Let’s face it, we’re in for the long haul.
We’re in a battle against a virus that has had an unprecedented impact on all of our lives. As of this blog’s publish date, the UK government has rolled out some of the most extensive set of regulations for social distancing and to curb movements, the likes of which we haven’t experienced in times of peace.
It’s natural to get disheartened, to feel desperate about how you may deal with cabin fever, restlessness and general anxiety with where the world is at the moment. There’s nothing wrong with feeling that way, and we certainly wouldn’t blame you for it. But spare a thought for those younger than us, that might not fully comprehend the idea of social distancing, nor indeed have a clue about why it’s necessary. We’ve still got a responsibility to show them a world of hope, of fun and activities, even in trying times.
This blog post is for them!
We’ve put together a lovely selection of maps for kids to enjoy at home. They will hopefully (for a few minutes or hours, we hope!) be a distraction you all need, to get through these days. Use any of these stunning wall maps and activity prints to get children to be more aware of the world they live in, to keep in touch with their geography, or just to spend some quality time with them!
Check out our entire catalog of Children’s Maps or just pick these 4 below as a starting point!
Doodle World Map
There’s nothing quite like getting a set of crayons and going wild on a page, and our Doodle World Map will give you that quality time you’ve been missing out on! This lovely print is filled with cartoon characters, animals, landmarks and even has a ‘crayon-by-numbers’ activity at the bottom, where you can test their knowledge of world flags.
Activity Suggestion
Help your children colour in a flag of their choice and play a game of points with them to make it competitive and fun.
- 10 points for every right colour (or close enough!) for each element of a Flag
- 10 points for time they correctly point out where on the world map the country the flag belongs to.
- 20 points if they can give you a piece of trivia about the country in question (30, if you had never heard of it before!)
Upside Down World Wall Map Political
When the world goes upside down outside, you may as well embrace it indoors as well! The Upside Down World Wall Map Political is every bit as detailed as any world wall map we sell. With delightful bright colours for every country, and perfectly marked capitals, population numbers, and major cities, this map is perfect to give your kids the notion that there’s more than one way to look at our world!
Activity Suggestion
Give them a time limit (5 minutes is a nice round number!) to look at the wall map and memorise what their favourite continent looks like, and then have them attempt to draw its borders upside down!
- 10 Points awarded for getting the shape at least 70% accurately
- 10 Points awarded for accurately outlining the shape of at least 3 countries within the continent
- 20 points awarded for labelling the location of at least three cities as acccurately as possible
Scratch Off Kids’ Animals of the World Print
You can’t exactly go to the zoo right now, but you can still bring home the animal kingdom on our lovely Scratch Off Animals of the World prints! There are 50 stunning illustrations of some of the cutest members of the animal kingdom all over this map, that children will love to explore and find for themselves.
Activity Suggestion
Pick an animal from the map, and start a game of charades trying to act out what it sounds like or behaves like. The object of the game is for them to find where on the map it is located and scratch it off. Don’t tell them they’ve got it right or wrong, until they’re done scratching.
- 10 Points awarded for guessing the animal right
- 10 Points awarded for guessing which part of the world it’s from.
- 20 points awarded if they can tell you something interesting about the animal.
Glow in the Dark Children’s World Map
When it’s time for bed at the end of the day, this Glow in the Dark Children’s World Map will keep your kids comforted and will help them drift off to sleep, without a worry to the world’s events. If they’re scared of the dark, it will be especially effective, with it’s lovely glow. But during the day, it can be a fun educational tool as well!
Activity Suggestion
Charge the map for 12 hours during the day, and by night or in a darkened room, take a look at all the lovely illustrations that glow on the map. Quiz your kids about the animal and give them points for the following responses:
- 10 Points awarded for guessing the illustration right
- 10 Points awarded for guessing which part of the world it’s from, without looking at the map.
- 20 points awarded if they can tell you something interesting about it.
- BONUS Points: Ask them to draw from memory what it looks like the next morning, when the map’s glow is discharged and they cannot see it anymore!
These are just a few games you can play with your kids, while you’re all stuck at home together. With nothing but time to spend between all of you, it’s important to start something fun and educational to make their home schooling a little more enjoyable. You’d be pleasantly surpised about how much fun a world map can be!
We’d love for you to share some of these activities with us. Follow us on Instagram and tag us (@mapsinter) with the hashtag #MIHomeSchool and we’d love to feature your home schooling activities with maps, on our channels!
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