Learning Resources Inflatable 12 inch Globe - Ages 6+ Earth Globe, Geography for Kids

Really nice globe. Excellent for Elementary kids. Super product.

I ordered these to take on a scientific expedition where I knew we would be interacting with the children of nomadic families. It was fun to show them where on the globe we came from, then leave the globe as an educational toy. Being able to carry multiples because they pack flat and weigh almost nothing was a big plus; would also be easy to store in a classroom setting. It was hard to know before ordering what the quality would be, as there are hundreds of companies selling similar products. I'm happy to report that these are fine quality: lightweight, accurate, and will probably hold up reasonably well to children's play (I didn't have the opportunity to assess that).

This is a decent map and the print is pretty sharp, although quite small. As a ball it is “interesting”. It rolls erratically because it is not round; rather this pumpkin shaped. It is flattened with a hanger on top and has longitudinal ridges. This shows printed latitude and longitude lines, the International Date Line, time zone icons down by the Antarctic (a nice detail), along with a legend that shows a scale in km and boundary markings. So, It’s pretty informative, and a quite a good value for the cost.

Ordered for my son and loved the idea of a fun small ball he can learn from. Ordered and received the first one and it had a slit so it never inflated. We ordered a replacement and the second it was delivered we blew it up and sure enough it has a slit as well.

My volunteer classroom does not have a globe or maps. Budgets are tight, BUT this inflatable globe was perfect. A great size. Easy to read. Kids love to learn about the many places we read about it. Also got some maps from Amazon. My class is ready!

I bought this along with another, larger, inflatable Globe (the Jet Creations Inflatable Topographical 16-Inch Globe). This one is by far the inferior of the two. Okay, it's an inflatable globe that costs very little - what can I expect? True enough - and for what I paid, this item is just fine. Not exceptional, just fine. Here is a quick run-down of the pros and cons:Pros:- comes with a little string and wire S hook to hang it from the ceiling or a light fixture - nice little touch.- the writing (country and city names, rivers, etc) is suprisingly legible, even the tiniest words. I am impressed.- the colors of the countries stand out well, making it pretty easy to distinguish the countries. This is, after all, a political world globe. Don't expect to see even a hint of a mountain range, desert, or river basin. Flat colors only - but this works fine for a political globe.Cons:- the plastic is a bit flimsy, much like a cheap beach ball. Normally, this is what I would have expected - that this globe is really a painted beach ball - but the other inflatable globe I purchased was made of much more durable plastic - not like any beach ball I have ever seen.- apparently a huge, catastrophic earthquake rocked the middle of the Pacific Ocean and I missed it - because the latitudinal lines do not match up at all in this area. It's a pretty major mistake in gluing this thing together - sloppy, I guess. Fortunately there isn't much (on the globe, at least) in the middle of the Pacific, so it doesn't matter all that much.All in all, this is a fine little educational toy. My kids can read the country names, explore places they want to go, and learn some geography. The Jet Creations Inflatable Topographical 16-Inch Globe is better, and bigger, but remember, it is not a political globe, but rather a topographical one. I like having both, actually.

We bought this to teach our 5 year old some basic geography and this definitely fits the bill. It is the size of a small beach ball - a little bit larger than a basketball. It is easy to blow up and you can hang it or leave it down to allow the children to play with as they learn the continents. This is not a detailed globe but for a five dollar inflatable globe it is great. You can easily cover the continents and countries of the world. Some of the countries are not the most up-to-date, such as several in Africa but again this is more for general purposes. The United States is not broken down by the states, which is the biggest draw back in my opinion. This is a good starting point globe for young children but a more expensive one would be necessary for older children or children who already have a good grasp on geography. I would recommend this globe as an introductory world view lesson but keep in mind that it is very inexpensive as globes go so you will not get the details on this as you would if you paid for a nice 50 dollar globe. With that said, we are very happy with this for our five year old.

This is great to show your kids continents, oceans, and countries. It looks great hanging from the ceiling and is perfect for showing my kids (3 & 4 y.o.) the continents and countries that are discussed in any of the books we are currently reading (right now its dinosaurs). This is an excellent resource for broad geography discussions. It is also very durable. My 4 year old does like to find everything on this inflatable globe but she also likes to sit and lay on it. So far, it has held up great!The day after writing this review, I looked at the globe again quickly, and I believe only three oceans are labeled. I can easily point out the missing labels to my kids, so for me, this isn't a big deal.