It's never to early!
It's a great way to learn the states and the capitols! It gives you that spatial memory that can be so important. We use it and a few other items to make up our own map game. It could be improved. A quiz mode would be great! The names of the capitols printed clearly somewhere (even in the pull out slot on the side) would be nice because many kids learn by seeing. And what about the star spangled banner? It's got the pledge of allegiance, and America the beautiful, which are fine and all but the Star spangled banner is arguably one of the best national anthems on the planet, why not include it?
Also some note about how Alaska and Hawaii are out of scale and out of place. I understand this might not be easy, but they could include it on a supplementary mini book, or a few cards. Don't get me wrong it is a great tool, but I am left filling in a lot of the details. Also the storage pocket works not too well to store the pieces as it won't close when all the pieces are in. Last gripe is the state names could be printed more clearly. You do need pretty good light to read them.
I bought this during the recent presidential election so the kids could visualize what was going on better and have some understanding of the complex nature of our democracy. We like it. Don't stop making it please, but considering the limitations, it could be a few bucks cheaper. Actually now that I look at the price, it is a few bucks cheaper than what I paid!
A side note, we also have the leapfrog globe but the kids are really still too young for that. This is something different altogether, and worth buying I think. Use it for a year or two and then donate it to your school! Or pass it on to the cousins, just don't lose the pieces! Unlike a globe, the information contained is not likely to change.
A software version would be a great!
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