Preschoolers are ripe for learning about the earth. The Montessori Land Air Water lesson is a lot of fun for kids. They love the concept, and there are loads of variations for parents and teachers to get creative!
![airlandwaterwork land air water](https://h6y9m9p8.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/airlandwaterwork1-e1353780478757.jpg.webp)
“We live on the earth. It is made up of three things: land, water, and air.”
![LAND AIR WATER](https://h6y9m9p8.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/LAND-AIR-WATER-1.jpg.webp)
Land Air Water Geography Activity
This lesson is a great introductory one for preschoolers. I used these “props” to begin the lesson:
Cross-Section Earth Model![](https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=oraareora-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00069ATQ0)
Earth: The Blue Planet (Our Solar System)![](https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=oraareora-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1433938189)
Air Is All Around You (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1)
Land Air Water Geography Lesson
- Three containers
- Water
- Blue Liquid Water Color (to color the water)
- Dirt
- A piece of brown, blue, and white construction paper
- Cork or another kind of board to create your strips of water, land and air
- Concrete objects to place in each area
- A small basket for the small objects (most of our objects were from Safari Toobs)
![objectsbasketlandairwater](https://h6y9m9p8.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/objectsbasketlandairwater-e1353781617840.jpg.webp)
Land Air Water Approach
- I prepared the Land, Air, and Water diagram ahead of time by gluing strips of blue, brown, and white construction paper on a piece of corkboard. I used Mod Podge to seal the paper and make it look a little shinier. Once that dried, I prepared the basket of objects and placed them next to the diagram and three jars that I filled with water (and a little blue liquid watercolor), land (dirt from our yard), and air.
- Carry the tray to the child (or children).
- Describe what is on the tray as they are: “This jar has dirt in it. This jar has water in it. This jar has air in it, we just cannot see it. This board has three areas: this blue area is water, this brown area is the land, and this white area is the air.”
- In the first presentation, I began placing the objects on the appropriate strip and named each object as I placed it down: “Airplane. Tractor. Duck.” The following times the work is used by your child, allow him the opportunity to name and/or place the objects.
![land air water lesson](https://h6y9m9p8.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/airlandwater.jpg.webp)
If you enjoyed this post, check out this Introductory Preschool Activity on Land Forms.
I hope that we inspired you today! Please leave a comment; I love hearing from you!
Marnie