I started out reading two books that have a simple map in them. Sally and the Something, by George O'Connor is a new favorite we discovered last summer, and it has a simple map on one page showing the path Sally travels from her house to the swamp. Fancy Nancy, Explorer Extraordinaire, by Jane O'Connor has a fabulous map of Nancy's neighborhood.
Here are some books I wish we could have read, had they been available (hint, hint, Ami):
- Me on the Map, by Joan Sweeney. This amazing book starts out with a map of the little girl's room, and expands her world with each subsequent map. It 'zooms' out, showing maps of her house, neighborhood, state, and finally the world.
- As the Crow Flies: A First Book of Maps, by Harvey Stevenson. Follows a crow's journey from the mountains to the sea, mapping in simple, bright, clear illustrations the farms, villages and towns it flies over.
- My Map Book, by Sara Fanelli. I. Love. This. Book. Illustrated with the crayon drawings of a child, each page is simply a 'map' of different things in a child's world: my room. My body. My dog.
We talked about the things the maps in the books showed. I pulled out Xander's car map rug, and we looked at the map printed on it. Then we took some construction paper, scissors, and glue into Sophie's room and made a map of it.
I drew the shapes, Sophie cut them out (fine motor skills), and glued them in place, after we discussed where on the map they went. Then she added some extra details with a marker (you can't forget kitty!).
Sophie was so enthralled with this concept, she then drew her own map of the walk from our house to the nature trail down the street. Notice the rocky part, and the bridge right after it (the red stripes).
Even the car map rug is getting a lot more use! Love tricking the kids into learning by playing. Waaa ha ha.
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