Montessori Cultural lessons

1. 1

   Sandpaper Globe: Land and Water

   2.5 to 4.5 years

   A globe with rough sandpaper land and smooth blue water, the first geography lesson for learning that the earth is made of land and water.

   Materials: Sandpaper Globe

2. 2

   Caring for Plants

   2.5 to 5.5 years

   Watering a houseplant with a small can, wiping its leaves and removing dead ones, then sowing seeds and watching them grow.

   Materials: Plant Care Set

3. 3

   World Puzzle Map: Continents

   3 to 5.5 years

   A wooden puzzle of the world's continents with small knobs, used to learn continent names and shapes by handling them.

   Materials: World Puzzle Map

4. 4

   Land and Water Forms

   3 to 5.5 years

   Pouring water into shallow trays that model an island and a lake, a peninsula and a gulf, and other paired forms, so a child can see each one in three dimensions.

   Materials: Land and Water Form Trays, Small Pouring Pitchers

5. 5

   Continent Globe (Painted Globe)

   3 to 5 years

   Learning the names of the seven continents on a globe where each one is painted its own color, the second globe after the sandpaper globe.

   Materials: Continent Globe (Painted Globe)

6. 6

   Sink and Float

   3 to 5.5 years

   Guessing whether ordinary objects will sink or float, testing each in a tub of water, and sorting them onto two mats.

7. 7

   Living and Nonliving: A First Sort

   3.5 to 6 years

   Sorting real objects and pictures under two labels, living and nonliving, by asking whether each one grows and needs food and water.

   Materials: Living and Nonliving Sorting Cards

8. 8

   Botany Cabinet: Leaf Shapes

   3.5 to 6 years

   Lifting flat green leaf shapes out of their frames, tracing their edges, and then finding real leaves of the same shape outdoors.

   Materials: Botany Cabinet

9. 9

   Flags of the World

   3.5 to 6 years

   Matching small flags on stands to their countries, one continent at a time, starting with the child's own country and the places the family knows.

   Materials: Flag Stands (Flags of the World)

10. 10

    Parts of a Plant (Botany Puzzles)

    3.5 to 6 years

    Taking apart wooden plant puzzles, naming each part, and finding the same parts on a real plant.

    Materials: Botany Puzzles

11. 11

    Zoology Puzzles (Parts of an Animal)

    3.5 to 6 years

    Taking apart wooden animal puzzles, naming the body parts, and comparing them with real animals and pictures.

    Materials: Zoology Puzzles

12. 12

    The Sun and the Planets (Solar System)

    4 to 6 years

    Learning that the earth is one of eight planets going round the sun, and learning the planets' names in order, with a puzzle and a lamp.

    Materials: Solar System Puzzle and Cards

Cultural materials

• Sandpaper Globe

  The first globe: sandpaper land and smooth blue water, learned by touch.

• World Puzzle Map

  A wooden puzzle map of the continents with a small knob on each piece.

• Land and Water Form Trays

  Shallow trays shaped as paired land and water forms, such as island and lake.

• Continent Globe (Painted Globe)

  A small globe with each continent painted its own color on blue oceans, the second globe after the sandpaper globe.

• Botany Cabinet

  A small wooden chest of three or four drawers holding green leaf shapes, each in its own frame with a knob.

• Plant Care Set

  A small watering can, a mister, a leaf cloth and a tray, sized for a child caring for a houseplant.

• Living and Nonliving Sorting Cards

  Picture and label cards for sorting things into living and nonliving, used beside real objects.

• Flag Stands (Flags of the World)

  Small flags on a wooden stand, sold one continent at a time or as a world set, for naming and placing on the puzzle map.

• Botany Puzzles

  Wooden puzzles of plants and their parts, each part a separate piece with a knob.

• Zoology Puzzles

  Wooden animal puzzles, usually five from the fish to the horse, each body part a separate piece with a knob.

• Solar System Puzzle and Cards

  A wooden puzzle or a set of picture cards showing the sun and the eight planets in order.