Geography for the Young Child

Three year olds love to hear stories of all kinds.  We can introduce them to Geography studies by telling and reading stories of people and animals from around the world.  Children enjoy looking at pictures of people from different continents and can sort animals according to the continent on which they live.

After stories, teachers introduce young learners to a special globe which has the seven continents made of sandpaper to allow the child to feel the shape of the continents, and the oceans and seas are smooth and painted blue for the child to see and feel.  This gives a sensorial impression of the special orientation of large land masses and large areas of water.  Later, the child will work with a colored globe which has color coding for the continents.  This facilitates student learning about the continents, people, and animals in a child-like way.

The color coding for wooden puzzles of maps and for cards are always the same:

North America:  Orange
South America:  Pink
Europe:  Red
Africa:  Green
Asia:  Yellow
Australia:  Brown
Antarctica:  White

Little ones easily memorize the names of the continents through song:

Continents Song
“These are the continents, these are the continents, these are the continents of our world. North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia. Don’t forget Australia. Don’t forget Antarctica. These are the continents, these are the continents, these are the continents of our world.”

Small booklets and cards reinforce names of continents and/or provide information about them.  When the child can identify the continents and shows interest, he can make a globe by tracing around or pinning the continents of the Planisphere Map.

After an initial study of the “big picture” of Geography, students enjoy learning about simple land and water forms: island and lake, gulf and peninsula, strait and isthmus, cape and bay, and archipelago and system of lakes.  They love to pour water in a mold to form a lake, or around a form to create an island.  Later students will include booklets showing pictures and definitions of land and water forms.

One important purpose for teaching Geography to young children is to help them understand people from around the world and to find their place as global citizens.  Next week’s topic will be “The Study of Language Arts: How Children Experience What Montessori Called ‘An Explosion into Reading.’”