Preschool Geography Activity: Postcards from Around the World

ByRachel Updated on

Liz, from A belle, a bean & a chicago dog, has a terrific preschool geography project she does with her daughter.   We are thrilled to feature her activity in a guest post today (in her own words).

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My oldest is 4, and she starts off every morning with, What day is it? , followed by, And what special thing are we going to do today? As you can imagine, she keeps me on my toes.

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One of the cartoons she enjoys is Toot & Puddle.   Toot and Puddle are 2 pigs who travel the world and explore different cultures.   One day last month she asked me about postcards.   We had never talked about postcards before, so I asked her where she first heard about them.   Through Toot and Puddle, Mommy.

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That's where I came up with the idea for the Postcard Project.   I called my mom, who called my aunt.   I asked my friends.   I asked my brother.   Basically, anyone I knew who lives, or works, or travels to other states, I asked them to pick up a postcard or 2, and mail it to us.

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I went out and bought a 3-ring binder and some cardstock.   I also printed off a blank map of the U.S.A. Then we waited for a few postcards to come in the mail before getting started.

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I prefer the blank map because you can fill it in as you receive postcards.   You can show them where on the map they live in proximity to where the postcard came from.   And you can even make it a game to receive postcards from all 50 states or one from each continent, etc.   I prefer to glue the map to the very first page in the binder, but you can order your binder however you choose.

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As you glue your received postcards to the cardstock, grab a marker or pen and record who sent the postcard and the date received.   That way you ™ll never forget who sent it once it's glued in place.

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The Postcard Project is something that can be long-term.   As years go by, vacations will be had, business travel will occur, and people you know and love will move.   Take those opportunities to grow your postcard collection and teach your kids about different places in the country (or world).

Supply List:

-3-ring binder

-cardstock

-glue

-map

-a handful of postcards to get started

Thanks to Friereke and the Umeebee School Program for proving an image for us!   And a big thanks to Liz for inspiring this geography activity!

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Thanks to all the moms who have participated in our post card swap!   Over 30 kids and nearly 20 families participated!   If you missed out on it, email me and my kids will mail you a card and keep you updated if we ever do a big swap again in the future.

Rachel is the founder of the blog, One Crazy House.  She is the co-author of 101 Kids Activities that are the Bestest, Funnest Ever! and The 101 Coolest Simple Science Experiments.  She lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her husband and six children.

21 Comments

  1. I’m interested! I live in Athens, Greece. I’m here with the US gov’t, so mailing stuff to me is the same price as mailing things within the US. My preschoolers don’t know much about the States (1 has never lived there), so this would be a great way to get them started learning about it!
    .-= Adrianna´s last blog ..Blog Swapping with Mary Janes and Galoshes! =-.

  2. I would love to participate in a Postcard swap. I live in Maryland.
    -Phyllis
    .-= Phyllis´s last blog ..Olympic Games =-.

  3. I have a first grader that I homeschool that would LOVE this! She loves to get mail and is always spinning her globe asking me questions about where people we know live.

    We currently live in northern Virginia, right outside of Washington, D.C.

  4. I love this idea. My 4 y.o. will love to get postcards because we’ve been learning about the 50 states.

    We live in New Jersey

  6. I am VERY interested! I have 2 preschoolers and a 2 year old. I am willing to do one for each of them (3- I think my 2 year old can benefit too!) contact me at [email protected]
    .-= Brae´s last blog ..Not me. =-.

  7. Great idea! I am definetly interested. We live in Colorado

  8. I’d love to join in, we are in NSW, Australia.

  10. I would love to be involved in this. My 3-year old would eat this up. She loves mail and adores postcards! We talk often about family and friends living in other States and Countries, this would help her I am sure.

    Oh, and T&P is one of our most fav shows of all time!

    Cheers,
    Kiy in South Carolina
    .-= Kiy´s last blog ..The new nap =-.

  11. My almost 5 year old and 2 1/2 year old would love this. We are in Wisconsin.

  13. Hi! What a great idea. We are currently stationed in Italy (with a US military address, so it would not cost extra to mail to us). My 3 yr old and 5 yr old love getting mail. Count us in!

  14. I know my daughter would love to do this, but she’s in 3rd grade. Is this only for preschoolers?

  15. Valerie, Of course! We’d love for your daughter to join in the fun! The more the merrier!

  16. I have a six year old son and 10 year old daughter who would both like this.

  17. Janet Carey says:

    My 8-year-old son and I would love to be involved in this. He also LOVES receiving mail.

    This is a GREAT idea!

  19. Are you only doing it for little ones? My boys are 7 and 9 and I think anything that helps expand our knowledge of the world is great. We live in the Far North of Australia….can we join in too? Great idea!

  20. I would love to join in as well. I have an almost 3yr old and three older kiddos who would have a blast with this!

    We live in Fort Irwin, California
    .-= Amanda´s last blog ..My creative space =-.

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