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Take-it-to-Your-Seat Geography Centers is a series of books containing complete, ready to use geography games and activities. Each activity, or center, is designed to be stored in a regular two pocket paper folder. You simply remove the pages from the book, cut out any cards or puzzle pieces, and store everything in the folder. There is an attractive cover sheet for the front of the folder and an instruction sheet to tape to the back of the folder. (The instructions do suggest laminating the covers and some of the pieces, but unless you happen to have a laminator you could certainly eliminate this step.) Each center also includes a reproducible activity sheet that the student uses to complete written work. You can make several copies at once or laminate the sheet and provide an overhead transparency pen. A self-checking answer key is provided to put in each center. The completed centers can be stored in a plastic milk crate or box.

The center activities are both truly educational and engaging, and children will feel a real sense of satisfaction each time they complete one. The graphics are full-color and extremely appealing, which adds to the fun! These centers are ideal for times when you need to have a child working on his own for a little while. (We are always on the lookout for this sort of thing. Our younger children have plastic tubs of activities that can be done more or less independently, and it is also good to have this sort of self-contained learning activity for the older children. We use them when I am busy with another child or housework, when one child finishes his work early and needs something constructive to do before we all move on to the next thing, when a child is bored, etc. They are also fantastic when a child needs an appealing way to master or review important skills.)

While the books are marketed to specific grade ranges, most children will enjoy working in books above and below their "official" grade. If you buy more than one book, you can just store all of the centers together and allow children to work at their own level. Children enjoy using the same center over and over again - it is enjoyable to be challenged with new material, continue to do the activities until they are mastered, and then revisit and review familiar activities. The activities in this particular volume build on each other, going from general to more specific skills. (Learning about the world, then North America, then the U.S., then a town.) Many of the same topics are covered in each book, but each time they are covered at a higher and more complex level, which means that if you have more than one book, your children can tackle several centers on the same subject as he gains increased mastery, or you can introduce each book in order to provide spiral review. No matter how you use the, I am certain that you and your children will absolutely love these books!! They are winners at our house!The centers in this book are:

At The Zoo: An adorable zoo animals activity teaches positional words such as under, on, behind, etc.

Looking Down: To read maps, children need to learn that things look different from above. This center has a mat which is a large map of a park. All of the items in the park are drawn as if the child were looking at the fronts of them. He needs to cover each item with a card that is drawn from perspective of looking down on it.

Compass Rose: This puzzle teaches the parts of the compass rose and the directions they represent.

North, South, East, West: This center includes farm, baseball, and circus mats. Children place items on each mat to the north, south, east, or west of the center.

On a Grid: One of my sons cannot get enough of this activity. There is a treasure map mat and a birthday party mat, both of which have grids. Children place picture cards on the grids according to their coordinates - B3, A2, etc.

Parts of a Map: This introduces the title, compass rose, and key through a fun sorting activity.

Name It: These two piece matching puzzles teach landforms such as mountains, volcanoes, islands, and much more.

Map Keys: Children read map keys and pair them with the appropriate maps. A variety of map and key styles are included.

Our World: Children place continents in their correct locations on a world map.

North America: Children assemble a puzzle of North America and place name labels on the United States, Canada, Mexico, etc.

United States of America: Children complete a puzzle of the United States by placing states on a map. The states are not individually cut out - instead, they are grouped in sections by region.

Make a Map: Children use cut-out pieces and mats to complete maps of a town and a classroom.

Read a Map: Children answer a variety of questions using color maps of a neighborhood, a nature park, and a backyard.