Whether you're flying off to distant beaches or piling into the car for a weekend vacation, nurture a
love of new places in your child this travel season. There are some wonderful products and media
available to help your kids get fired up about geography.
For the youngest ones, don't miss the adorable HuggAPlanet, Earth (peacetoys. com, $19. 95). It's
a soft, stuffed globe that's covered with a colorful map of Earth. Kids will eye it like a treasure, toss it
like a ball and hug it like a friend.
For toddlers, the nifty puzzle My Town ABC (Great American Puzzle Factory, ages 3 and up; $12)
helps teach the concept of place as it illustrates the relationship of one location to another. Also worth
looking at for younger kids is the very cool CDROM Tonka Town (Atari, ages 36; $19. 99), which lets
children steer their favorite giant trucks down some adventurous paths.
For the older kids, probably nothing beats Handling the Actual Map (ages 815；$12. 95) that your
family's using to get to your vacation destination. Whether you are traveling by car, bus, train or plane,
show the kids how to follow your route. Ask them to narrate the trip.
During your journey, consider weaving in a history lesson or two. Discuss how the famous explorers
used maps to chart their journeys. An excellent book is The Lewis & Clark Expedition (Williamson
Publishing, ages 912; $12. 95),which shows how the Corps of Discovery bravely pushed westward.
Love music and want to work it into your vacation in a meaningful, catchy way? Sample the delightful
video States and Capitals Songs (Educational Insights, ages 7 and up; $14. 95).
Or, if you want lots of laughs as you travel (and who wouldn't?), try Scrambled States of America (Gamewright, ages 8 and up; $11. 99). It's a fun game of observation and fast reflexes that sets players
scrambling to find.
1. The things mentioned in the passage are of great use when you are ________.
A. travelling on vacation
B. exploring in the forests
C. buying a Mothers's Day gift
D. learning geography in class
2. From the passage, we can learn that ________.
A. traveling is a dull and simple activity.
B. some products and media mentioned can make the kids interested in geography.
C. don't lose HuggAPlanet, Earth when you have a vacation.
D. States and Capitals Songs is as expensive as Hangling the Actual Map.
3. If you want to have a fun game during your journey, you'd prefer ________.
A. Scrambled States of America
B. States and Capitals Songs
C. The Lewis & Clark Expedition
D. My Town ABC
4. How many products and media mentioned in the passage are available to Tom (aged 10)?
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5