I've wanted to make one of these for a while now. April vacation allowed me the time and with this unfortunate tummy bug going round and round my house, I've been home to do projects I had been putting off.
First I made the bean bags: I cut the continents from felt, sewed them onto blue fleece and then made them into bean bags. Next I made the mat from that same blue fleece and a large piece of black fleece (a throw blanket I found at Goodwill for $1.99 did I mention, I LOVE Goodwill).
I cut two large blue circles for the hemispheres and sewed them to the black fleece, next I sewed the black fleece to one of Little One's baby blankets (a light blue thermal one). Then we played with it!
Little One (almost three years old) couldn't stop touching the big blue circles. And when he wasn't touching them, he was holding a bean bag continent. I think the rest of his class will find the sounds and textures of this work appealing as well. Then I introduced the animals. Middle Man, from across the room, came to see what we were doing and quickly took over the game. An experienced Montessori student, now in the upper elementary class, he knew which animal belonged where and wasted no time informing Little One of their correct 'where a bouts'. He was very frustrated with me that there were no animals for Antarctica available (I left those at school!).
Little One ended up moving all the animals about and really playing with it, which made me happy. It was obviously a learning material most suitable for toddlers not ten year olds. ;)
In PEACE,
Jennifer
