North American Arctic, First Nations Of The Arctic, Montessori Geography At Home

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This Study of the Arctic Inuit People was such an incredible experience. When contrasting with North West Coastal People to the Arctic a comment that Xander made was, "WOW! They were rich with resources!" 
He was really struck with how difficult life was/is in the arctic, and their incredible use of the resources they had available to them.  This study really left him with a great appreciation for the hard work, and incredible skills of this amazing culture.

Xander's Inuit Oil Lamp "Kudlik" Lesson.

 Museums are such an incredible way to explore culture and during the time of this study we were lucky to be able to visit the Research and Collections Facility - Canadian Museum of Nature.


Narwhal Tusks




The kids had a chance to visit with Beluga Whales at the Vancouver Aquarium.




On with our Arctic Environment!
Houses of snow, skin and bones (Native Dwellings)


This project was made with sugar cubes, but you could use white mini marshmallows. He prepared the card board surface and started building.






This is Xander's little seal skin canoe. Above he is using paper towel for the skin, and willow twigs for the frame.


Lego is never far away in any project Xander puts together.

Below this figure is preparing a summer dwelling.


Winter travel sled


Traveling by canoe


Xander set up the interior of the igloo, with all of the things he thought a typical family would have.








This is an incredible book about the different cultures living around the Arctic Circle.





Xander has been using this book to learn some early writing skills. I posted about it here. We used the "Writing a Research Report" for this project.


I created a set of cue cards from the book for Xander to refer to while writing.  This is a format you can find anywhere, but the book has such an incredible way of presenting this work, I would highly recommend it!


Researching and writing out his information on post-its (later we used lined index cards).



This is the site I mentioned earlier.

 Writing his report. This was a really fun process for Xander. We worked on many of the steps to writing a research report on a white board. We have been using white boards a lot this year during all subjects. I am loving them because they and so portable and easy to clean! Below are the boards we use.                                                 This one is a really nice size.
We also have this smaller one that is super handy
Quartet Plastic Frame Magnetic Whiteboard, 11 x 14 Inches, Frame Color May Vary (MHOW1114)

These are our favorite markers. I love that they have a felt eraser on the caps.
Quartet ReWritables Mini Dry-Erase Markers, Magnetic, Assorted Classic Colors, 6 Pack (51-659312Q)
You can download your free copy of our cue cards here! 


Hole punch your cards in the upper right corner and thread with anything you like. I used a butterfly clip to connect the cards, and it worked well for us. A key ring would be great as well.

 I found this really fun Arctic Animal Set. It includes a great fact book, a set of animal figures and a board game with trivia questions in the back of the book.





This post is linked up at Living Montessori Now!!

Montessori Monday


CONVERSATION

12 comments:

  1. melissaMarch 21, 2014 at 11:37 AM

    Cherine! This is so cool. I am continually amazed by the depth of the work you three do together. You're children are lucky to have such a thoughtful teacher. Xander's igloo is incredibly detailed, and just beautiful. Thanks for sharing your photos and ideas.

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    1. Cherine MuirheadMarch 24, 2014 at 12:50 PM

      Thank you Melissa!! I will tell Xander! He worked very hard on this environment. This was such an amazing experience!

      Delete
  2. MeghanMarch 22, 2014 at 10:10 AM

    What a deep & respectful engagement with this culture you and your kids have done!

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    1. Cherine MuirheadMarch 24, 2014 at 12:53 PM

      Thank you Meghan! What a kind and thoughtful thing to say <3 This study really did have a profound impact on us all!

      Delete
  3. UnknownMarch 22, 2014 at 1:01 PM

    Amazing! Thank you for sharing!

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  4. Lisa NolanMarch 24, 2014 at 8:36 PM

    What a fantastic unit! How wonderful! Can we come learn at your house! Just loved it!

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  5. Anastasia @Montessori NatureMarch 31, 2014 at 6:02 AM

    this looks just amazing! wow!!! so many learning opportunities!

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  6. AnonymousMarch 5, 2015 at 10:38 AM

    I love this blog post! I liked your post so much, I referenced it on my own blog, due to wanting my children to build this awesome project. I hope that's okay! I also link to some of my favorite blogs, as yours is one as well. I think the sugar-cube igloo is fantastic. All 3 of my children will love this!
    https://cchlearning.wordpress.com/
    "A Peek at Our Day"
    Blessings,
    Bri

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    Replies
    1. Cherine MuirheadJanuary 16, 2017 at 6:00 AM

      I hope you had fun with your project! Thank you so much for commenting and sharing :)

      Delete

I greatly appreciate your friendly comments and feedback. I love to see what others are making, so please feel free to include a links and share your site with us!!! If you have any questions regarding any of the materials we have made...I'd love to help!!! Thank you for visiting us:)

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