Influencer: @amberthrane
As a homeschool mom, I hope to instill a love for learning at a young age through curiosity-driven activities and play-based curriculum. This year I am teaching all three of our kids (ages 11, 8, and 4) USA Geography, so we came up with a few fun ways to learn the States and Capitals using the Gathre States Map to reinforce these facts through PLAY! This game combines visual, auditory, and tactile sensory elements and is fun as a group activity or it can just be played with just one child.
We play this game several ways depending on the age of the kids:
FIND THE STATES GAME:
I call out the name of a state and the players quickly find that state on the map and color it in with washable watercolors. For younger ages: If you have the state flashcards, you can show them the flashcard and have them find it on their map so they have more a visual starting point to work with. A more advanced version: You can start 30 second timers as they start getting more and more familiar with the States locations to add a little more of a challenge.
NAME THE STATES GAME:
I will call out a fun fact or symbol of the state and the players will find the coordinating state.
NAME THE CAPITAL GAME:
I will call out the state capital and the players will find the coordinating state.
UNITED STATES BINGO:
We use M&M’s or skittles for markers, or you can use cheerios! You choose. Give clues about the states and players will try and find the State on their Gathre mat and place their marker there. The first to get 10 correct states wins! Or you can play until black out. We love using the site 50 States to find information about each state. The Bingo caller can use these when calling out clues.
