Geography materials are some of our favorite Montessori resources! Through organization, Montessori geography materials give children a solid foundation of knowledge about the world around us!
The sequential introduction to basic geography begins between ages 3-6years with land and water forms and color-coded continents.
This post features a collection of printable and hands-on Montessori geography materials, including maps and globes for children!
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Free Montessori geography printables for children
Montessori land and water world maps
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Our bilingual Montessori Land & Water World Map (brown continents, blue ocean) are available in the following languages (click on the title to download):
- Simplified Chinese / English
- Traditional Chinese / English (Taiwanese)
- Traditional Chinese / English (Cantonese)
- Korean / English
You can also download black-and-white versions of the maps to use as coloring sheets:
- Simplified Chinese / English
- Traditional Chinese / English (Taiwanese)
- Traditional Chinese / English (Cantonese)
- Korean / English
Tactile learning with Montessori maps
In a traditional Montessori classroom, the first globe that the child encounters focuses on land and water.
Each continent is made of sandpaper so that a child can feel the texture, associate it with land, and contrast it to the smooth blue water.
Since we don’t have the sandpaper land and water globe, we applied the sensory principle and used ingredients from our kitchen pantry.
For example, dry oats were perfect for representing land due to its rought texture and tan color! So that they could be reused, we did not glue them to the map printable.
Afterward, we re-used the oats and ground them into fine powder for the children’s bath. We do not want to waste food!
For tactile learning, you can also use beans (eg, lentils), seeds, and homemade play dough. No need to buy or waste anything; use what you have at home!
If you live near the beach or have kinetic sand, you can use that as well!
Montessori geography 3-part cards: Continents
In addition, we have Montessori continents 3-part cards in Chinese, Korean, and English!
Learn more about how we use the Montessori Continents 3-part cards (Chinese, Korean, English) in this link!
Montessori animals of the world 3-part cards
One of my son’s favorite activities is the Montessori Animals and Continents 3-Part Cards – click here for details!
World map books
Here’s my review of 6 World Map Atlas Books in Chinese and English for Elementary and Preschool!
World globes
See our detailed review of world globes for kids of all ages here!
Montessori geography felt world map
My kids are obsessed with our large Montessori Felt World Map!
Read my detailed review about our Montessori felt world map here and how my children use this map for learning and playing!
Or click here to buy if you know this is the right map for you!
Globe and map puzzles for children
Melissa and Doug Map of the USA (Click here to buy)
This is not Montessori at all, but when my daughter was a toddler, she loved this 51-piece floor puzzle! The large pieces encourage gross motor movement while completing the puzzle.
Globe puzzles
My daughter had such a blast putting together this 540-piece 3D puzzle globe! The puzzle is actually much easier than it looks because the pieces are labeled with numbers. Ravensburger also has a version with less pieces.
Where to buy:
Related: Favorite puzzles for kids of all ages
Traditional Montessori geography puzzles for children
Below are links to Montessori puzzle maps that Montessori homeschoolers recommend if they fit your budget and space:
- Montessori Puzzle Map of the USA with controls
- Montessori Small Puzzle Maps (7 continents + 1 world map)*
- Montessori Large Puzzle Maps (7 continents + 1 world map)
*Note that this set of Montessori Puzzle World and Continent Maps in the second link above is much smaller than the traditional large classroom material.
In my humble opinion, I think these Montessori geography puzzles lovely but not necessary for most families.
What are your favorite Montessori geography resources for children?
Please let me know in the comments or message me! We would love to check it out, and I’ll update this post as we gather more resources over time.
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Amanda says
What a wonderful collection! So happy to see all the hands-on resources you have for children!
Betty says
Thank you so much, Amanda! It’s my pleasure to share them! We are grateful for your resources as well!
Tiong sk says
Amazing! A very interesting and attractive way to learn about world map
Yvonne Yew says
Hi Betty,
Really impressed that a lot of mothers are talented and passionate about education. For me, i feel Montessori Geography let the child feel better and have a better imagination of the world. I think it is interesting to have a role play, passport, airplane, to the country, introduce about the country etc etc.
MJ says
Would love this for my little one as I find it will be a very helpful resource for teaching my little one.
Nengsi says
I feel Montessori Geography will be able to let my girl have a better imagination of the world.
And, I think by introducing Montessori Geography earlier, this would be able to give my girls the knowledge about different places on earth and how they relate with each other.
Alicia says
Hi Betty, thank you for sharing this wonderful resource. I love that it comes with different traditional Chinese and English. To teach my child, we will go through 3-part flashcards and songs related seven continents and 5 oceans.
E says
Thanks for sharing the resources. With my family lives across the world in different continent, I like my LO be aware where our relatives are and how each location has their distinguishing qualities.
jen says
Thank you for sharing the ideas! Love them! Hopr to win the big felt map for my two kiddos and their cousins to play and learn together:) Thank you so much for this giveaway!
Cindy says
Wow! I’m really excited about the resources you shared and also the giveaway. We don’t do much (if any) Geography at home so this will be a great start for us. Thanks for sharing!
Georgina Rangel says
Such wonderful idea to inspire and motivate kids to learn geography!!
Angelika Schmik says
Since I love traveling and learning about all the different cultures, I feel like it’s important to teach my children about our wonderful world and all the different people and nations in it. Of course, travelling would be one way of teaching them, but I guess the map (which is such a massive size!!) will do it for now.
Helen says
Hi Betty,
Thank you very much for taking the time to write this blogpost. It’s a wonderful summary of resources covering the topic on Geography and our world.
Your explanation on the Montessori way of teaching land and water forms first, brings an insight to me on how to teach my child.
Hoping to win the awesome map. We can combine the activity with the animals and landmarks of the world.
Thank you for the montessori map giveaway. Wishing you and your family well.
Best Regards,
Helen
Diana says
Looks like the perfect way to introduce the world (in multiple languages) to my LO, especially since all our family lives across the ocean.
Marcela says
Thank you for sharing all these resources. They seem wonderful for teaching kids about the world and the many cultures cross the world. Would be great to win the sweepstakes (:
Blingnsplitz says
Wow interesting page with resources for good learning opportunities for young children! Hope to see more
Rachel Lum says
Thanks for sharing the resources and free printable. The felt map looks like such a great way to start on teaching this topic. It’s a huge invitation to play.
David says
寻宝记is a great comic to learn about the world and about China. I recommend it