I'm probably one of the last to get on board with this sort of thing, but I've become a bit obsessed with the Travelpod Traveler IQ Challenge app on Facebook. You know the thing I'm talking about? It's the thing where you can amaze  astound  challenge  bore your friends with your knowledge of geography and your skill with clicking (oh woe to you if you're working with the mouse of a Macbook, which under my sausage-like protrusions is less than accurate at times).

But even better, I've hooked my older son on this, and he routinely challenges me (sucker). And he seems to be learning stuff too.

We Americans are *cough* notoriously lacking in knowledge of geography outside our own country (what! castles in Ethiopia! not just mud huts?), and I'm finding this a perfect way to help my kids learn about their world. We already own an atlas, which is wonderful and gets a fair bit of use in between the Legos and the light sabers, and my kids have traveled outsdie the US several times, but there's something appealing about adding the competitive element that has hooked not only my son but likely soon his little sister as well (since she infiltrates everything he does anyway). And this is one computer game I am definitely on board with for either of them.

Oh. No, my kid doesn't have a Facebook profile, but I sent him to the app's parent site, Travelpod, where all the games are available. 

Photo: www.caseresources.org