Map Skills - Understanding Everyday Maps and Labeling Continents

On recent outings we have collected maps - most recently being the zoo map and botanical gardens map. The kids (7 and 5) do not seem interested in pausing to look at the map while we are visiting the attractions, but once we get home they love to trace their route on the maps. I show them the route and then leave the maps on the kitchen table for viewing at their pleasure. Usually they want to review the route with me several times and asks lots of questions. Thank you Lord for lesson plans!



Does anyone else out there have to rely on a map since they have zero sense of direction? I count myself a decent navigator, but without a map I am clueless. Having a daughter who seems to have an even WORSE sense of direction, I honestly worry about her safety as she gains more independence. So let's work on those map skills!



We purchased a continents foam map puzzle from the Dollar Tree. I like it because it's cheap and simple but the sturdiness of the puzzle leaves much to be desired. It would probably work better if I glued it to a piece of cardboard. Since the puzzle itself was a tad frustrating, my 7-year-old decided to lay out the continents on the table in their correct places. Then of course my 5-year-old wanted to do it. I was glad they found a way to enjoy the puzzle without getting frustrated with it.

MAPPING GAME ONLINE
* Click on Continents and Oceans
* Choose to solve as a Puzzle, with Clues, or with Labels

Recently, I read a blogger's post about painting cheap globes she found thrifting - one color for each continent. I thought it was a marvelous idea - though i have no extra globes. So what I would like to do (and probably never will) is just cut out the continents in colors that match my puzzle and stick them on the globe short term.

My 7-year-old has no trouble grasping the fact that the multi-colored North America on the globe is one continent, but my 5-year-old is having some issues. And I'm not sure the 5-year-old understands that the 2-D puzzle matches the globe at all. Too much color variation (he's always been good at order and matching colors.)

For the LORD is a great God
  And a great King above all gods,
In whose hand are the depths of the earth,
  The peaks of the mountains are His also.
The sea is His, for it was He who made it,
  And His hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us worship and bow down,
  Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
Psalm 95

Continent Study at the Zoo

Sweet Daddy took us to the zoo today. It was a spur of the moment trip and my 7 yr asked if i could make the trip into a scavenger hunt (a GREAT teaching tool we've used previously). Instead of making a list for her, we grabbed a piece of paper, a pencil, and our world continents map and went on our way.

Our zoo has a continents map on each animal exhibit. The kids (7 and 4) have been hearing alot about South America - its animals and the rainforest and Amazon river. So first we decided to make a list of all the animals at the zoo that were from South America. There were only three, so it was an easy assignment. And then we decided to tally the number of animals from each continent on the continent map. The race was close between Africa and Asia, but Africa won in the end.

We only spent a little over an hour at the zoo before it closed and we practically ran to the different exhibits, but the kids had a blast and we only skipped a few exhibits due to time. I can't wait to see what God will teach us on our next visit to the zoo!

So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath of life. Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded him; and the LORD closed it behind him.
Genesis 7:15-16

States 101

The kids (7 and 4) fight over our interactive globe and like to be quizzed on states, countries, and continents that they know. Inspired by Montessori map studies, we ventured into the realm of pin-pushing a state (from the U.S.) to learn some new states in a fun fashion.

My 7 yr old picked Iowa which I of course knew NOTHING about and so began the hunt. Found some fun stuff. And 7 yr liked most of it - except the part where I mistakenly thought she might like to read a Wikipedia page about Iowa (I liked it) - gotta stick to the "living books" as Charlotte Mason would call them.

The best sites we have found for doing history research are museum websites. Many times they will have interactive games and booklists for children. The following games were a hit for my 7 yr.

INTERACTIVE IOWA SITES
President Hoover Hats - Interactive with Fun Facts
Iowa State Symbols and Facts Quiz
Historical Iowa Farm Picture Quiz

GENERAL STATE INFORMATION
State Symbols Pictures

BACKYARDIGANS DVD with W-IOWA Episode
Amazon

MONTESSORI PIN PUSHING
MONTESSORI Journey - Continenet PIN PUSHING
Montessori Journey - United States Pin Pushing

PRINTABLES
State Nomenclature and Abbreviations - Pictures of Flag, Bird, Flower, etc.
United States Maps

LIBRARY BOOK
Numbers in a row:an Iowa number book / written by Patricia A. Pierce

FUN FACTS
* Laura Ingalls Wilder who wrote "Little House on the Prairie" lived in Iowa with her family for a short time.
* Corn Palaces (yes, miniature palaces made of corn) were built in Iowa to celebrate the corn harvest in the late 1800's.

Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 19:9-10

***************************************************
MY FAVORITE BLOGS ADDITION
Montessori-Work
Teacher blogging about her Montessori classroom.

FREE PRINTABLES WEBSITE ADDITON
enchantedlearning