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I love to use educational resources that make learning fun. Geography games and toys for the whole family, that we enjoy, are Continent Race, Scrambled States of America, USA Map in the Tub, Shifu Orboot, and Let’s Go Geography.
Geography Games
Continent Race
Continent Race is an award-winning world geography game that we had the privilege of reviewing last year. This board game is a great way to learn the names of the countries of the world. Each continent is a different color. There are country boards and tons of country cards, because there’s one for each country.
The object of the game is to collect a set of four cards for each country. The first player to collect cards for four continents wins. If you and your kids are geography buffs, then you can add the orange mystery cards to the deck. You have to know where these countries are located or spend a lot of time searching!
The story behind the game is special. Read my complete review of Continent Race to learn more.
Scrambled States of America
Scrambled States of America is card game that keeps you on your toes. Players race to be the first to identify a state card in their lineup that fits the game card criteria. For example, if the game card says “Capital has seven letters” then players hurry to be the first to find and slap their state card that works.
This light-hearted game gives unique personalities to each state card using cute illustrated faces. As a result of playing this game, kids learn state names, capitals, and nicknames and where they’re all located on the map.
Although this game is for ages eight and up, my son started playing it with our family at age five. Since he was just learning to read and was unfamiliar with US geography, we simplified the game by eliminating the time factor. This gave him time to study the map and search his cards carefully. We played Scrambled States of America almost every day for months last year. It’s a family favorite.
Geography Toys
USA Map in the Tub
You may think playing with tub toys is just for kids. But, the USA Map in the Tub is so tempting that you’ll give in, especially when you can do it in the privacy of your bathroom. No one will know! Everyone in our house, teenager included, has put together this map.
USA Map in the Tub is a quick and fun way to teach little ones about the states and test your own geography skills. Made of thick durable foam, the puzzle comes with a mesh storage bag, so you can hang it on the shower wall. With its bright colors and cute illustrations, the puzzle also teaches kids something that each state is known for. Maine has a pine tree and a moose of course!
Shifu Orboot
Shifu Orboot is an inactive globe without borders and names. Icons fill the globe and are the gateway to learning. After downloading the app, children can scan different areas of the globe to learn about animals, monuments, cuisines, inventions, cultures, and political maps.
The app includes four other features: Oko Park to learn about ecosystems, Quiz Wiz to test knowledge, Mysteries to locate different icons, and Tour to find out more about different regions of the world without the need to scan the globe. My son spends lots of time doing the mysteries. He listens to clues from the story, locates the correct icons on the globe, and scans them to see if he’s right.
Because the Shifu Orboot globe has no words on it, you can test your child’s knowledge of oceans, continents, and countries. The Orbooter’s Guide also gives additional game ideas for using the globe without the app.
Geography Progam
Let’s Go Geography
This technically doesn’t fit the geography games and toys category , but I wanted to include it because it’s a resource to make learning world geography easy and fun. Let’s Go Geography is an online geography curriculum that primarily uses short videos to introduce children to places and cultures of the world.
I use this program once a week with my son. We spend a day learning about a different country. We do simple map work to identify bordering countries or oceans and color in national flags. Then, we sit back and enjoy the videos to learn about music, food, famous landmarks, natural features, and more. Finally, we write about what we learned in our notebook and do a craft activity.
Let’s Go Geography is for grades K-5, but it’s fun for the whole family. I’m always learning new things about the world through the videos. As a result, I always have something to share with my husband and daughter. As we all enjoy the videos our sense of the wonder of the planet grows. And so does our desire to travel to new places.
Read my complete review of Let’s Go Geography.
Geography games and toys for the whole family are the ticket to building warm memories with your children and learning at the same time. After all, playing is what we all long to do, even as adults. Continent Race, Scrambled States of America, USA Map in the Tub, Shiful Orboot, and Let’s Go Geography are fun resources to add to your homeschool geography collection.
