4 Tips to Make Teaching Geography Fun

Often times, Geography is not stressed upon or just touched briefly in the school systems. Geography may not be the most exciting subject; however, it is important to teach. It touches on both psychical features of the earth (mountains, rivers, deserts etc…) and the ways people affect and are affected by our natural world. Here are some tips to engage your child and make them interested in Geography!

1. Puzzles

There are a ton of geography puzzles available for all age ranges! Puzzles are a great way to get your child critically thinking about which piece goes where. It also gives them a sense of accomplishment as well as something for them to see with their own eyes.

·       2. Experiments/ Crafts

In order to teach them the physical science aspect of geography, try doing some experiments or crafts with them. Experiments never fail to intrigue a child and crafts help bring out their artistic side. Try making an ocean in a bottle with these few steps and materials.

Materials:

• water
• cooking oil (we used canola, but vegetable would work well)
• blue food coloring
• large bottle (2-liter pop bottles work well, but we used a mouthwash bottle with a child-safe lid)
• funnel  

Directions: 

1. Fill approximately 1/3 of bottle with water.
2. Add several drop of food coloring.
3. Have your child shake the bottle to disperse the food coloring.

3. Map "Games" 

  

Another way to teach your kids geography is by creating some map games. There are a few ways do to this.  One fun activity is to give kids a piece of paper, some colored pencils, and maybe a ruler. Ask them to create their own map. It can be an imaginary place. Ask them to include geographical features such as mountains, roads, forests, bodies of water, or other features. Help them create a legend at the end and color it all in!

A second game to play is “spin the globe”. One person holds the globe and spins it, and another person has to close their eye with their finger on the globe. When the person closing their eyes says “stop,” the person spinning has to stop. The person who closed their eyes has to name where their pointing to.This game may be for older kids, or if you would like to make it geared towards younger kids, have them name the letter in the continent, ocean, country or state.

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4. Books

Books are always a wonderful and educational way to engaged a child on any sort of subject. Geography books are everywhere, but perhaps switch it up and find a book that is set in a different country or location and have them try to find what country they are talking on a map or a globe! After that challenge your child to tell you some things they remembered from the book (excellent to help them recall and critically think!)

All the suggestions above do not cost much, or you might already have some items at home! Geography is something you can incorporate into some at home free time or learning.  It is important to remember that learning does not have to be boring and there are always ways to make uninteresting subjects seem fun!