*** This giveaway is CLOSED. Congratulations to our winner — comment #6/Share K! Thank you to everyone who participated! We hope you will find this review helpful in deciding to purchase Little Passports World Edition for your child. ***

The world is a very big place for little ones. It’s hard enough to understand the concept of states, let alone countries and the world. My daughter’s cousins live in another state, about a 9-hour drive away, so we’ve been talking with her over the past couple years about how members of our family live in different places — some close, and some far away from our hometown of Tampa.

Little Passports Brings Kids the World
This past week she received the first Explorer Kit in Little Passports World Edition, and we’ve begun talking about an even bigger concept — countries! To give you a baseline, the first month’s Explorer Kit includes:
— Introductory letter from Sofia and Sam
— Travel suitcase in which to store all the items your child will receive from Sofia and Sam over the months to come.
— World wall map (It’s really big, so when we look at it together, she really gets the sense that these places are far away.)
— Travel passport
— Stickers (Kids can decorate their suitcase with pictures of Sam and Sofia, and stickers representing the countries they “visit” each month.)
— Activity sheet
— Boarding Pass with a code to access Little Passports activities online

Over the following months of your subscription, your child will receive souvenirs, stickers, letters and activities from countries all around the globe.

It All Begins with a Story
The basic premise for these packages is outlined in a letter from Sofia and Sam — they found this magic scooter in their Aunt’s garage that transports them wherever they want to go in the world! They go on to explain the purpose of all the items included in her suitcase.

The first activity my daughter was able to do completely on her own. She sat down with the activity sheet to crack the secret code, and we were able to learn how to say “hello” in several languages, as well as the names of the capitals of several countries, and — to build excitement for the next package to come — which country Sam and Sofia will be visiting next month.

(NOTE: The Little Passports World Edition is designed for children age 5-10. My daughter just turned 5, so even children on the smaller end of that age range can enjoy the activities in these kits.)

Activities Inspire Quality Time Together
The passport turned out to be a fun activity for my daughter and I to do in the car one afternoon. It asks questions about which counties have your Mom and Dad visited or wish to visit, and what we liked about them or why we want to visit them. That turned into a fun way to pass the time together in the car, and inspired us to make a dinner that evening in honor of one of the countries Momma would like to visit … Italy.

Online Activities Add Another Dimension
Once your child completes the written activities, the adventure continues online with more geography-related activities. With the first package, you receive a special access code to the World games, which include a map puzzle and trivia. My daughter and I sat together so I could read the questions and answers, and we talked about which answer we wanted to select and why we thought it might be the right answer. We got many of them, but even I learned a thing or two! The puzzle was easy enough for my five-year-old to figure out all by herself.

A Gift to Enjoy All Year Long
Having experienced Little Passports with my daughter, I believe this would make a great gift for your child … one that they will look forward to and enjoy every month of the year. It comes as a subscription, just like a magazine, and the packages are only $10.95/month for 12 months.

Holiday Ordering: If you would like to give a Little Passports subscription as a gift to your child this Christmas, orders can be placed up to December 17, 2012.

*** GIVEAWAY *** GIVEAWAY *** GIVEAWAY ***

Thanks to Little Passports, we are excited to give two (2) months of the Little Passports World Edition subscription to one lucky WDTB reader. Merry Christmas! Here’s how to enter:
— MANDATORY ENTRY: Visit Little Passports on Facebook and sign up to receive their e-mail newsletter. (NOTE: You will need to “Like” their page in order to access the sign-up form.)
— BONUS ENTRY: Post a comment below letting us know which country you would most like to visit and why.

** IMPORTANT: You will need to post a comment below for each action taken to count as your entry.

The Fine Print: Only responses that conform to the above requirements and are posted on THIS PAGE will count as official entries in this giveaway. This giveaway is open to residents age 18 and older residing in the continental U.S. ONLY. The contest period ends on Thursday, December 13, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. EST. One winner will be selected at random using random.org and notified by e-mail; the winner will have 24 hours to reply back before a new winner is selected. To be fair, comments that don’t meet our requirements, false entries, or duplicate comments will be deleted and not count as entries in this giveaway. Little Passports is responsible for shipping the prize to the winner. Prizes will be shipped via FedEx or UPS 2-4 weeks after the contest ends. No P.O. Boxes please.

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Disclosure: I received the first month of the Little Passports World Edition to review with my daughter. These are my personal and honest opinions based on our own experience with the kit.

RELATED LINKS:
1. “Thunderstruck” Blog App + Combo Pack GIVEAWAY (Ends 12/13/12)
2. Little Hands: Healthy Snacks and Homemade Gifts Kids Can Help Make

Images courtesy of Little Passports
Image © 2012 Nicole Doyle