Simple DIY Globe for Kids for Continent and Ocean Study
We’re kickstarting our Geography studies this year with a quick project to create our own globe where we can add in parts as we learn more about the world around us. This simple 3D globe project for kids is ideal to do as you first introduce information about the world like the Continents, Oceans, and the lines that we add to help us classify and navigate the world. It’s really simple and didn’t take very long but we added in the use of an atlas and our own model globe as well. So here you go a simple Geography Craft for Kids to create their own mini globe for hands-on learning about the world around them.

Geography Craft for Kids
As we review and learn about geography I like to start by a quick topic all about the world. We start of reviewing the placement of the 7 continents and the oceans and then delve deeper into knowledge about the lines that we place around the world and the hemispheres.

This simple project creates a manipulative that we can then add string, pins and more to annotate our DIY globe as we learn more and further or knowledge in this unit.

If you are making this with young children you may want to draw out the continents for them and outline them in the sharpie first this will make it easier for them to create.
What we are Learning
- name and locate the world’s seven continents and five oceans
- use world maps, atlases, and globes to identify continents, and oceans
- identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones
Our Favourite Geography Resources for Learning about the World
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Both my kids have their own globes. The eldest picked a large size that is annotated with the animals of the world as he does love learning about animals. It’s very similar to this one for her as it shows so much.

We created our own world map using a cork map like this one and large canvas for the wall of our family room. Primarily used for recording our family travel it’s also come in very handy when talking about the continents and finding countries of the world on it.

A good Atlas is essential, we have a few some that I’ve kept from my own childhood despite the political changes of countries around the world the information about climate, physical geography and how maps are formed has stayed the same. This one is one of the ones that we have bought for the kids. You can find more atlases that we recommend for kids here.
Looking for more great Geography Books check out our Review of the Horrible Geography Collection.
Using the Globe for further study

Once the globe is made we added to it as we introduce new concepts and activities.

A flag push pin (like these ones) was used to pin point our home country of the United Kingdom, as well as the poles.

We used coloured string to mark the equator and tropics.

Whilst studying the lines of latitude and longitude as well as the time zones we added and removed coloured string as the globe was getting crowded.

If I had more of the same size polystyrene balls that used (a 3inch one) we would have created 3 globes,
- 1 for the continents, oceans, poles, where we live, equator, and the 2 tropics.
- Another for lines of longitude and latitude with different coloured string.
- A final one to represent time zones, the international dateline, and the prime meridian.

Easy DIY Globe for Geography Studies
Video
Equipment Needed
- Skewer or Toothpick to hold the globe as it is decorated
- Pencil to mark out the map
Materials Needed
- 1 3 inch Craft Ball polystyrene see note for other ideas if you don't wish to use polustrene foam balls.
- Sharpie Green and Blue
- Fine Maker Black for Labelling
Instructions
- First pierce the skewer/toothpick through the bottom of the craft ball. This will make it easier to hold as it is decorated.
- Using a pencil draw the outlines of the continents onto the ball.
- Use the sharpies to colour the continents in green.
- Leaving the bottom of the ball and top of the ball white to represent the poles colour the oceans in blue.
- With a fine tip marker, annotate the globe with the names of the continents and the oceans.
Notes
More Geography Studies on Rainy Day Mum
- Learn how mountains are built in our edible plate tectonics experiments
- Create 3D layers of the earth sectional model
- Learn about the Antarctic with our selection of books to read together.
