Good map/geography resources for map-obsessed 6 year old?

[pehp]

My son is totally into maps these days. He has a globe, a detailed atlas and he loves to draw his own maps. Today he asked me for more map resources (books, etc). I'm at a bit of a loss, so I wanted to ask here. I'm not really looking for a curriculum, per se, because it is summer & we are undergoing home renovations & I'm first trimester sick half the time...but books/videos/anything that he might enjoy.

 

We also have Geopuzzles and he loves those.

 

Any help is truly appreciated. Thank you!!

[vickjul]

http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Pop-Up-Geography-Book-Pop-Ups/dp/0525464387/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371001799&sr=8-1&keywords=Pop+up+geography is one of my daughter's favorites. Also, http://www.amazon.com/Maps-Mapping-Science-Deborah-Chancellor/dp/0753461641/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1371001884&sr=8-2&keywords=maps+and+mapping offers a good introduction to the science behind mapping.

[Farrar]

Where on Earth? from DK is really fun to look at.

[amyrobynne]

My 7 year old sounds very similar. He's been obsessed with maps of all sorts since he was 4. It was actually a really handy hobby for him to have when I had a new baby. He spent all his time on the floor with maps spread out under him.

 

The best thing for him has been to ask family and friends for their old city maps. He doesn't care if a map is 30 years old - there's probably more room for adding things then anyway. He begs me to go to AAA and get maps and I have to limit how often we go. But my grandpa gave him a box full of maps from trips over many decades and those have been awesome with hours and hours and hours of examining and adding.

[unsinkable]

How about the Highlights clubs "which Way USA" and "Top Secret Adventure"?

 

He might be too young for the activities but a map is included each month.

 

http://www.highlights.com/puzzle-book-clubs

 

 

[tomandlorih]

http://www.amazon.co...op up geography is one of my daughter's favorites. Also, http://www.amazon.co...aps and mapping offers a good introduction to the science behind mapping.

 

 

I love the pop up one! We have also used.. ME on the Map http://www.amazon.com/Map-Dragonfly-Books-Joan-Sweeney/dp/0517885573/ref=pd_cp_b_0

Maps and Globes http://www.amazon.com/Maps-Globes-Reading-Rainbow-Book/dp/0064460495/ref=pd_cp_b_1

and Map Keys http://www.amazon.com/Map-Keys-Rookie-Read-About-Geography/dp/0516277731/ref=pd_cp_b_3

 

And this one looks fun and I'm off to see if the library has it =D http://www.amazon.com/Follow-That-Map-Mapping-Skills/dp/1554532744/ref=pd_cp_b_2

[Courtney_Ostaff]

We keep freebies on the wall, and let her mark them up with where things are. I also got a giant shower curtain map of the world, put it on the dining room table, and let her mark what we know -- "panda" in China, for example, with a washable marker. She also has her own atlas (an Usborne). If he has good motor skills, he might be ready for learning how to draw his own real maps with Mapping the World By Heart or Mapping the World with Art or even Draw Your World

 

And on days when I absolutely need to keep my child busy, National Geographic did a great series for kids, Really Wild Animals. I bought the entire set on iTunes for $20, and it's great on the iPad in the car. Dudley Moore narrates as "Spin", the Earth, and talks about various geographic things, in addition to the animals.

[Mom0012]

My son was very obsessed with countries and their locations when he was about that age. He learned where all the countries and many main geographical features are located with www.sheppardsoftware.com, which is free. We also did a study using Galloping the Globe where we focused on the cultures of each country. Very good memories and he was soooo into it. I did spend a lot of time heading to the library for books and planning hands-on activities, but I'm so glad we had that. He even participated in a mini geography bee at the coop (where I was teaching GTG) and it was one of the highlights of his life, I think. All the kids on his team would huddle together and ask him for the answer and then he would shout it out.

[HS Mom in NC]

Mapping the World with Art

Mapping the World By Heart

Maptrek by Terri Johnson

[Ellie]

Do you have a library nearby? There are probably lots of resources there. :-)

[Rivka]

The Sheppard software geography games are fantastic. I also second the recommendation for Scrambled States of America - the book and the card game. It's also just really nice to have big laminated or dry-erase maps of the U.S. and the world posted low down on the wall, in easy reach. You can do all sorts of things with those - print out little images of the covers of favorite books and post them on their settings, put up pictures of family members where they live, draw imaginary or real travel routes with dry-erase marker, learn where famous landmarks are and post their pictures there...

[Micron4]

Stack the States and Stack the Countries apps.

 

Also there was a thread recently for the "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" DVD set. I just got mine--it was really inexpensive on Amazon. I can't check now, so I'm not positive, but I think it was $5.99 for 14 hours of episodes. The animation is a little dated, but my kids are still loving it.

[Micron4]

Stack the States and Stack the Countries apps.

 

Also there was a thread recently for the "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" DVD set. I just got mine--it was really inexpensive on Amazon. I can't check now, so I'm not positive, but I think it was $5.99 for 14 hours of episodes. The animation is a little dated, but my kids are still loving it.

[Ecclecticmum]

My daughter got annoyed with the Beginning Geography (Evan Moor, I think) but then our family is sort of anti-worksheet and anti-repetition.

 

I've been looking at getting the Leagues & Legends (Legends & Leagues?) book & workpages from Rainbow Resource. Its sort of a "living books" inspired version of a Geography/Cartography curricula.

 

Heres the link for Legends & Leagues: https://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?subject=14&category=4692

 

Another I was looking at is Maps, Charts & Graphs (for me to use as a resource guide, but obviously would work for others as is (since its meant to be used that way, lol): https://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?subject=14&category=4711

 

If you are looking more culture curricula, My Fathers World Exploring Countries and Cultures, Sonlight Introduction to World History, Galloping the Globe, Ultimate Geography & Timeline Guide, and Winterpromise Children Around the World are options, as well as COnfessions of a Homeschooler's World Geography Curriculum.

 

For something non-curricula he can play with himself, Leapfrog does interactive globes, and for something a bit more advanced there is the Oregon Scientific Globe. Leapfrog's Tag System also has a flat map.

[Chanley]

The National Geographic Family Atlas. It is a big heavy book but my son loves it. He studies the maps very intently. Also his SmartGlobe has been worth every single penny. He knows national anthems (the first line), the leaders of many countries as well as the geography. There is just so much information at his finger tips with that globe and the games are fun for both kids to play.