Learning about the world...one day at a time

Jack at one year...brushing up on his geography



My sister used to poke fun at me for reading an atlas before going to bed when I was young. In fact, I still love looking through an atlas. So, it shouldn’t really be a surprise that Jack, my eldest son, who is five years old, shares that same curiosity of the world. I remember when he was just a little over one year old at Disneyland, and he was pouring over the Park map, as if ready to offer someone directions. For months afterward he would look at that same map before going to bed. More recently he’s taken to scrolling through Google Earth. And while he often zeroes in on one of the five Disneyland Parks throughout the world, he also takes delight in finding London’s Big Ben, or the Eiffel Tower, or the Amazon River. 

His interest in the world has been fuelled in part by the places he’s already visited in his short life, including: Montreal, Quebec City, California, Hawaii, Fiji, and Australia.



Jack finds his way at Disneyland 



I remember once over dinner some time ago, Jack remarked with certainty, “I want to go to Chicago!” "Why do you want to go there," his mother asked? "Because I want to know what's there," he replied, sounding very grown up. He also often quips that he would like to visit Paris and New York City. And while he hasn’t yet been, I have little doubt that he will one day visit these iconic cities.

As parents, we have had the opportunity to travel, and so my wife and I don’t discourage his geographical inquisitiveness. In fact, we often end up folding and putting away the many maps that he has collected and keeps in a box.

Recently, I wondered how I could enhance his curiosity for the world, and at the same time provide a fun, learning experience. That’s how the big tin, which coincidentally is adorned with the flags of the Canadian Provinces, came to find a place in our kitchen.

In it, I put several pieces of paper with the names of countries, along with an image of their flag, and information about that country, such as the capital, language, currency, literacy rate, and landmark.

Each day, Jack excitedly reaches into the tin and pulls out one country and reads about that place. He now knows that the capital of Nepal is Kathmandu and the literacy rate in the Himalayan country is less than 50%. In contrast, he also knows that in Finland (and Norway) the literacy rate is 100%. I wanted to include the literacy rate of a country, because I felt it was important that Jack know that while he has access to knowledge, books, and an education, it isn’t so for many people around the world. In fact, when he learned that half the people in Nepal over the age of 15 can’t read or write his eyes grew big and he said, “That’s not good.”

The first day we introduced the big tin, we had to temper Jack’s enthusiasm, because he wanted to read about all the countries in the tin at once. Letting him choose one country a day has created some fun and excitement, as he looks forward to learning about the next one.

So far Jack has learned about familiar places, such as Canada, the United States, and from the movies, Madagascar, but he also now knows a little something about Turkey, Qatar, Hungary, Egypt, Bolivia, Kenya, India, and a host others. 

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised if one day Jack tells me he wants to go to Azerbaijan.