Black Pepper and learning geography.

Question: When can the black pepper be used as a learning tool?
Answer: During lunch or dinner time!
We have a few placing mats that we set the table with for breakfast, lunch and dinner: ABC's, Numbers and Letters for the little ones, Multiplications, Great Composers, etc. While visiting Grandma really protested having a Human Body placing mat in front of her. She said she would not be able to eat. We gave her American Presidents instead, we did not want her to go on a hunger strike.
Lately these two, World Map and the USA Map, have become girls' absolute favorites. And today I simply had a blast watching them talking away and pointing on their maps at the places they are going to visit.
Now, every good cook should use whole black pepper for a chicken broth. And I consider myself to be one. Since we had chicken soup for lunch they were fishing out the whole black pepper balls and using them as pointers. They collected all the balls from all of us, and when it was still not enough, they started splitting them in half.
It was great to watch them reading the names of the countries, make decisions where they would go first, second, last, why they would want to go to a specific place and what they would do there.
Leona was saying, "Mom, I really want to go to Mongolia!".
Ivana was picking out the US states to visit on our cross country trip. Yes, we have been planning it and will embark on our adventure soon.
I just love when the learning happens unexpectedly and naturally with the kids' initiative. But mine and Mirek's love and enjoyment of learning geography definitely have been passed on to the girls.