Fun and Easy Geography Lesson for Kids

Geography lessons are often boring, and many kids find themselves memorizing the names of states and the many countries in Africa, but after everything is said and done, they still can't find these places on the map. Even worse, they may know the name of the countries, but they have little knowledge about what life is like for those who live there. Geography lessons need to be about more than just memorizing places.

As far as I am concerned, the more interactive the geography lesson may be, the more interested a child will be. The more interested they become, the more they learn. Even though the mention of geography might elicit yawns from your kids, there are ways to make it fun and interesting.

The very best way to teach your kids about geography would be to take them around the world. Realistically, there may be about six people in the world who can afford that. So what do you do? You find an alternative.

I thought my friends were nuts at first, sticking their heads upon ready-made and simply drawn bodies, and attaching themselves to a stick. As time went on, I suddenly realized how much fun this silliness could bring about, and decided to join in the fun. And so, stick puppet Amy was born. I also have one for my daughter.

The fun thing about stick puppets is that they can go anywhere. They can be mailed, or printed out via computer almost anywhere in the world. To date, my daughter and I have visited many of the US states, Australia, and we are currently in England. This is one geography lesson my daughter isn't aware is really a lesson. To her, it's just plain fun!

This is a simple and easy geography lesson any family can do. The first thing you need to do is construct your stick puppets. You can draw the bodies if you wish, or draw them with a paint program on your computer. The bodies can be as simple or elaborate as you wish, and the size is up to you. Six inches is a good portable size.

For the head, you can have your kids draw their head, or cut out a nice headshot from a recent photo. Once the heads and bodies are done, glue them together and add the stick. Easy!

Next, you want to find a journal for your geography lesson. Find a small notebook or look in a craft store for a very small scrapbook. Either choice will work fine. Now that you have your stick puppets and your journal, your kids are ready to begin their geography lesson by traveling the world.

Start small by asking friends and family in nearby states to help you out with this fun geography lesson. The stick puppets can go anywhere and you may be surprised how creative people become when they receive your kid's stick puppets. Ask them to take them to a few places, take a few pictures, and write a short entry into the journal about where they were and what they did.
Once you have visited some states, take your geography lesson up to an international level. If you don't know anyone overseas, it's easy enough to find someone to help you out. You can post on home schooling, parenting, or pen pal message boards to find a place to send your kid's stick puppet.

As the stick puppets travel the world, keep up-to-date with your kids about where they are by pointing out the area on a world map. You can have your kids use pushpins in a map to show where they have been as part of the geography lesson. Once the project is complete, you can make a large scrapbook of the pictures of your kid's stick puppets all over the world, along with the journal entries.

Not only will your kids have fun learning with this fan and easy geography lesson, they will have a special memory of the experience as they grow that will encourage them to explore the world around them, whether it be across the ocean or right next door.