Now that we’ve learned a little bit about maps, we are using maps to find our favorite places in our neighborhood.
In advance, I printed out maps of our immediate area on Google Maps.
Today, I asked both of my children what their favorite place in the neighborhood is. My son (who will be three at the end of August) responded with the name of the local homemade ice cream store. Then, he started scribbling on his paper and declared it was a dinosaur…serving ice cream. Then, he ran off with the paper so I didn’t get a chance to scan it, yet.
My daughter (who will be five at the beginning of August) first said, “swim lessons”. When I told her that was off the maps I had printed, she chose “the music store” (where she takes piano lessons). This is her journal entry for the day:
Then, we mapped and measured the route.
1. We came up with symbols for the map legend for our house and the music store.
2. I showed her the route on the map from our house to the store and she traced it in red pen.
3. Next, she measure the route with a string and used the scale to figure out we are 8000 feet from the music store.
4. We noticed Google did not include the directions on the compass rose so she added those and we also talked about which direction the music store is from our house (southeast).
5. After she measured the route, she wanted to add symbols for the beach and the nearby park.
This post is part of the Smart Summer Challenge. Check out our family’s plans for Week 1: Me on the Map, find out more about the Smart Summer Challenge and grab our free calendar of summer learning ideas, and “like” the Smart Summer Challenge page on Facebook.
What a fun idea! My daughter loves maps. Every time we go to Sea World she HAS to be the map holder! I think we will try this out. Thanks for the tip!
Stopping by from Mom Loop