How to Study Geography with Children

The world is more globalized than ever before and awareness of the world is very helpful to know yet many Americans are not real knowledgeable about Geography. You can help your child “get ahead” and have awareness about their world by starting to teach them Geography while they’re young. Even a young child as young as 3 is not too young to start learning this important subject. Here are some ways that you can start teaching your younger child (ages 3-9) Geography.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• maps and globe
• books
• props for Geography

1. 

   Use maps and globes often. We have two maps hanging on our wall, one of the United States and one of the World. When we are watching a tv show, watching a movie or reading a book and the setting is in a certain location, I take my child to the map and show him where the location is. If in the story the characters traveled along a certain route, I will show my child where this is on the map and trace the route for him.

2. 

   Use props. I have a little “passport” and country stickers that we use whenever we study a new country. My son can take the country sticker for the country that we “visited” (studied) and stick it into his “passport”. We also have a small suitcase where we collect “souvenirs”. Things that you could possibly put in your suitcase could be stamps, postcards, coins, miniature flags, or little trinkets that you have gotten to represent a country or state.

3. 

   Read books. Reading books does not just have to be nonfiction books about a certain place, even good picture books many times offer an opportunity to talk about a new place. If the book is talking about a certain state, city or country, use that as a jumping off point to learn about that place.

4. 

   Make a project. My son and I usually make a lapbook or an interactive notebook (learn more about both of these in the resources below) but you could do other projects as well. Some examples of what you could do is make a craft, design your own postcard (or stamp), or make a flour map.

5. 

   Make a cultural food. Food can really define an area and most places whether regions of the United States or a foreign country, have their own unique cuisine. Find recipes (a simple internet search will do) of the region or country that you are studying and allow your child to help you make the foods.

6. 

   Go to cultural fairs and events. A lot of places have cultural fairs or events that you could take your child too. These can be a wonderful place to expose your child to different cultures. This is also a good place to maybe buy some of those “souvenirs” or props to use in your child’s studies. Just make sure they are age appropriate and they don’t disrupt your own religious teachings or values. Also keep in mind that your young child’s attention span is not that long, so don’t plan on staying all day.

Tips & Warnings

• Don’t over expose your little one to other cultures. Many cultures have different values and religions than you probably do. Try not to over expose your child to these because it could get quite confusing. As an adult, you will process this information differently than your child. It may be better to keep to the basics like where they are located, their flag, food and stuff like that.

Resources

• How to Make an Interactive Notebook
• How to Make a Lapbook
• Geography Unit Study for Younger Christian Students

[cherold598]

on 3/22/2009 Excellent tips for studying geography with children. It's quite an interesting subject.