STEP-BY-STEP PROJECT

MAP

My children love creating maps of their favorite familiar places. It gives us lots to talk about: They tell me about their friends’ homes and the places we often go, and then we draw them on the map. My kids also like to drive their miniature cars through their hand-drawn maps! Use your building-drawing skills (see here) to help your kids create houses from different angles.

TOOLS & MATERIALS

Several sheets of white printer paper

Tape

Scissors

Markers

Optional: masking tape or washi tape

STEP 1

Lay out your sheets of paper, and tape them together to form a single, large piece of paper, without overlapping the edges. We used nine sheets of paper, but you should feel free to use as many as you like. You can always add sheets later to enlarge your map!

AS YOU TAPE TOGETHER YOUR SHEETS OF PAPER, ASK YOUR KIDS WHAT THEY’D LIKE TO INCLUDE ON THEIR MAP.

STEP 2

Flip over the sheets of paper so that the tape is on the back. Then begin drawing. I usually like to start with our home, and I ask my kids where they envision it to be.

BE AS DETAILED AS YOU LIKE WITH YOUR DRAWINGS, BUT KEEP IN MIND THAT YOU WILL WANT TO KEEP THEM SMALL SO THAT THERE’S ROOM FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO ADD!

STEP 3

Ask your kids what their favorite places are, and draw a road from your home to the next location on your map. Make sure the road is wide enough for a toy car!

STEP 4

Add the next location to your map. We drew the small house we pass on the way to school!

THE STREETS ON YOUR MAP DON’T HAVE TO BE STRAIGHT; THINK ABOUT THE FAMILIAR BENDS AND TWISTS IN THE ROADS YOU DRIVE ON REGULARLY.

STEP 5

Continue adding locations to the map. You can draw roads, intersections, the park, the grocery store, and so on. Get your kids even more involved and have them draw buildings and places, in addition to decorating your drawings!

STEP 6

If you wish to enlarge your map by adding sheets of paper, you can do so now. My daughter wanted to include the beach but didn’t have room for it, so we taped a sheet of paper to the edge of the map.

STEP 7

Once the map is complete, use tape to secure it to a large table or the floor so that the edges don’t curl up as your kids play with it.

IF YOU PLAN TO LAY THE MAP ON A TABLE, YOU CAN USE MASKING TAPE OR WASHI TAPE TO AVOID DAMAGING YOUR FURNITURE.

STEP 8

Pull out the toy cars so your kids can play with their map!

THIS IS A GREAT ACTIVITY FOR OLDER AND YOUNGER KIDS TO DO TOGETHER. OLDER CHILDREN WILL ENJOY DRAWING THE MAP AND ADDING DETAILS TO IT, AND YOUNGER CHILDREN CAN DRIVE THEIR CARS ON THE MAP WHILE THEIR OLDER SIBLINGS OR FRIENDS CONTINUE DRAWING.