Although we made these Chinese nature Montessori 3-part cards after my children had learned the words, I hope your family can benefit from these printables! I love sharing what we make, because if we don’t get to use them, hopefully they can save time and cost for others.
Our Montessori cards have realistic images which are important for reinforcing concrete concepts.
Since Chinese nature words have only a few strokes, they are great first Chinese characters to teach for those who are ready to read Chinese.
Translations in English and Korean are available for families who would like to use these for sight word review in other languages!
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Table of Contents
What are Montessori 3-part cards?
If you’re new to Montessori, each set of cards consist of 3 parts that are displayed in a divided stand, tray, or folder.
The 3 parts include:
- Picture (photo or realistic drawing)
- Label (the picture’s name)
- Control card with picture and label together
Related: How I Taught My Child 1000+ Chinese Characters as a Non-Fluent Speaker
What you need for nature Montessori 3-part cards activity
- Free printables in SC, TC, Korean, and English in the Printables Library for Subscribers (check the nature section)
- If you have not yet subscribed, please click here!
- Color printer (this printer and this printer have high reviews)
- White cardstock paper
- Paper trimmer or scissors
- Optional: Laminator and laminating pouches (consider for durability)
Related: 4 Free Printable Scavenger Hunts for Kids (Chinese, Korean, English)
Nature vocabulary in Chinese, Korean, and English
Below are the 12 terms included in the Montessori printables in English, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Hanyu Pinyin, and Korean!
Many thanks to our former nanny for help with the Korean translations!
- sun
- 日 (rì)
- 해
- sky
- 天 (tiān)
- 하늘
- cloud
- 云 / 雲 (yún)
- 구름
- leaf
- 叶 / 葉 (yè)
- 잎
- twig
- 枝 (zhī)
- 가지 (note: another mom mentioned that 나뭇가지 would be a better translation)
- soil
- 土 (tǔ)
- 흙
- flower
- 花 / 花 (huā) appears different depending on Kaiti SC vs TC font
- 꽃
- grass
- 草 (cǎo)
- 풀
- tree
- 树 / 樹 (shù)
- 나무
- rock
- 石 (shí)
- 돌
- moon
- 月 (yuè)
- 달
- water
- 水 (shuǐ)
- 물
How to use Montessori 3-part cards to teach nature words
Observation / speaking
If your child is learning how to say and pronounce nature words, bring the picture/word cards out on a nature walk and see what you can find an match!
Always try to reinforce concepts with real, 3-dimensional experiences; memory is enhanced when multiple senses are stimulated!
At home, your child can match picture to picture while discussing what they see in the images.
Related: Transitioning from Dominant to Minority Language
Reading
When your child is ready to learn how to read, you can show them how to match the words in addition to the pictures!
Start out with 2-4 sets of Montessori nature cards and see if your child can match the sets. Then offer more cards!
Organizing and displaying Montessori 3-part cards – printable folder
To make the activity attractive and easy to access for my preschooler, the 3-part cards are organized in matching color envelopes in a tray.
You can download the 3-part cards template in the link below and use it with other Montessori 3-part cards from our website!
We used sturdy colored cardstock paper so that my son would know which folder had the nature 3-part cards!
Have you used these Montessori nature 3-part cards?
If you try this activity, please let us know in the comments below! What age(s) are your kid(s) and how did it go? We’d love to hear about your learning experience!
On Instagram and Facebook, tag a photo @chalkacademy and use the hashtag #ChalkAcademy so our family can check out the action! Or email me a photo at [email protected]!
More nature learning activities for kids
- 10 Fun and Free Chinese Teaching Activities with Leaves! (Printable)
- 4 Ways to Teach Chinese Characters at the Beach!
- Exploring Nature, Geodes, and Rock Arches with Children
- 4 Fun Ways to Use Stones for Chinese Reading & Writing Practice!
- Rainstick Sensory Bottles – A Musical Activity for Kids! (VIDEO)
- Parts of a Flower Sensory Bottles – A Nature Literacy Activity (VIDEO)
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