Fun Ways to Learn Geography
Like many school subjects, geography is often thought of as boring to learn. It requires memorization, drilling, and is not very fun. But, this is only true if you teach it in a conventional, boring way. Geography can be fun and easy to learn by not focusing on the learning but on the fun. My daughter and I enjoy doing puzzles together so these geography puzzles are perfect.
US States:
US States:
The first one I got for her was of the 50 states. Each puzzle piece is shaped like a state and has a picture of something the state is known for (Kentucky has a horse, New York has the Statue of Liberty, etc.) and the state capitol. By simply playing with this she has come to know the 50 states, a little something about each, their capitals, and locations all without needing to be drilled or take test.
GeoPuzzle Europe:
GeoPuzzle Europe:
But, why stick with just the United States. A quick search of Amazon and I found several other puzzles offering the same possibilities for fun (always number one) and learning. Here's the Europe puzzle and similar to the US puzzle the pieces are in the shapes of the countries. Each puzzle piece has the name of the country and that country's capitol.
GeoPuzzle Africa:
GeoPuzzle Africa:
Here's Africa from the same company. It's surprisingly difficult unless you are already really familiar with the countries of Africa but again a lot of fun and a great learning experience.
In addition to learning the names of the countries and their location my daughter often asks how long it would take to get to a particular country so she's learning about the size of the earth and some basic mathematical principles of how distance and time are related. We can also talk about climate variations, differences in terrain, flora and fauna.
As always these talks are not lectures in preparation for some future exams. They are conversations that ebb and flow as we spend time together playing puzzles.
GeoPuzzle Asia:
In addition to learning the names of the countries and their location my daughter often asks how long it would take to get to a particular country so she's learning about the size of the earth and some basic mathematical principles of how distance and time are related. We can also talk about climate variations, differences in terrain, flora and fauna.
As always these talks are not lectures in preparation for some future exams. They are conversations that ebb and flow as we spend time together playing puzzles.
GeoPuzzle Asia:
Here's the Asia puzzle. Again, the same principle of puzzle pieces shaped like countries. China is in three separate pieces which is actually good to illustrate just how big a country it is.
GeoPuzzle Latin America:
GeoPuzzle Latin America:
Here's the Latin America puzzle. This one provides a unique perspective since kids who live in the United States aren't used to seeing a map where the United States is not shown prominently. There is just a small portion shown as a northern landmass amove Mexico.
GeoPuzzle North America
GeoPuzzle North America
GeoPuzzle does have a North America puzzle as well that also includes Canada which often gets forgotten. We don't have this puzzle but we do have a separate Canada puzzle to learn more about our neighbor to the north!
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This article contain links to products on Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.