can be found on land/sea/air

These are Henry's absolute favorites right now! To do these, you could use the felt puzzle pieces, or we also have a traditional Montessori puzzle map at home. Either way, there are so many fun ways to explore the continents. Some things Henry/Nora has done has included:

• Tracing each puzzle piece to make a large continent drawing
• Tracing each piece on colored paper and pin punching it out to make a large continent 
• Tracing each piece on fabric and sewing the continents 
• Sorting the continents by size 
• Matching continent pieces to our continent globe