What’’s Early Explorers all about? It’’s more than just a monthly subscription – it’’s a conversation starter for curious preschoolers who want to learn about the world. We asked guest blogger Amanda Shaw, a writer and mom of three who writes about her kids’ adventures, to tell us how her family “travels” with Little Passports. Read on to learn more!

5 Reasons Why Early Explorers Is a Hit with Preschoolers

My kids and I have been with Little Passports for a long time. We’’re nearing the end of our second year, and our tattered, sticker-slapped suitcase is jam-packed with all the adventures we’’ve had. All three of my kids still squeal with delight when they pull that white envelope out of the mailbox each month.

So when Early Explorers was launched in 2014, I was quick to mention it to my friends and family who have younger children. My own four-year-old (as with many things) was along for the ride with our World Edition subscription. Her older sister reads the letters; her older brother works out the puzzles. She does get her hands dirty with the recipes and has claimed more than one souvenir as her own.

But I was more than a little curious about the new subscription for preschoolers. What does world culture and geography look like to a three-to-five-year-old? I know my youngest absorbs a lot from Little Passports. How much more would she benefit from Early Explorers?

Now three months into our Early Explorers subscription, I can tell you that this is the perfect introduction to world culture and geography for the younger age group. I didn’t know what to expect. I thought it might be a simpler version of the World Edition with age-appropriate souvenirs. But it is literally an entirely new approach – —one that meets my four-year-old on a level that not only excites her but that she can fully grasp. Light bulbs are going on, folks.

Here are my top 5 reasons why I’’m so glad we decided to try Early Explorers and why a subscription might be the perfect gift for your little loved one, too.

1. Activities that preschoolers own. Alright, I’’m just going to come out with it. —I hate activities for young children that their parents end up doing. You know what I’’m talking about: the craft project that required pieces put just so, hot glue that was a hazard. Group games that are mostly instructions barked to wide-eyed preschoolers. The balance beam that’’s too high off the ground, so the parent holds the child on both sides and scoots him along. Sigh. But that’’s why I love Early Explorers. Each month, my daughter receives a new passport of activities to do, and she’’s perfectly capable of doing them with me taking on a more observational role. In fact, she’’s often capable of doing them completely on her own. How do I know? Let’’s just say that one afternoon, the phone rang as she was opening her package, and when I came back, her passport was halfway completed. In Sharpie. Correctly! The activities are intuitive, often color-coded: mazes, connect-the-dots, matching, sequencing, and other ingenious activities that require little direction and yet are teeming with learning potential. She does them and gets more satisfaction out of that than she does from watching her older siblings complete a puzzle or write a paragraph.

2. A new cast of characters. With Early Explorers, we’’re discovering the big, wide world with Max, Mia and Toby. Max and Mia are good friends …who somehow co-own a dog named Toby. What’’s not to love about a furry friend joining in our adventures?

3. Quality support materials. The miniature landmarks in our Landmarks edition are beautiful: just the right size for little hands and durable (and by that, I mean indestructible…yep, my preschooler has put them to the test). The CD was an excellent introduction to world music that we listen to over and over (and over and over) in the car. The Flashlight Adventures booklets that have accompanied our last two packages have the ability to focus your little one’’s attention on the topic at hand and give them control over the speed at which they pass from one image to another.

4. Mail. Let’’s not underestimate the joy of getting something in the mail, especially at this age. My daughter was incredulous, maybe more so because the packages are just for her and not for her brother and sister. Sometimes, the little one wins.

5. World view. With Early Explorers, you’’re not exploring one country each month, as you do with the World Edition. The first Early Explorers package lays out the continents and provides you with a beautiful world map to work with. As my daughter proudly proclaims to anyone who will listen, we live in North America. I could see it click in her mind as we talked about the places we’’ve visited, and how we got there (by car, by plane). Each new package reinforces that concept of the continents, their geographical positions and their cultures, by exploring a topic (landmarks or music, for example) in relation to them. It’’s the perfect way to introduce world geography to preschoolers.

Early Explorers makes it easy for you to talk about the world with your preschooler. If you’’re already a subscriber, share your child’’s favorite activity below; and if you’’re not, think about ordering your first package today. Many adventures await!

Learn more about Early Explorers:

Read the Reviews for Early Explorers!

Explore World Music with Preschoolers!

Read more from Amanda here:

Exploring Thailand with Kids!

Jet-Setting to Kenya with Little Passports