Teaching Kids Geography: Make Your Own Magnetic USA Map Puzzle

With relatives living throughout the United States, our daughter has always had a strong interest in knowing where Aunt Laura or Pop-Pop or Gramma lives. To her, New York, New Jersey, Colorado, and New Mexico are the ultimate vacation destinations because the people she loves most live there (rightly so!).

In addition to an interest in geography, our daughter loves puzzles. Better yet if we put both obsessions together. Here is an inexpensive, fun geography activity that we put together in a matter of minutes.

We printed off an illustrated printable map of the United States from Mr. Printables onto magnetic paper to make a “magnetic puzzle” of the US states for the magnetic board we bought from IKEA. The states aren’t drawn exactly, but their approximation is certainly good enough for a five year old. (Want a more realistic magnetic map puzzle? Make magnets out of actual maps.)

Our kid had such a good time putting this map together. Geography can be fun!