Mountains in a Montessori Classroom: a Mini Early Childhood Unit

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I am Montessori homeschooling my 4.5 year old full time this year. So, I have started planning out our year beginning with a month with a Mountain theme. Here are a few activities I have on our schedule. Enjoy!

Introduce Mountains to Kids with this Amazing Book

Of course, ask lots of questions like “What is a mountain?” “How high do you think mountains are?” “What types of plants/animals live in/on the mountains?” Such a fun way to start a unit. Lots of questions and lots of answers set the ton for an interesting discussion. Show the children some REAL images of famous mountains to get them more interested in the topic. Then dive in one of my favorite books: A Day on the Mountain. The publisher has a fantastic guide for teachers and parents. We also view some great educational videos on Youtube like “Where Do Mountains Come From?” and “Plate Tectonics for Kids“.

This book by Kevin Kurtz, an environmental educator, is beautifully illustrated and its rhyming verses take us up a mountain. On our way, we explore and meet the animals and plants of the changing habitats as we move from forest to snow. There are great resources in the book to take the topic a step beyond the book, too.

Montessori Practical Life

I made these simple cutting strips using real images of famous mountains and mountain animals. These cutting strips are FREE in my Teachers Pay Teachers store or in my shop.
I also downloaded Animal Shapes for Pin Poking and Cutting from Montessori Printshop. I divided up the animals to include Mountain animals in our first month.
Rock Spooning & Sifting
Rock Counting with a Clicker Counter
Cut & Trace Mountain Shape

Montessori Geography

I’ll admit that I was drooling as I made these “Mountains Around the World” cards. The images are beautiful and breathtaking traveling the world. Perfect for a country or continent match work.
To go along with the famous mountains cards, I created a set of Mountain Range Cards to match with location around the world.
Types of Mountains is also on my list. I want to examine different mountain formation. Downloadable materials to come soon!
Match the animals to the habitat (Printable to come)
Discussion and activities around the Bald Eagle as a symbol of the United States. (Simple color page, labeling the Bald Eagle, creating a Bald Eagle Booklet)

Montessori Math

Basic Operations Mountain Math with Mini Bison is adorable for lots of reasons but mainly because of Safari’s Good Luck Mini Bison. I purchased several mini bison from a local art store. Then, I created this simple mountain math printable (also FREE in my TPT store and the shop on this blog). Simply roll the dice and make math fun! Similar to my Honeybee Math activity a while back.
Mountain Graphing uses a printable die and this simple graph printable I created for the work. You can grab this printable for FREE in my stores.
Rock Hundred Board
Simulating height of mountains using lengths of yarn
Climb a mountain skip counting

Montessori Language

I printed out these nice and simple Parts of the Mountain cards from Montessori Print Shop. They do the trick for studying the parts and for making booklets.
We’re also exploring the Parts of the Eagle thanks to our North American themed Brainy Kit
How a Mountain is Formed Sequence Cards (I am really excited about these cards. I can’t wait to share them with you!)
Climb a Mountain Sequence Cards

Montessori Science

I have a few ideas up my sleeve for Science works. Plate Tectonics is a great concept to explore. I am also hoping for a way to examine altitude more closely. I will keep you updated on our progress.

Best,

Marnie