PREPARE THE CHILDREN
Fortunately, there are lots of materials in the Montessori pedagogy that lay a foundation for learning about the continents of the world through hands-on experiences with Manipulatives.
There is the sandpaper land & water globe, the color-coded continent globe, and then the color-coded "Continents Map."
Even if you don't have access to all of the Montessori Cultural Studies Materials, you can still offer children a Globe and Visuals of a World Map.
REINFORCE THE NAMES OF THE CONTINENTS
WITH A SONG
After the children have had lots of hands-on experiences with globes and puzzle maps, you can teach them "The Continents Song," while you point to each continent when its name comes up in the song.
There are lots of versions of "The Continents Song" that you will hear in Montessori classrooms all over the world.
My groups have two favorites: one that is short and one that is long!
1. "The Continents Song"
SHORT VERSION
I always introduce the short version to the children first. You can listen to my short version of the song at my Youtube channel HERE.
Eventually, you can introduce the children to the longer version, which is more repetitive and very fun rhythmically!
2. "The Continents Song"
LONG VERSION
Here's the YouTube video I created for the longer version of "The Continents Song."
PROVIDE EXTENSIONS FOR GROUP AND
INDIVIDUALIZED ACTIVITIES
There are lots of fun musical extensions to reinforce the names of the continents of the world.
One activity is to clap the rhythm of each of the names of the continents.
In Lesson #11 of my Musically Montessori eCourse, "Let's All Sing: 15-Day Challenge," you will be able to download a set of rhythm notation and recitation cards for each of the Continents.
3. Clapping the Rhythm of the
Names of the Continents
In that Lesson #11 from my Let's All Sing eCourse, you'll find lots of ideas for extensions along with downloadable Printables to bring the Lesson to the children through many of the areas of the Preschool curriculum, including:
- Visuals of the Continents Map and Musical Notation Cards
- Rhythm Pattern Cards for Movement Activities
- Rhythm "Body Percussion"/ Command Cards
- "Make Your Own Musical Map" Individualized Shelf Work
- Picture Cards of rhythm instruments for creating a classroom "Performance"
MORE WAYS TO REINFORCE LEARNING ABOUT THE CONTINENTS OF THE WORLD
4. Greet children in the Language of the
Featured Country of Each Continent
"Jambo"
Saying "Hello" in Swahili, one of the languages of Africa, during
our Cultural Studies of Africa
5. Provide Activities for Movement
on the Montessori Line
Give children baskets to carry, trays of tea cups, or flags for marching that reflect the lives of the people of your featured country or continent in your Cultural Studies Curriculum.
Here's one of my Blog Articles about this activity: "Musical Story for Preschoolers to Enjoy a Walk to the River."
6. Set up the Pattern on your Calendar Inserts
that are the Cut-outs of the 7 Continents
I traced each continent from the Montessori Continents Puzzle Map, on color-coded paper, and then made calendar inserts, enough to create the pattern for the days of the month in which I first introduced "The Continents Song." You can sing the Short Version of the Song each morning so that the children can predict what comes next in the pattern.
7. Teach the Children Traditional Dances
from the Country or Continent being Featured.
Providing long ribbons for children to dance the Chinese Ribbon Dance is a fun way to celebrate the continent of Asia. Put on some lively traditional music of China and invite the children to dance!
You can read about how I do this Activity with my groups HERE:
8. Create Stories for Dramatizing the Daily Activities of the People from the Country Being Featured
This is a picture of children walking on a balance beam in our Drama Play Story of the "Alligator in the River" during our Cultural Studies of Africa. You can create stories for children to dramatize with Movement Activities, props, child-made stick puppets, masks, or with rhythm instruments that feature the country of study.
You can see how I've created these stories for my groups in my Blog Articles:
9. Create "Sandpaper Continents" for Each
of the Continents of the World
As you introduce each of the continents in more depth over the months, you can set up a fun station for creating "Sandpaper Continent" cards. My groups have always greatly enjoyed this activity!
- Provide a tray with pieces of cardboard, a pencil, glue stick, and colored sand in a shaker bottle. The sand is color-coded for each continent.
- The child chooses the continent to work with, then fetches that puzzle piece from the Montessori Continents Map.
- Next, the child traces the shape of the continent on a piece of cardboard.
- Then, s/he fills in the tracing with glue.
- Now it is time to shake the sand onto the glue-filled shape.
- After, the child has filled in the shape with the colored sand, then s/he can pour off the excess sand into a container to save for art projects.
- Finally, the child (or teacher) can write the name of continent on the card.
10. Check Out My "Let's All Sing" eCourses
or my TpT Continents Song Activity Packet
CLICK HERE to learn more about my Musically Montessori "Let's All Sing" Free 5-Day Challenge and 15-Day Challenge
CLICK HERE to learn more about my TpT Activity Packet, Musically Montessori "Let's All Sing" The Continents Song
MORE RESOURCES
~ "Montessori-Inspired Continents Bundle" from Every Star Is Different
~ Trillium Printables Full Packet (includes Continent Bundle) from Trillium Montessori Shop
~ Have you joined my mailing list? My subscribers have access to my 30+ free resources, including my "Musically Montessori First Lessons eBook."
You can subscribe on the sidebar of this blog or scroll down if you are on a phone or tablet.
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I'm happy to see you here at my Blog today. I hope you have gotten some musical ideas for your children!
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