I decided to present some lessons from the past school years. I will choose some from the weeks and days of the curriculum pages, as this school year progresses. I will also choose some pictures of children working with materials that are on classroom shelves during that month of the lesson presented. This is the lesson on the Hemisphere Map found in Week 3 Day 5 of the curriculum pages.
Continue reading “Hemisphere Map – From the Archives”Category: Geography
Asia/India
Let’s look at this map of Asia. We have talked about this country of China and this one, Japan. Today we want to talk about this country. It is called India. When we look at India we can see it has three sides surrounded by water. It is a peninsula. The world’s highest mountain range is in India. They are the Himalaya Mountains. India has some desert land, forest, and jungle area as well.
The cow is a very sacred animal in India. They can be found wandering through city streets. India is also home to many other animals like elephants, lions, pythons, river dolphins, and the snow leopard. The Bengal Tiger is the national animal of India. This beautiful cat lives in the forests and grasslands. They also swim and can be found in ponds, lakes, and rivers.
Indian clothing is very colorful…
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Antarctica Review
We read more on the continent of Antarctica and consider Circle Time Lesson Geography 31.
Let’s find Antarctica on our Continent Globe. What is it like on this continent? Do people live there in houses like we live in? What kind of animals are on this continent?
Penguins are one of the animals that live on Antarctica…
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Asia
We continue to talk about Asia. In Geography 36 lesson we have started to talk about the continent of Asia. Now we want to look at the map and find the country of Japan. Japan is actually an archipelago or string of islands on the east side of Asia. The four main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. The islands have mountains, hills, forest, and many volcanoes. The people of Japan are known for being hard workers. The children are taught to show respect to others, especially their parents.
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Children Working
Sometimes i like to go around the room and explore with the children what works on the shelf they chose. Of course, not everyone can do the lesson work from Circle Time, so it is important to have the shelves filled with works that reinforce those areas of the classroom like Geography, Botany, Math, Language, Practical Life, etc. It is amazing how, in the Montessori environment, the children are given these opportunities and they are allowed to explore to their hearts content. Many from traditional schools don’t understand this methodology because they are not used to relinquishing their perceived control over the childs progress. However, for us, we see that this allows them to blossom within the controlled environment of works we provide. One student may have interest for only a half-hour, while another may take an entire day, and return to it the next day. The child is 100% engaged and retains the lessons learned. I love it!
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Classroom Activities
Every month is filled with many activities. While one child might be working on the activity of the Morning Circle lesson, others find their interest on the shelves in many different forms. It is always good to have your activity trays neatly organized and available. I like shelving that allows the children easy access so they can see the activities, and I organize them according to their category.
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Africa
This month the continent of Africa is introduced. Up to this point North America and South America have been discussed. Children continue to stamp their ‘passports’ as each continent is introduced. A variety of lessons such as those on Egypt and the different biomes that make up Africa can be highlighted as you discover this continent over the coming weeks.
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Rain Forest Animals
As this month continues with the continent of South America, it is an excellent time to talk about the rain forest. I introduce biomes in the coming weeks and include rain forests as a reminder of a biome already discussed. Learning about different animals and providing a variety of art activities on some of these animals are much enjoyed by children.
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Land Forms
Children enjoy working with the land form materials. Different kinds are able to be purchased on many Montessori website that sell materials. Some teachers and homeschool families make a set of their own using small foil tin trays and hardening clay. Small booklets can be made as children color the water and land parts of each landform. Small land and water animals to use along with a landform is always a popular activity in the classroom.
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South America
During the first week of each month, I like to introduce a new continent is and various lessons continue with it for the remainder of the month. This month features the continent of South America. Children keep their little passports stamped with each new continent we talk about.
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