Map Skills around the world

As we travel the world this year, we'll be working on map skills. My goal is to do one fun mapping activity per week - to be put in Z-Man's workbox. And if you haven't jumped on the workbox bandwagon yet, go here and you'll want to! I first heard about it on the Five in a Row message boards and it really is a great system. The kids love it and look forward to it, we get WAY more done in a day and it keeps me accountable. Z-Man has been able to work a little more independently and I can do some focused activities with Little Man.

Back to our subject -

For our introduction, we have this book - Me on the Map

which can also be combined with an art lesson as the main character draws her room, her house, her street, town, state... you get the idea.

As we visit each country, we'll locate it on our world map (which is actually a very detailed plastic shower curtain from Target), color it on an outline map and put it in our notebook. Another fun idea I found somewhere but can't recall where: look at the stickers on your fruits and vegetables, labels on clothes, etc. and locate their countries of origin on the map.

But what I'm most excited about are these two books, which I was fortunate to find at a used curriculum sale:

One has 18 activities and the other has 20, so at one per week, that will easily take us through the whole school year. Fun stuff!