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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. 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:

Looking at the Globe: Children match question cards with their answers. All of the questions deal with globe knowledge, and the answers can be found on the included globe activity mat and fact sheet.

A World Map Puzzle: Children complete a world map puzzle and practice writing the names of the continents.

A Compass Rose: Children read fact sheets about about the compass rose, then use the compass rose on sample maps to answer questions.

A Map Key: Children read about map keys, then use the keys on sample maps to complete activities.

The United States: This center includes a map of the United States and a set of state cards. Each state card shows the outline of a state and some clues about its identity, and the children use this information to determine the name of the state. The cards are self correcting with the state names on the back. More than one child could do this together by taking turns quizzing each other.

A Map Grid: Grid activities are a lot of fun! Children use a grid map of a zoo to complete a variety of activities.

Parts of a Map: Children sort picture cards onto a map that has sections for the parts of a map - the title, compass rose, key, scale, index, and insert map.

Reading a Road Map: Children read road maps of a city and of a state and use the information to complete a variety of activities.

Landforms: Children complete mini-puzzles to learn about a variety of landforms such as valleys, plains, canyons, and more.

Florida's Waterways: Students use the information on a map of Florida to complete activities. The point here is not necessarily just to study Florida, but to learn waterway terms like gulf, bay, coast, etc., and to practice getting information from maps.

A Trip to California: Students use activity cards and a map of California to plan and take a "trip" to major California sites. As with the Florida activity above, the skills practiced here will be valuable no matter where you live.

Famous Monuments: Children learn to identify key US monuments and learn facts about them.

North America: Children match sets of cards dealing with key facts about North America.