Learning about geography and other countries and continents can be a hard concept for kids to grasp at first because it's quite abstract. Children can easily look out the window and see the sky, but they can't look out the window and see another country, so how do you make it relevant to them so they can understand?
One of the easiest ways teachers and parents can do this is with a world map, however a flat map can still be a little too abstract, especially for young kids. A world globe is a much more effective way to help them physically grasp the concept of geography as they can touch and move the globe.
Learning geography gives children both an understanding of the physical aspects of the Earth such as mountains, rivers and the atmosphere, as well as knowledge about land masses and their boundaries {i.e. countries and continents}. It allows children to understand how the physical aspects of the world around them all work together and helps with understanding other curriculum areas such as history, languages and cultures and how humans interact with the world around them. A simple and effective way to teach all of these aspects at the same time is with the LeapFrog Magic Adventures Globe.
WHAT IS THE LEAPFROG MAGIC ADVENTURES GLOBE?
The LeapFrog Magic Adventures Globe is a fully interactive world globe that combines tactile, auditory and visual stimulation to allow children to explore the world and learn interesting facts about the people, places and animals on each continent. Children can tap anywhere on the globe with the stylus to learn facts from one of the 11 different learning categories.
The LCD screen provides animated and live action video responses to give kids a better understanding of the world, with more than 5 hours of BBC video answers included. There's also 3 interactive games which help children explore the world and test their knowledge about the location of different countries, landmarks and animal habitats.
- 10" spinning globe can be moved around like a tradition world globe.
- 2.7" LCD screen shows animated responses, interactive games and BBC videos.
- Volume controls to increase or decrease the volume of audio responses.
- Stylus pen means children are still practicing pencil grip while interacting with the globe.
- BBC Videos over 5 hours of live action video responses.
- Interactive games Around the World, Quiz Show & Where in the World test children's knowledge by finding different countries, landmarks and animals around the world.
- Additional educational expansion packs can be downloaded from the LeapFrog app store, including dinosaurs and pioneers
WHAT DOES THE LEAPFROG MAGIC ADVENTURES GLOBE TEACH CHILDREN?
The Magic Adventures Globe does more than traditional globes that can only teach children where countries and capital cities are located. The interactive globe also teaches children about the population and land size of each continent, famous landmarks and popular places. As well as the native animals, national flag designs and currency used. And cultural facts about the local people and language/s spoken in each country.
- World Geography
- World Languages
- Ocean facts
- Native Animals
- Countries & Capitals
- Culture & People
- Currency
- National Flags
- Landmarks & Famous Places
The BBC videos go into great depth, for example where exactly on each continent certain animals are found, their natural habitats, their characteristics, their food sources, predators and whether they're endangered species. It's like watching short documentaries that are long enough to share important facts, but short enough to hold a child's attention.
IS THE MAGIC ADVENTURES GLOBE BETTER THAN A TRADITIONAL WORLD GLOBE?
The short answer is simply yes, because it does a lot more than a traditional globe ever could. The Magic Adventures Globe makes learning geography and historical facts interactive, fun and engaging for children. The globe provides child lead, educational screen time to bring to life world facts that some children may otherwise find boring if they were simply reading them from a book. The Magic Adventures Globe is like having a traditional globe, encyclopedia, google and BBC documentaries all rolled into one amazing resource.
LeapFrog are genius at developing educational products that combine modern technology, like the LCD screen and videos, with the benefits of traditional learning by using a stylus pen. This allows children to learn up to date interactive information, but still provides an opportunity to practice developmental skills like pencil grip. Instead of simply swiping and taping a screen, they're still developing their fine motor skills while interacting with the globe.
The LeapFrog Magic Adventures Globe can be purchased in Australia from Catch, Amazon, Mr Toys Toyworld, Big W, Target & Myer. For more information on LeapFrog stockists click here.
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Disclosure - We were kindly gifted a Magic Adventures Globe from LeapFrog for the purpose of review. All opinions expressed in this post are based on our experience with the globe. While we did not receive monetary compensation for this post, it does contain some affiliate links for your convenience, which means we may make a small commission at no cost to you should you make a purchase. All stock images have been used with express permission.
