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Homeschool Geography with Stamp Collecting for Kids - A Simple Unit Study




Summary: This is a simple unit study you can do with your kids for homeschooling geography and more. Are you looking for some fun ways to teach geography to your kids?  Have you ever thought of doing stamp collecting with your kids?  

Today, I'd like to share with you a simple and fun stamp activity and how we added in just a touch of geography and writing along the way. 


STAMP COLLECTING 
 UNIT STUDY




First let's start with some frugal and free resources for stamp collecting. 


1.  Resources and How To's


Where to Get Stamps:

-Watch the mail, ask relatives to collect them, or even ask at homeschool groups for families to save them for you.

-Get a pen pal for your child, and ask them to collect stamps for you.

- Get a stamp catalog for free at the Mystic Stamp Company.  

- Get Free Album Pages, from the Philatelic Society here, such as "A Stamp for Every Country", from the Smithsonian National Postal Museum and 100's more!

-The International Society for World Wide Stamp Collectors  has a program where they offer free stamps for kids up to age 17.  Send requests, along with your stamped self address envelope, asking for free stamps to: ISWSC Internet Offer


Easy Ways to Store Your Stamps



To store your collection, you could use a shoebox, drawer, or a notebook.  

We just used a notebook.  

Then we got some heavy writing paper from the drug store, but you could get official stamp paper, if you want from the American Philatelic Society - for kids.


Then, to put them onto the pages, we just used glue, and that worked for us.  Or put them in the little envelopes on the official stamp pages, available from the American Philatelic Society - for kids. 

To preserve the stamps, just take the stamps off the paper by laying them in a shallow dish of water for a while and then peeling them of with tweezers. 


2.  Geography Stamp Activities 


Here's some of the simple things that we have done for stamp geography:

  • Look up where the stamps come from.  
  • Learn more about those places,  mark the places they came from on the map.  
  • Find them on a globe.  
  • Get a stamp from a foreign country, look up a recipe from that country, and have a stamp/collecting geography supper.  
My daughter collected stamps from the US and from foreign countries, but especially from China, as that is her birth country. 


3. Stamp Writing Activities


Here's some simple "stamp writing" ideas:

  • Make a journal, out of a simple paper tablet.  
  • Write a bit about any new stamps.  
  • If your kiddos are just learning to write, they could color, then copy a few words into their journal about their stamp. 
  • Record the country or state that the stamp came from.  
  • For older kids, they might write a paragraph about the stamp's origin, or country, and still make time to color or draw a picture.

Finally, I'd like to share the benefits your kids can get from doing this activity....


4.  The Benefits of Stamp Collecting


Stamp Collecting can give your kids practice in the following skills: 

  •  Organizational skills
  • Direction following practice
  • Visual perceptual skills
  • Attention to detail 
  • Concentration skills
And these are executive functioning skills.


I was recently asked to write for the top special education site on this topic.  I invite you to click 8 Tips for Homeschooling a Twice Exceptional Student for more ideas and encouragement.

What would you add to this list?   




Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,


Betsy



Betsy is retired O.T, homeschool blogger, and most importantly is mom to her 2e college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschoolabout the early yearshigh schoolcollege and 2e Pinterest,  Facebook 



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7 comments:

  1. Your daughter is so adorable! I love your ideas and tips for integrating stamp collecting into homeschooling :) It's great that you also provide resources to get free stamps for the kids!

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    1. Hi Lexi, and thanks! We had a lot of fun with stamps, when my daughter was little, but we ordered most of our stamps from the catalog mentioned above. I did not find out about the free ones until I wrote this post, lol. I hope you have a lot of fun stamp collecting! Have a good week,

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  2. This looks like a fun activity. :)

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  3. Thanks, Gentle Joy, for stopping by!

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  4. How fun! I've never been a stamp collector but I imagine my oldest would get a kick out of this. Thanks for sharing!

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  5. How wonderful, vkochis! My daughter got into it one year, and actually did it for about two years. We had a lot of fun with it as a family. Thanks for stopping to comment,

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  6. I am 10 Years old and my name Crisentia Perera live in Sri lanka Beautiful Island. My hobby is collect Stamps, Coins and bank notes i like to exchange with my country Stamps with your stamps please send me the address i can post our stamps and you can send your stamps to my address.
    Address No 540 Aggona, Angoda Sri lanka
    Contact no +94777888766

    ReplyDelete