Continent Globe (Painted Globe)
The continent globe, often called the painted globe, shows each continent in its own color on smooth blue oceans. A child of about 3 who knows land and water from the sandpaper globe learns the seven continents' names, two or three at a time. Africa is usually green, Europe red and Asia yellow.
Sourced from the texts, not yet presented at home
| Typical age | 3 to 5 years |
|---|---|
| Area | Cultural |
| Before this | |
| Materials | |
| Direct aim | To learn the names and shapes of the seven continents on the globe. |
| Control of error | The colors and the adult. Each continent's color separates it from its neighbors, so the child can see where one ends. There's no control in the globe for the names; the three periods check them. |
| Leads to | |
| Time | About 5 minutes per lesson (our estimate). |
| Grouping | One child, or two side by side |
| Parent prep | None. |
| Cost | Buy about $42 to $85. Make: possible to make with some effort. |
| Other names | Painted globe, Colored globe of the continents, Continents globe, Second globe |
What the work teaches
Direct aim. To learn the names and shapes of the seven continents on the globe.
Indirect aims, the ones you will not see at once
- A first map of the world, held in the hands
- Preparation for the world puzzle map, which uses the same colors
- Seeing that oceans join the continents and cover most of the earth
- Words for places the family talks about: where relatives live, where a food comes from
Set it out before you invite the child
A globe of about 15 to 16.5 cm across, oceans blue and each continent painted its own color. Montessori Outlet and Nienhuis tilt theirs on the stand at about 23 degrees, like the earth.
The usual colors: Africa green, Europe red, Asia yellow, North America orange, South America pink, Australia brown, Antarctica white. Makers vary a little, so match the world puzzle map to your globe.
The sandpaper globe nearby, for comparing land and water.
A low table. The continent globe isn't described in Montessori's books from 1912 to 1917; it's standard in AMI and AMS albums.
Presentation, step by step
- 1Carry the globe to the table with one hand under the base and one on the stand.
- 2Set the sandpaper globe beside it. Touch land and water on the first globe, then point to the same places on the painted one.
- 3Turn the globe slowly until Africa faces the child. Trace its outline with a finger: "This is Africa."
- 4Turn to South America and trace it: "This is South America."
- 5Give the second and third periods for those two: "Show me Africa." "What is this?"
- 6On other days, add one or two continents at a time, until all seven are named.
- 7Carry the globe back to the shelf with both hands.
Details that hold the child's attention
The same land shapes as the sandpaper globe, now in colors.
Antarctica, all white at the bottom of the globe.
Turning the globe and finding the ocean everywhere.
The tilt of the stand, which matches the earth's tilt.
How the child sees a mistake
The colors and the adult. Each continent's color separates it from its neighbors, so the child can see where one ends. There's no control in the globe for the names; the three periods check them.
The words come after the hands
| Words | Shown with |
|---|---|
| continent | One of the seven large areas of land. |
| Africa, Asia, Europe | Names given two or three at a time. |
| North America, South America, Australia, Antarctica | The rest. |
| ocean | The blue around the land. |
The three-period lesson, scripted
You need two continents far apart in shape and color, such as Africa and South America.
| Period | What you do and say |
|---|---|
| 1. Naming | Trace Africa: "This is Africa." Trace South America: "This is South America." |
| 2. Recognition | "Show me Africa." "Put your finger on South America." Turn the globe and ask again. |
| 3. Recall | Point to one and ask "What is this?" |
Montessori's method for names: first two strongly contrasting things, only the name spoken, and no correction if the child gets it wrong, just a repeat another day.
Extensions and variations
- The world puzzle map, the same continents laid flat
- Finding where relatives live, or where a fruit in the kitchen was grown
- Continent songs and picture folders: animals, homes and food of each continent
- Matching small animal figures to their continents
- Naming the oceans once the continents are easy
Variations
- Pinning a small flag on the family's own continent
- A blindfold game: the child turns the globe and names the continent under their finger, then looks
Make it or buy it
| Material | Make it | Buy, approx. |
|---|---|---|
| Continent Globe (Painted Globe) | With effort | $42 to $85 |
Prices noted . Approximate US street prices for home-use versions; they vary by maker and change often, so recheck before buying.
Making it at home
Paint the continents of a plain globe in the usual colors with acrylics: Africa green, Europe red, Asia yellow, North America orange, South America pink, Australia brown, Antarctica white.
What to check when buying a set
Look for clean color edges and a stand that holds steady. Buy the same maker as your puzzle map if you can, so the colors match.
Printables for this age
This work needs only the material, so it has no printable of its own. The shelf plan below places it among the other works for the same age.
- Shelf plan for age 3PDF, 1 page, 250 KBEvery work for this age on one page, in order, with a column to date each presentation.
Every printable for one age, by email
The shelf plan and the lesson printables for your child's age in one email, then three short emails on the first lesson, what to make or buy, and what comes next.
Signs the child is ready, and signs it is done
Ready for the first presentation
- Names land and water on the sandpaper globe in any position.
- Carries a globe with two hands.
- Asks the names of the land shapes.
- Knows several color names.
Ready for the next lesson
- Names all seven continents on the globe.
- Finds a named continent quickly by turning the globe.
- Matches the continents on the globe to the puzzle map pieces.
- Asks where a place or an animal is. That's the cue for the world puzzle map.
Fitting it into a home, not a classroom
| If you have | Do this |
|---|---|
| A tight budget | Paint the continents of an inexpensive plain globe in the usual colors with acrylics, oceans blue. |
| Family abroad | Start with the continent where a relative lives. It gives the name a person to hang on. |
| Two children | One turns the globe, the other names the continent that stops in front of them. |
| A child who knows the names from songs | Go straight to the third period, then on to the puzzle map. |
When it does not go to plan
| When | Try this |
|---|---|
| The globe gets spun hard. | Show the slow turn with one hand while the other points. Put the globe away if spinning is all that happens. |
| North and South America get mixed up. | Name only one of them for a few days. Give the other when the first is sure. |
| Interest drops after three continents. | Normal. Leave the rest for another week. |
| The child calls Australia an island. | That's a fair observation. Give the word continent and leave it there. |
Hazards to check before each session
Stand the globe on a low, steady table; on a high shelf it topples when a child reaches up.
Check that a homemade globe's paint is dry and non-toxic.
Where other sequences and standards place it
We have not bought the paid homeschool curricula, so they are not listed here.
| Framework | Where it sits |
|---|---|
| This site's Cultural sequence | Lesson 5 of 12 published, after Sandpaper Globe: Land and Water, before World Puzzle Map: Continents and The Sun and the Planets (Solar System). Checked in: the scope and sequence |
| Montessori, The Montessori Method (1912) | The method for names: begin with a few strongly contrasting stimuli, speak only the name, and repeat the lesson another day rather than correct. Checked in: Chapters XII and XV |
| Montessori, The Montessori Elementary Material (1917) | Geography in the 1900 lectures: cardinal points, building games, and a map of the room, which give the child a conception of the map. Checked in: Part VII, Geography |
| Indiana Early Learning Standards, preschool | SS 3.2: demonstrate awareness of places and regions. Checked in: www.in.gov |
Continent globe: questions parents ask
What is the Montessori painted globe?
The second globe, after the sandpaper globe. It shows each continent in its own color on blue oceans, so the child can learn the continents' names and shapes. It's also called the continent globe.
What are the Montessori continent colors?
Usually Africa green, Europe red, Asia yellow, North America orange, South America pink, Australia brown and Antarctica white. Makers vary a little; match your puzzle map to your globe.
What age is the continent globe for?
About 3, after the sandpaper globe, and on this site it runs to 5. The world puzzle map follows it.
Can I use any globe?
A busy political globe has too much on it for a 3-year-old. A plain globe painted with one color per continent works well.
Sources cited by book and chapter
- Maria Montessori, The Montessori Method (1912)
Chapter XII, Education of the Senses
One should proceed from few stimuli strongly contrasting to many stimuli in gradual differentiation, such as red and blue together before the delicately differing tints.
Chapter XV, Intellectual Education
The lessons in nomenclature must consist simply in provoking the association of the name with the object, so no other word besides the name should be spoken.
If the child makes a mistake the teacher must not correct him but must suspend her lesson and take it up again another day.
- Maria Montessori, The Montessori Elementary Material (1917)
Part VII, Geography
Geography in the 1900 lectures begins with exercises for the cardinal points and building games, and furniture placed on a map of the room gives the children a conception of the geographical map.
Reviewed by
What to offer next
Once the child chooses this work unprompted and finishes it without help, the next lesson to prepare is World Puzzle Map: Continents.
- Puzzle map3 to 5.5 years
- Land forms3 to 5.5 years
- Continent globe3 to 5 years
- Sink and float3 to 5.5 years
- Living and nonliving3.5 to 6 years