Young children always tend to show great interest in animals, and this means that from an early age they are able to recognize and identify their sounds without problems , that is, they know that the dog is “woof” or that the cow is ” sooo ”and they even find it funny. But do you also know where animals live ?
This question can help us to introduce certain notions of geography when teaching the little ones and also to be able to do it at home. For example, in addition to teaching children shapes, colors, animals and sounds , we can add information about the habitat of animals and use maps and other resources. It is very simple! And doing so will help children to better understand the world around them in a more complete way, as well as to become familiar with elements that they will need to handle later in school, such as maps.
Here are some tips to help you get started with a few simple basics.
Guide to teaching geography to the little ones
- The sounds of the animals
Young children often learn information about colors or numbers with the help of animals . They know right away that a dog is brown, that a chick is yellow, that a frog is green, or how many cats are in a photo or a book illustration. In this sense, animals serve as a resource for children to learn these concepts, but also for them to acquire information about the animals themselves, such as which ones live on farms or in forests. So why not take advantage of this to add some more information?
To get started, you can select a specific country or habitat and teach your children various animals that live there . For example, the toucan lives in the rain forest or the pandas in parts of Asia. You can start by asking about the colors of these animals and continue with questions such as, where do they live? Could you point it out? And add more and more small learning challenges to the activity.
- Find a map or globe
Find maps or globes so that children can easily access them and observe the areas and countries together. You can hang a large map on a wall or use a globe if you don’t have space; You can also print folio size maps for coloring. Whenever you talk, read or watch animals on television, consult the map and find the habitats of each one together. This will help children to better locate these places in their minds , making spatial associations associated with images of animals and special family moments.
You could even cut out animal shapes and place them on the map in their appropriate locations, or use animal toys and create their habitats at home with craft supplies in small cardboard boxes. Looking at a map helps children to understand where they are, in relation to other places, as well as to identify other more everyday things such as where their relatives live, where their grandparents go on vacation or where they have traveled with Mom and Dad, if that is the case.
- Make connections and expand information
When you talk about a specific animal that lives in a specific place, talk about another animal that also lives there, making connections that facilitate learning. It is important to establish these connections in children from an early age and, as they grow, you can expand the information you talk about related to the subject of geography .
When people learn about other countries, they also learn about the world around them and about other realities outside their daily “micro world”. This makes the world better understood and a smaller and less overwhelming place thanks to information. Learning about other countries, their animals and their cultures will also help children in the future to become more tolerant people, capable of fully understanding that differences are normal, and not something negative or strange.
Get to work and collect all the animal toys that have been thrown around the house, create a large map and fill it with beautiful paintings, look for images of animals from all latitudes to color and learn … and let the little ones look at the geography in a simple and fun way.
