Posted on 01/04/2022
Once you've helped your child create a map (and perhaps a blueprint) for his or her bedroom, it's time to start expanding those mapping skills! This doesn't have to involve anything complicated or intense; instead, it can naturally become part of your daily life and outings, helping your child connect real life with maps and geological features. In this post, I'll recommend a few options for introducing geography skills in a hands-on, play-based way.
Introducing Basic Land and Water Forms
Often in schools, geography studies focus on memorizing place names and labeling them on maps; that's all fine and good, but it's not typically very interactive. Whether or not your child has already been introduced to basic land and water forms, these free Montessori-inspired, printable cards display various geological features in a visually simple way. Depending on your child's developmental level and previous exposure to these terms and ideas, I would start with introducing just one or two at a time, perhaps pairing a land form with the coordinating water form (such as a lake, a body of water completely surrounded by land, and an island, a body of land completely surrounded by water). If your child is reading, you could use the other parts of the 3-part cards to match the words with the land and water forms; if not, you could still use them to play a memory-type game. As you introduce each card or pair, you can also create a 3-dimensional representation of those forms, using colored play dough or rocks (for land) and glass beads (for water).
Identifying Land and Water Forms
Older children could enjoy labeling land forms on various maps, like the ones in this gorgeous oversized map book or using a Land Form Pin-It Map (as offered by Pin It Maps). Even a hand-drawn map will do, though; you could easily draw a map and point to examples of various features, asking your child to identify it. Think outside the paper and pencil, too - you could also use sidewalk chalk to draw a map outside or even create a larger 3D map in the sandbox or at the beach!
Visiting Land and Water Forms
For an even more significant, multi-sensory activity, you could check out a map of your area and locate and then visit a local example of the land or water form, if you have one. If a given land or water form is not anywhere near you, maybe you could have a video call with a friend or family member who lives near one or at least watch a YouTube video that shows one second hand.
Continue reading with Part 3: Mapping Your Neighborhood & Town.
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