One of my favorite ways to work on memorization with my kids is to play games. I have at least one board game for each core subject in our home school. When it comes to U.S. Geography we have been playing The Scrambled States of America Geography Game in our homeschool.
Lately, we’ve been playing The Scrambled States of America Geography Game a lot. We’re studying USA geography, so I’ve been using it to help my girls remember the states and their capitals.
This game is based on the popular book, The Scrambled States of America, where all of the states decide to switch places to see what life is like in another part of the country.
It’s a fun educational game for the whole family.
How to Play The Scrambled States of America Geography Game
In the box, you’ll find a small country map for each player, a stack of red scramble cards and blue state cards. Each player is given five state cards to form their “states line.”
On each state card, you’ll find the state’s name, picture, capital and nickname. The scramble deck include two types of cards – Find-It and Go the Distance.
The Find-It cards have different problems that directly relate to the state cards. For example, one challenge may be to find a capital with four syllables. If you have a state that matches, slap your card while shouting out the capital’s name. If you are the quickest player, you “win” that state and you can move the card into your home pile.
Other challenges on the find-it cards include finding a:
- state that starts with a certain letter
- capital with two words
- state with two of the same letters in a row
- border with three or more straight edges
- state that doesn’t touch an ocean
- nickname with a plant or animal name in it
- and LOTS more!
When a Go the Distance card is revealed, a state card is turned over as well. Each player looks at their five states card and chooses one that is the closest, geographically, to that state. The person whose state is the closest neighbor gets to add both state cards to their win pile.
The object of The Scrambled States of America Geography Game is to collect the most state cards by correctly matching a state to what’s on the scramble card. Do that and you’ll be declared the winner.
Building Geography Skills
So how does all of this add up to learning geography? Simple. Instead of working on rote memorization drills, play this game frequently. You’ll be amazed at how much your child will remember.
Think about it, each time you play, you’re working with a map, as well as all of the information about the states. With each round, kids memorize a bit more.
It’s a fun way to learn!
What educational games do you use in your home school?
More Educational Games for Your Homeschool
The Best Geography Games for Learning in Your Homeschool – Games are a great way to make learning fun! Using homeschool geography games not only makes geography more fun, but it is a visual and hands-on way for kids to learn U.S. and World Geography.
Games for Math: Playful Ways to Help Your Child Learn Math – One of the best ways to help kids learn is by making it fun. And what better way to do that than with games? Check out these awesome games for math.
Games for Reading: Playful Ways to Help Your Child Read – At the risk of being redundant, I’d like to highlight one more of Peggy Kaye’s Game books. I’ve already reviewed Games for Math and Games for Writing here at The Curriculum Choice. All three books are similar in format, but I’ve found each of them to be of such great value that I just had to share Games for Reading with you.
12 Awesome Logic Games for Homeschooling – Adding logic games keeps us from falling into the textbook rut. I believe varied approaches to any subject are good for raising a well-rounded, educated child.
~ Originally posted November 2015, written by Megan Zechman
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