North America Continent Box

I've been wanting to put together continent boxes for our homeschool for a while now and I've finally made one happen!

A continent box is simply a box full of materials on a given continent that can be pulled out whenever you and your kids want. The boxes are great when you're reading a book based in a certain part of the world and want to learn and explore all about it. They're a great addition to geography, history or social studies curriculum. For us, we're going to have the boxes on hand and either bring them out when a book or our curriculum calls for it or else bring them out when it's been a while since we've seen one.

I started with North America since that's where we live. I just picked a corner of our school room and set up a variety of materials for E and R to learn and interact with. Of course we have our globe, but here's what else there is:

North American Animals: I bought these 3 part cards and these North American wildlife figurines so that E and R could play with and match up the animals.

North American Flags: I bought these North American flags then singled out the flags of the four largest countries in North America, taped them to straws and put them in a jar.

North America Puzzle: I got this puzzle of the United States and Canada which I love because the puzzle pieces are in the shapes of all the various states and provinces.

North American Foods: These North American food cards have been fun to flip through... and we hope to make some of these foods in the future.

North American Instruments: These North American instruments cards are fun to have on hand next to a few of the actual instruments. I found the drum and rainstick at Cost Plus World Market.

North American Landmarks: I like the photos on these cards which are especially great when the kids can pair them with the corresponding TOOB landmarks.


I had our world atlas out along with a selection of books not just on North America but on maps and globes. I had some currency from various North American countries too... coins we found in my husband's childhood stuff in our garage. : )


We've had the North America continent box out for about two months now and the kids have had fun going back to it not just as part of "school," but as they play. In the next week or so, I'm planning to put up a Spring display with interactive learning elements appropriate to the season. I'll post photos soon! In the meantime, check out my Pinterest Board for more great continent box ideas! https://www.pinterest.com/shelleypimentel/