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10 Hands On Geography Activities You Have to Try

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I’ll be honest: I’m not much of a hands-on learner. My kids love kinesthetic learning, especially since several of them have ADHD. Despite my ADD though, I’m still a traditional book learner.

So when I first heard of hands-on learning, I thought “Why would I do that when I could just read about it?” Not one of my better moments of clarity…

Seeing how my kids respond to hands-on learning, though, has made me make a change. So this year, we’ve been doing a LOT more hands-on activities, including some for geography. Check out these 10 Hands On Geography Activities you just have to try!

Hands On Geography Activities

Image c/o: altanaka / depositphotos

10 Hands On Geography Activities You Have to Try

  1. Make a craft based on a local culture in the area you’re exploring. See how we did this by making Kente-cloth inspired placemats during our study of the Asante Empire!
  2. Learn about the animals that live in the region. Gift of Curiosity has a great game that lets kids place animals in their correct continents!
  3. Participate in a postcard exchange. See how Planet Smarty organized one to get postcards from people all over the world!
  4. Have kids make a craft about their world. Learn how to make a My Place in the World craft with your kids at Kid World Citizen!
  5. Use a globe to teach kids to identify countries. No Time for Flashcards shares a simple game you can use to help kids find countries on a globe easily!
  6. Create a miniature habitat. When we studied beaches, we made a beach shoebox diorama that the kids really enjoyed!
  7. Make a salt dough map. Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus shows you how to make a map of South America out of salt dough, plus there are printable map flags to add!
  8. Bake a cookie dough map. If you want to get even yummier, make a map out of cookie dough! Raising Lifelong Learners shares how to make a cookie dough map of India!
  9. Help little ones make a sandbox community. Preschoolers will love this sandbox activity from Books and Giggles that lets them make their own town!
  10. Mail a Flat Stanley or a Flat Susie. Based on the Flat Stanley books, this craft lets kids make a paper person and mail it around the world! Get the details from Busy at Home.

10 Hands On Geography Activities

Get more ideas for teaching geography below!

10 Amazing Geography Books for Home School

5 Ways to Make Geography Fun

And be sure to follow my Geography for Homeschoolers board on Pinterest for more geography fun!

This post is part of The Massive Homeschool Geography Guide from iHomeschool Network! Be sure to click over and read more great geography posts from my fellow bloggers!

The Massive Homeschool Geography Guide

It’s also linked up at the Ultimate List of Hands-On Homeschool Ideas! Check out other hands-on homeschooling ideas to try with your kids below!

Hands-on-Homeschool-Ideas


5 Ways to Make Geography Fun

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This year, I’m determined to cover more geography with my kids. But the problem with studying geography is that it can be incredibly boring, even for the parents who teach it.

When I was in school, geography consisted of my teacher pointing at maps, telling us to read pages in our book, and then quizzing us on what we learned. Gag.

But the beautiful thing about homeschooling is that we can teach geography however we like! So, here are 5 ways to make geography fun that I plan to use in our homeschool this year!

If you like these ideas, don’t miss our list of hands-on geography activities you have to try!

5 Ways to Make Geography Fun

5 Ways to Make Geography Fun

1. Go for a geography walk.

In Crystal Wagner’s “Geography Field Guide”, she recommends taking children outdoors and using nearby land features to illustrate larger ones. A local stream could represent rivers, a hill could represent mountains, and so on. That way, kids can “see” geography, instead of just reading about it.

Geography Field Guide, Crystal J. Wagner

2. Choose an area of the world for in-depth study.

Drop anchor in one part of the world and study it thoroughly with your kids. For example, the notebooking pack “Discover Europe” allows kids to get to know the entire European continent by examining the people, culture, and geography of each country.

3. Include hands-on activities.

Kris Bales’ book “Hands-On Learning” describes a ton of ways you can take geography learning off the page for your kids. Making papier-mache models, cookie dough maps, and learning centers are just some of the suggestions she gives that can make geography more fun for students.

4. Use notebooking.

Adelien Tandian’s “Geography Notebooking Pages” are perfect for helping kids organize what they learn. As you cover your lesson, you can have your children fill in the basic facts of each region. After completing an area of the world, children can use their notes to write a report or complete a diorama!

5. Make a part of the world into an ongoing series.

Taking another cue from Kris Bales’ book, we’ll be having Fifty State Fridays with our kids this year! I don’t want to give away how this is done (seriously, read her book), but when you make geography into a regular series, it’s much easier to get everyone excited for your upcoming lessons.

Ways to Make Geography Fun for Kids - Look! We're Learning!

Do you have any ways to make geography fun for your kids? Share them in the comments!

Check out these other suggestions for teaching geography in your homeschool!

Hands On Geography Activities

10 Amazing Geography Books for Home School

Want more geography ideas? Follow my Geography for Homeschoolers board on Pinterest!

This post is part of The Massive Homeschool Geography Guide from iHomeschool Network! Click over to read more geography posts from my fellow bloggers!

The Massive Homeschool Geography Guide