Have you been eyeing those cute little blue suitcases with green trim and wondering what’s inside? We got our chance to peek inside a Little Passports suitcase recently and we’re sharing what we found!

Make sure to stay tuned until the end of the post for a list of my fave resources for teaching preschoolers and kindergarteners about geography and social studies.

If you read the ABC’s of Raising a Thinking Child series, you know that teaching the kids about other cultures and the world beyond ours is very important to me, so I was thrilled to learn more about Little Passports last month after receiving one of their activity kits.

My daughter was super excited to get her own mail and even more delighted to find a map inside and a new suitcase for storing her favorite things.

Inside we found a world map, a passport with a place to add our photo and stamps from our world adventures, a postcard from Sam and Sofia - our two traveling companions, and an activity worksheet.

How Little Passports Works

Little Passports is a monthly subscription service (3, 6, 12, or monthly plans are available). You can choose either the Worldwide or the USA Edition and travel to a new state or a new country each month. Your child will receive a suitcase, map, an activity worksheet, stickers, photos, a postcard, “souvenirs”, and access to online games and activities.

Even though, the recommended age is between 5 and 12 years old, my 4 year old really liked trying to solve the worksheet puzzles about where Sam and Sofia would travel next, how to say hello in French, Mandarin, Japanese, and Italian, and figuring out how old Sam and Sofia are. Oh, and plotting her next big adventure!

She could work the online puzzles (we’re definitely a tech and computer family growing up here in the Silicon Valley and she’s been working a mouse since she was 18 months!), but we’ll have to wait to enjoy things like the trivia - which would be perfect for an older child.

To complement our world adventures, we’re also visiting these blogs and sites for more geography learning and activities…

Preschool & Kindergarten Geography Resources

• Kid World Citizen’s “My Place in the World” is definitely a learning activity your kids will have fun with while they learn. In fact, check out all of the great posts at Kid World Citizen for ideas on how to raise a global citizen or hit this great roundup of Multi-Cultural Activities for Kids put together by Kids Activities Blog, which showcases the best of Becky’s posts at Kid World Citizen.
• Carrots are Orange has well-thought out Montessori-inspired Physical Geography Activities that often use easy DIY materials (and she has a giveaway going on right now, too!)
• A cool new FREE resource is PBS Teachers, which has a ton of lessons and classroom resources (you don’t have to be a teacher) that you can use at home. The Social Studies K through 2 page features maps, lessons, and learning ideas for you try out with your little ones.
• Another really fabulous resource written by real moms who have either lived in or visited the countries they’ve posted about is the Exploring Geography series at Mama Smiles. We contributed to the series with a post on the food, history, and culture of Thailand.

You can also use this MeMetales Collage to click through to selected individual blog posts in Mama Smiles’ Exploring Geography series - just click on the photo you’d like to explore and you’ll be taken straight to the post.

Parents and friends: for more ideas, activities, and inspiration for #RaisingThinkingKids, click on an icon below to join us on Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and Twitter.

Fellow bloggers: join me at Bloggy Law, where you’ll find Simple Tips for Bulletproofing Your Brand and Blog and I’ll help you navigate the social media legal landscape a little more smoothly.

Chrissy – who has written 426 posts on The Outlaw Mom® Blog - Creative Living in a Conventional World.

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You Might Enjoy:

• Kids' Geography: Exploring Thailand