30 Fun Geography Games and Activities for Kids
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I believe so strongly in the importance of our children having a global perspective– knowing the world is so much more than about them, their neighborhood, and their country. I’ve found over 30 fun books, games, & playful activities to help facilitate knowledge of geography and a global perspective.
Geography Activities for Kids
The most important thing for kids to start with is learning their home address. You’d be surprised how many kids don’t know or have forgotten their home address. (And phone number.) Practice this often!
Read about geography and maps.
Books with maps and about maps are a great addition to your reading choices.
- Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney, illustrated by Qin Leng
- Maps by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski
- Mapping Penny’s World by Loreen Leedy
- National Geographic Kids Beginner’s World Atlas
- There’s a Map on My Lap! by Tish Rabe, illustrated by Aristides Ruiz
- Maps and Globes by Jack Knowlton, illustrated by Harriet Barton
- Magic on the Map (early chapter book series) by Courtney Sheinmel and Bianca Turetsky
- United States Treasure Quest by Steven Wolfe Pereira and Susie Jaramillo
Play map games.
Gamifying any concept helps kids learn. These games are great ways to engage young learners to learn geography. Don’t miss The Scrambled States or Ticket to Ride — two favorites of ours.
- Scrambled States of America (shown above)
- Ticket to Ride Europe
- Cities Around the World Card Game
- License Plate Game
- Race Across the USA
- GeoBingo
- Passport To Culture Game
Complete map puzzles.
Pull out a puzzle map and you’ll be amazed at how much this helps kids learn geography.
Make your own maps.
If you haven’t made your own maps, I highly recommend it. Start with your house or neighborhood or room.
- Make a treasure map.
- Make a map of your home and use magnets to navigate.
- Make a 3D town.
- Make a 3D map out of play dough.
- Make a salt-dough map.
- ECE: Make a simple map.
Extend your geography learning with play.
I love these playful geography ideas!
- Flag sticker book
- Make play bags or boxes for each continent.
- Learn cardinal directions with a fun craft.
- Discover new cultures with printable world paper dolls.
- Use your imagination as you play on this Carpet Playmap City
Apps and Online Geography Games
Go online for a flight simulator or try a fun app like Stack the States!
Out and About Geography Ideas
- Let your kids follow a map of your driving route.
- Go geocaching or letterboxing. I want to try both this summer! Have you tried either?
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
Best Geography and History YouTube Channels for Kids
U.S. Geography Games and Puzzles for Kids
Geography Apps for Kids
We love maps at our house! I bought a map for our family room where we put pins in all the places we’ve visited. The kids love it, and it is a great keepsake.
We’ll be sure to check out the Scrambled States game. Looks cute!
My toddler (2.5 yo) recently became very interested in maps when we grabbed one at a hotel for him to play with in the hotel room. He loves looking at them – finding numbers, airplanes, landmarks, so I love having even more ideas for using maps with him. His uncle recently moved to Thailand, so we’ve been using Google Maps — if you click on the yellow man you can move him around to any place on the map and then see a Google Earth image of that place. My toddler loves doing this!
OMGosh, Melissa! These are G-R-E-A-T! We will be sure to highlight your site and this article in particular on our website and in an upcoming story for our weekly education newsletter (we have 850 educators in 20 countries following our journey). If you have other ideas on ways we can help you, please don’t hesitate to drop me an email.
Love what you are doing here!
Best Regards,
Darren
Darren Van Soye
Co-founder, TrekkingthePlanet
http://TrekkingthePlanet.net
Thank, Darren – I love your site and your mission!
We LOVE maps! Great ideas for all ages!! Geo-literacy is an important skill that many schools don’t have the time to teach- yet how can our students be successful without map skills? It is so wonderful when parents start teaching their kids about the world from a young age:).
Love these ideas. Although my girls are only 2 and 4 so some of them are a little advanced. I love the idea of making a salt dough map.
Jamie
http://sjthomeschool.blogspot.com/