Description

Everyday; through observation and the weather patterns; children are made aware of the environment they live in.  Often they will hear conversations regarding the impact of how the environment is changing, due to human interaction with nature.  However, it is not easy for them to visualise the biomes they cannot see; or know where to find them; nor to understand the impact that biomes have on each other.  This World Biomes Mat does just that.  It pulls together a picture of where each biome currently sits on each continent, as well as which biome has an impact on other biomes.

Due to differing sources of information on current marine biome placement, the highlighted area on the map should be used as a guide for the Child, rather than a definitive boundary.

Features of the World Biomes Mat:

• the direct objective is to provide the Child with a comprehensive overview of all 10 biomes
• indirectly, the Child can;
  • map each biome to vegetation type, using the highly coloured legend
  • understand that each biome type depends upon more than just climate
• the mat must be used together with the 10 biomes folders
• this activity supports the Montessori geography curriculum
• a versatile product that can be used for all environments from 3 years to 12 years.

Contents of the World Biomes Mat:

• a washable, vividly coloured VXMat – 56cm x 43cm / (22″ x 17″)
• sold in an A5 transparent plastic envelope to store the mat – 24cm x 17cm x 1cm / (9½” x 6½” x ¼”)

Related Products:

• Tropical Rainforest Biome – always an exciting way to imagine you are ‘bundu-bashing’ through the jungle.
• The continent folders explain the cultures, climates, history, and land forms for each continent, for example, the Africa continent folder.
• Puzzle maps for each continent are also a great way to learn about where in the world the environments are, not only are there puzzle maps, but also labeled and unlabeled control mats, to enhance the teachings.

Further Reading and Resources:

1. Montessori’s Cosmic Curriculum and Biodiversity in Africa by Sara Conway
2. World Biomes – A biome is a community of plants and animals that have common characteristics for the environment they exist in. They can be found over a range of continents. Biomes are distinct biological communities that have formed in response to a shared physical climate. “Biome” is a broader term than “habitat”; any biome can comprise a variety of.