The Best 3 Montessori Volcano Activities
In the Montessori classroom or homeschool, volcanoes are a big deal toward the beginning of the year. In the elementary classroom, we give the 1st Great Lesson at the beginning of the year and that opens the door to many different key areas of study such as space, geology, the periodic table, states of matter, etc. Within those studies is the study of volcanoes because volcanoes were a huge part of our Earth’s beginning and kids get so excited to learn about them. Not to mention they are dangerous and still around today, how thrilled is that!! Use some of these fun activities to help your children explore volcanoes using all sorts of different areas of learning: geometry, art, science, grammar, origami, and more.
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Volcano Models that Explode!
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of volcano lessons is the classic eruption experiment. At school, we have a plastic volcano that has the parts labeled when you break it in half. The students often use this material to copy to make their own parts of a volcano picture. I used this volcano during The First Great Lesson when I did the volcano eruption demonstration.
After that demonstration, which is always a hit, the students all made their own mini volcanoes using airdry clay. My daughter did one of her own at home that was a little bigger. We used air-dry clay to make our volcanoes. We love this clay because it’s easy to shape and it dries without baking. Plus, it’s fun to paint! You can get it here.
Each student in my class made their own mini volcano and they were all very unique. We let them dry overnight and painted them the next day. This is an opportunity for creativity and as much as you may want to dictate how your child’s volcano “should” look, try your best to allow them to do it themselves! If you want to join them, make your own! This will help you keep your hands to yourself!
When the volcanoes are dry and ready for eruption make sure you find a place outside to do so! We used baking soda, vinegar, red food dye, and a little bit of dish soap for some extra pizazz.
Volcano Supplies
- Air-Dry Clay
- Paint
- Small Bottle
- Dish Soap
- Red Food Coloring
- Vinegar
- Baking Soda
- Tray & Measuring Cup (to pour the mixture)
Fortune Teller Anyone?
The next activity we did as a follow-up for our volcano studies is a volcano fortune teller. I’m not sure who had more fun making this, me or the kids! A few years ago I had a group of 3rd graders that were OBSESSED with fortune-tellers. You know, those things we all made endlessly in elementary school that predicted our future husbands or helped us play truth or dare with our friends. Anyway, when these kids made them they drove me nuts. I just saw it as a silly waste of paper during class time, which was not the right mindset for me. I failed to grab their current interest and make it something that they could do while learning in the classroom. If I could go back in time, this is what I would have shown them. The more I fight their interest the more difficult it will be. Might as well join them when it comes to their current interests and make it something even more memorable.
Some of the younger students needed help making the actual fortune teller so I made a few for those who struggled. The 3rd graders could usually make them on their own while they followed me demonstrating. Coloring was totally up to them as long as they stayed with realistic colors of volcanoes. I gave them one that I had made as an example. For older kids, you could challenge them to label the parts of the volcano too!
Fortune Teller Supplies
- Square Paper (just white printer paper cut into a square)
- Markers
Waseca Volcano & Rock Cycle Mat
My favorite volcano material that I’ve found so far is the Volcano and Rock Cycle Mat from Waseca Biomes, which you can purchase HERE. This is such a multifaceted hands-on material that allows students to explore volcanoes, how they work, different types of rocks, the layers of the Earth, AND it is a fantastic miniature environment for practicing grammar. You can do a lot of different things with this material and it hits many different learning levels. Students can simply match the pictures to the mat or they can do some copy work with the information on the back of the pieces. Students can read about volcanoes and the rock cycle or create their own drawings using the mat and cards for inspiration. In grammar, students can practice naming nouns on the mat or they can build entire sentences with a geology theme. My students enjoyed using this material for all sorts of lessons. If you have never purchased with Waseca Biomes before (you are definitely going to want to after looking at their website), use this link to get $15 off your first purchase.
Honorable Mention: The Good and The Beautiful Geology Unit
Lastly, I’d like to mention that I got a lot of inspiration and used some of the materials that came with the Geology Unit from The Good and The Beautiful that you can find HERE. I especially liked the types of volcanoes and eruptions lesson and so did my students! These Science units are great for homeschoolers or classroom students because they are packed full of information and are pretty versatile. I adjust the lessons so they work for me and my kiddos. Oftentimes, I will cut out and laminate the materials that you are supposed to and put them on a shelf so students can explore them on their own or start some research.
Thanks for checking out some of my favorite volcano lessons! If you’re prepping for the 1st Great Lesson, you will also want to check out some of my SPACE posts:
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