Try this game to show your child that geography is relevant. It can even be fun!

• Get a map of the United States or Canada. Ask your child to pick a direction in which to travel. You could, for example, head from New York to California. Or go from Toronto to Vancouver.

• Have your child map a route. Have her name the states or provinces through which she’d travel to get to her destination.

• Once she does one route, vary the game. If she picked a direct route, ask her to come up with a “scenic” route. For example, there could be detours at Yellowstone National Park or at Lake Louise. Spend some time talking about where she would like to visit and why.

For more variations, try naming major cities on your route. Ask your child what she knows about these cities. For example, Chicago is located along Lake Michigan. It was famous for its stockyards. Toronto is near Niagara Falls. Many people visit each year to see the falls and attend performances at the many theaters in Toronto.

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