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Last updated on September 6th, 2022 at 10:59 pm
As a homeschool mom, I’m always looking for new ideas to adapt into my homeschool. So today I wanted to share the (mostly craft-free) ideas I’ve had for teaching geography to young kids.
(For some reason, I have a lot of ideas for this subject.)
Back in 1st or 2nd grade, my friends and I used to play a game on a giant painted map of the United States on the school blacktop. One kid would call out a state and we’d all run to that state. The problem was we only knew California and New York. And then there was a dispute because someone declared the state of California was actually “America.”
So from my experience, I know that knowing different places and their names is very confusing for young children.
Now that I’m teaching geography to my own child, I can see even more how confusing it is. Her world is so small that it’s hard to understand how big the world really is.
I’m not a crafter, so most of the activities I do for geography are craft-free. The worst you’ll see is scissors, paper, glue sticks, and playdoh.
Here are 12 mostly craft-free ideas for teaching geography to young kids.
Me on the Map
I taught my daughter our address long ago in case she ever had to call 911 (so practical). But I realized she didn’t really understand the concept of a city or state, never mind a county.
With this activity, I simply used different colored construction papers, cutting them smaller and smaller. From smallest to largest, we added our house, neighborhood, city, county, state, country, and continent. There are many of these activities available on Pinterest.
This activity gave her more context for when we look at the bigger picture of the world.
Student Atlas
We use this atlas for reference as we read books or come across anything talking about a place we should know. It took a while to decide which one to get, and I’ve been fairly happy with this one.
Globe
I got (& replaced already) a blow-up globe from the Dollar Tree. While it doesn’t last, it does get the job done. A globe is easier for kids to comprehend than an atlas. (Seeing the Pacific Ocean split in two is too abstract.) I’m still on the lookout for a good globe to add to our homeschool.
Saints Around the World
No subject can be taught in isolation. I love Saints Around the World for geography because each saint’s story is from a different place around the globe. We talk about which continent the saint is from, then we look up the country in our encyclopedia. (We use World Book …check their website for deals on encyclopedias from the past 3 years.)
Continents & Oceans Locations
Knowing the continents and oceans by heart is good information to know. I found a free blank continent map that I had my daughter cut out, then glue into the nearly correct places on a giant paper. She colored in each continent and labeled the oceans.
Naming the Continents & Oceans
She memorized the names of the continents and oceans was by listening to the 7 Continents Song and the Five Oceans Song over …and over …and over again as she did the previously mentioned activity.
Be warned …the songs will get stuck in your head but your child will have them memorized really quickly!
Memorizing the 50 States
I found this map of the United States at the Dollar Tree and hung it on the wall. We listened to Fifty Nifty United States over …and over …and over again until my daughter memorized it. Now she goes through the song pointing out where each state is on the map.
Learning about the 50 States
We’re also learning about each state in alphabetical order by reading articles out of the encyclopedia about the state and writing down what we find most interesting.
Direction & Places
Ticket to Ride Junior has been a great way to teach direction (& where some of the big metropolises of the US are) to my daughter. I don’t normally like to play games but I love playing this one! There are a lot of different versions, some modern and others historical. All are great for teaching geography.
Geography From A to Z
To combine earth science with geography, I use Geography From A to Z. (I found used for $1 without knowing I was picking up a recommended Mater Amabalis book!) We read the definition of each term (example: volcano) and for the ones where we’re able, I have her form it out of Play-Doh.
Rick Steves’ Europe & Other Travel Videos
This sounds hilarious but travel shows have ended up being a great learning tool for us. We’re able to see what these places on the map actually look like with the added bonus of the art and culture. Rick Steves tours a lot of historical places, some of which we have learned about. (We even saw an art piece we learned about which made my daughter really excited!)
Since we don’t plan to travel until our daughter is older, this has been a great way to explore the world.
Bonus idea: Sports Teams
If your kid is into professional or college sports, they can learn where each of those teams are on a map!
Use these 12 mostly craft-free ideas for teaching geography to kids in your homeschool (or school).
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