How do you teach geography?

[Kerileanne99]

Lelask-
Sorry, I never uploaded any of our 'this little piggy verses as you are the first to show any interest! I will type some out for you...
MaryOfUs-
Alex had actually only played either Stack tthe Countries or Stack the States on and off for about a month when I took the video! I originally thought she was just messing around with the app, trying to imitate Mom and Dad (we bought them for us!). She actually reads all of the questions out loud, but in the beginning, it wasn't until we unlocked the 'bonus' game inside that we realized she was able to name all of the countries as they dropped in the Pile Up game.  In fact, she would frequently 'lose' because she was to captivated by naming themas they fall to worry about matching the one prompted by the game!  (btw- I am completely confident that Megan is ready for it, even if she still needs you to read the questions )
And as far as needing to rotate the country in order to stack it properly? Don't worry about it! They Will eventually all stack up, even if not perfectly arranged! Besides, it just means more practice answering the question

Also, there are many Montessori-styled geography apps I will link below, including an app version of the insertible flags of the world...they are all great, and there are also app versions of almost all of the wooden Montessori puzzles for each Continent, landforms, even zoology like vertebrates, invertebrates, even plant parts....

Hhhmm, I can't seem to bring up a list of all of them together in the App store, but they are all made by the company Rantek Inc, and all the geography ones are called 'A Montessori Approach to...' if you go to one and hit the tab marked 'Developer page', 79 of their come up! (they even have Spanish versions!)

[Mandabplus3]

Ooh this thread is great!
I have used dinodirect on numerous occasions ( at least 10 times) with no problems at all. Shop with confidence I always read the reviews and they are spot on every time. I would be very surprised to find they are made in Australia, it's not the type of thing we could produce cheaply, so I would say it's am imported item.
Here is 1 amazon link, there are others http://www.amazon.com/Montessori-World-Map-Flags-Stand/dp/B00696PW3E/ref=sr_1_49?ie=UTF8&qid=1339565003&sr=8-49&keywords=World+map+flag more expensive than dinodirect for me.
Maryofus
I really liked getting the utube video links. I had forgotten about them...anyway last night before bed in less than 5 minutes I taught alll 3 kids the continents of the world song. This morning I tested them by starting to sing it over breakfast...all three joined in thanks! I will teach them with the map this afternoon to be sure all of them can locate the continents while they sing. As our world map is on the toilet wall this could be interesting!
We shall try another song tomorrow
Megan would have no problem with stack the countries, try out the free version, I think you will be as keen as she is, we play it as a family quite often. I showed my dad and he was late to the dentist because mum couldn't get him off it!  It's addictive. Turning the countries is optional.
If she can draw a circle she can start to write. Some pre writing tasks like tracing lines may be useful...or she may hate them  Also you can start to show her how to draw different things. Point out that people have a head like a circle, a body like an oval, arms and legs...ect. Faces have eyes. Dogs have legs. Just encourage her to draw what she can see. I usually start by laminating a copy of their name, so they can use a whiteboard marker or texta to trace it over and over. We use crayolas washable markers for everything. They always while off ( even skin!) and run smoothly over a page with little resistance and great colours. Plus a pencil grip will fit on them
Off to check out the montossori apps.....

[Tanvi_16]

Thanks a lot for your reply Kerileanne99, maryOfUS and Mandabplus3 .  You guys are rocking..

After hear from you all, i got confident to place my order from Dinodirect.. Thanks again guys.

- Tanvi

[lelask]

I have tried Geopuzzle today and I was surprised how quick she was giving me the right countries ! We have Gepuzzle Europe. We did some continents games in the past but not countries - well she has used the montessori app few times this week. I am also going to buy the montessori map with flags, she was pointing to the right countries today and I am sure if she could put flag there that would be even more exciting for her.
I am also going to check the other apps you have mentioned here.
This thread is great 

[maryOfUS]

Hi Tanvi. You are most welcome.

Hi Manda. You are right!    The toy is not made in Australia but imported from another country. Thank you for clarifying it to Tanvi. I should have typed my previous post clearly. 

(previous post)
"For some reason I thought the product was made in Australia, but other than that I am satisfied with the product as my baby loves it"

I should have said that: "For some reason I thought the product was made in Australia when I placed my order, but when it arrived I found out that it's made in another country, other than that I am satisfied with the product as my baby loves it."

Manda, that's cool that your 3 kids sing together the continents of the world song! And  I am imagining your cool son making funny stuff while learning geography on the toilet! 

Megan can draw circles but not that perfect yet, but she's getting there. I like ALL your tips and ideas on teaching how to write! I will surely apply them. Ah! Crayola's washable markers are great! That's what Megan needs. Thank you so much for the suggestion! 

Kerileanne & Manda, I downloaded the Stack the States and Stack the Countries and I love it. I will play it on my free time and will teach Megan when I've mastered it.

Keri, I googled Rantek Inc. (http://www.mobilemontessori.org/) and there are lots of pretty neat apps out there! Thank you so much! By the way, I subscribed to your YouTube channel and left a message for Alex in her Stack the States video. 

Hi Lelask. Great job for you and your little one in doing the geography!
Thanks for mentioning the Geopuzzle. I will give it a try too! 

[Mandabplus3]

Ummm maryofus...you do realize your daughter will learn stack the countries and stack the states quicker than you right       

[Korrale4kq]

My husband and I were playing  Intro to geo last night and laughing about our inadequacies.We said we would feel pretty silly once our son started beating us.

[early learning17]

Hi there!
Is this the app you are talking about: introduction to grography by montessorium? Which "only" covers America?
I would love to teach about the rest of the countries too....

[Korrale4kq]

The intro to geo I have only covers north America. we love it.. I am hoping that they will release more continents soon

[Kerileanne99]

Hello Early Learning 17!
That is one of them but they make many, many more!  I just tried again to find the complete list in the app store for all of the Rantek, Inc., MobileMontessori apps
The best thing to do is to use the search function in the app store to find 'Montessori Approach To Geography', but DO NOT select one from the drop down menu, just hit enter or go...
This will pull up all of their geo apps, done  primarily by continent...they have a separate one for each continent, a landforms, world, etc...
And that is not even mentioning all of their awesome zoology/ botany/ etc apps! When your toddler says "oh, mommy, that's not the eye, that's the tympanum, I promise you won't regret the money for these

[Skylark]

I second these Montessori approach apps!

Both my kids really liked these. We got them about a month ago for our "traveling collection" to keep them happy with new things on looong plane rides and airport layovers -- and it was an absolute hit!

They are very simple, but hey, toddlers love simplicity and repetition 

[early learning17]

Hello Early Learning 17!
That is one of them but they make many, many more!  I just tried again to find the complete list in the app store for all of the Rantek, Inc., MobileMontessori apps
The best thing to do is to use the search function in the app store to find 'Montessori Approach To Geography', but DO NOT select one from the drop down menu, just hit enter or go...
This will pull up all of their geo apps, done  primarily by continent...they have a separate one for each continent, a landforms, world, etc...
And that is not even mentioning all of their awesome zoology/ botany/ etc apps! When your toddler says "oh, mommy, that's not the eye, that's the tympanum, I promise you won't regret the money for these

Got them! Thank you ever so much for pointing me in the right direction, Kerileanne99! karma to you

[Mandabplus3]

Found a great Resourse!
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/megamaps.htm#
Check it out! Free maps to print in any size, all from you home printer! Print, by continents or the world at once in mega size!
Probably not cheaper than your local print shop ( a very large print in black outline is only a few dollars here) but older kids will have fun putting it all together like a giant puzzle, and learn in the process.

We are loving the Montessori puzzle map apps. The kids have almost got south America covered now. By name, shape and position on the map. I am surprised at just how quickly they have learnt it, and credit this app for a substantial part of their memorizing it all, along with the map on the toilet wall! 

[Mandabplus3]

So as my kids are still crazy about learning where all the countries of the world are. They listen to the utube countries of the world song before they watch magic school bus episodes..the first time they complained that I made them do it but now I suspect they ask for magic school bus so they can watch the Countries of the world song!
Anyway I found another good source for printable maps this one has everything!
http://d-maps.com/index.php?lang=en
The olympics are a great motivator for learning about the world. My kids even have an adopted country to follow. Natalya chose Lithuania, Tiana chose Turkey and Jaykob chose Russia. My money is on Jaykob for the win  But they can all locate their chosen country and tell me something about it, so I am happy.

[Kerileanne99]

Manda- I Love the idea of an adopted country! I am not quite sure Alex appreciates much of what the Olympics entail, and I suspect it is a bit busy for her as we never even have regular tv on when she is in the room. The hilarious thing is that we just mute the volume! She will sit and watch it with no sound for as long as I let her, with mom and dad giving a bit of commentary
I asked her what her favorite part was, expecting to hear a sport--nope. The kid is just thrilled by all of the flags on the screen, excitedly calling out all the countries.
I shall ask her if she wants to choose a country today

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