Montessori Continent Folders are readily available to purchase online, but with a little bit of free time and a few trusty homeschooling tools, you can make them yourself! These folders are totally customized to your liking and are sure to endure plenty of little hands. Today, I’ll be sharing a step by step guide on how to make authentic Montessori Continent folders for your homeschooled child.

What you’ll need:

• Printer
• White Cardstock
• Construction paper in each of these colors: White, Brown, Red, Orange, Yellow, Pink and Green.
• 7 Folders ( I used all white folders, but you can also use 1 of each color listed above.
• Laminator (my Fellowes Saturn 3i 95 works great, Amazon Fellowes Laminator Saturn 3i)
• Lamination sheets (5mm for durability, but 3mm or 4mm will work, too)
• Paper Cutter
• Paint Brush
• Mod Podge
• Glue Sticks
• Scissors
  
  Several of these items can be found on my 8 Must Have Tools and Materials for Montessori HomeSchool Moms blog post!

Step 1: Select and print the name and images for each montessori continent folder on white cardstock

Authentic Montessori Continent folders contain a variety of real life images that reflect the continents people (especially children), culture, landscape, animals and way of life. I made sure to include at least 1 or 2 of each of these categories in every continents folder. You will also need to find a geographical image of each continent for the front of the folder, and type the name of the continent as a label for the front of the folder. This can be a little bit time consuming, but don’t rush the process! Finding the right images for your child will pay off in the long run. Being able to customize the images sets these folders apart from the folders you can so easily buy online.

I used google docs for gathering and resizing the photos. Be sure to make them big enough to show enough detail, but not so big that they take up an entire page.

*Examples for image searches: Foods, homes, villages/cities, children at school or playing, families, land animals, sea animals, cultural practices, historical or famous landmarks etc.

Step 2: Cut your printed images from the cardstock

This one is pretty self explanatory. Use your paper cutter to cut each photo from the white cardstock. Remember, these are for young children, so they don’t need to be perfect to serve their purpose.

Step 3: Use a glue stick to glue your cardstock images to the correlating colored construction paper

Use the following color and continent pairings to stay true to authentic Montessori practices.

• North America – Orange
• South America- Pink
• Asia- Yellow
• Europe- Red
• Africa- Green
• Australia- Brown
• Antarctica- White

Step 4: Cut an edge around each image from the construction paper

Again, these do not need to be perfect, but using your paper cutter will definitely help to make straight, even cuts around the border.

Step 5: Laminate each finished card

Put multiple images on each lamination sheet so you can avoid wasting as much as possible. Make sure you leave enough space in between each card so you can cut them out during the next step.

Step 6: Cut the laminated card from the laminated sheet

Again, this is pretty self explanatory. I always think that using a pair of sharp scissors gets this job done easier and faster then trying to use the paper cutter.

When I have finished cutting, sometimes I run the card through the laminator again on its own, to seal any edges that it might have missed the first time.

Step 7: Apply a label and an image of the continent to the front of each montessori continent folder

Next, use your mod podge and paint brush to adhere the geographical image and the name of the continent to the front of each folder (paying attention to the color pairings I previously told you about). You might ask, “Why use mod podge when you can just glue the name and image to the front?” The answer is simply, durability. While you certainly could just glue the image and label to the front of the folder, the mommy in me knows that without a little bit of extra adhesion, it wouldn’t be long before one of my toddlers rips it straight off (on accident… or maybe even on purpose!).

Step 8: Add your laminated cards to each montessori continent folder

Add all of your laminated cards to each Montessori continent folder. Enjoy them with the child and teach them all about the world they live in.