How do you teach kids about the world, including different countries, cultures, climates and natural phenomena? But what are the best ways to make your kids more knowledgeable about geography and cultures? Here are 10 ideas to develop your kids’ geography knowledge.
Buy geographic puzzles
Puzzles of world maps can teach kids where countries are around the world. You can also buy puzzles of local maps or puzzles that require kids to match the flag with the country.
Read books set in other countries
Books set in other countries can teach kids about other cultures and landmarks. This can help kids to relate more to other cultures and understand the world around them more. Books based on around-the-world trips can also teach kids a lot.
Watch movies set in other countries
Movies set in other countries can teach kids about different cultures, too. This could include foreign films with subtitles or voice overs. Teach them about global issues with the many educational films about climate change that you can watch with your kids.
Go for a walk in nature
A walk around a local park or nature reserve could inspire kids to ask all kinds of geographical questions. They are a great opportunity to learn about local geography to help understand the local weather, history and landscape.
Let them play navigator
When going on a roadtrip, give kids a map and encourage them to help navigate you to your destination — or to simply try to follow along. Looking at a map will teach kids about the geography of their local area, helping them to understand the size and distance of various local towns and cities.
Buy them a globe
A globe can educate kids about the world by helping them identify where different countries and cities are. There are many globes that you can buy aimed at kids that glow up or are inflatable. This guide at Mappr lists a few examples of the best globes for kids. We have a learning globe that the girls love.
Play map/globe games
Consider challenging kids to find places on maps or globes as a game. This is a great way to encourage kids to look closely at the world and understand where everything is. You can also ask them to challenge you in return.
Try geography-themed board games
There are many geography-themed board games that can teach kids about the world. These include Trekking The World, Ticket To Ride and The World Game. Many of these games are so fun that kids won’t even realise they are learning new things.
Buy them activity books
Activity sheets and books available from sites like Learn Bright can also educate kids about the world. These could be great for doing at home or on long car rides — possibly supplementing geographic topics that kids are learning about at school.
Travel to other countries
Traveling to other countries with kids isn’t cheap or easy, but if you can do it, It’s one of the best ways to educate kids about the rest of the world. Being in another country will allow kids to understand cultural differences first-hand such as different languages, customs, currency and climate. Of course, traveling to other states can also teach kids a lot, too.
Marette Flora is the founder of Floradise blog and personalized gift shop. Marette is a passionate storyteller and creator. She attended the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and obtained a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication.
She is passionate about creating helpful and meaningful things.