Preschool Geography Activity: Postcards from Around the World

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). . 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. . 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. . 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. . 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. . 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. . 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. . 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! . 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.