Map on the Kitchen Table

We have a world map on our kitchen table.  This is actually our second map.  The first one got kind of worn and faded...even though the table is covered in a thick plastic.  The kids asked me to get a new one.  They enjoy the map...and so do I.

A map is so much easier to look at when it's laying out flat on a surface.  I like looking down on it rather than looking at it on a wall.

It's surprising how much we use the map.

When we hear of a big weather story....like a hurricane or a flood...we find the place on the map.

When there is an earthquake or some other terrible news story....we look at the map.

When someone goes on a holiday and we want to know the EXACT place....we look at the map.

When we study history and religion we are always referring to the map.

And then there is this game that we play.  One person secretly picks a country on the map and then writes down four clues as to where they are.  We write down things like: I'm north/south/east/west of (country name) or I border with (name of two countries) or I'm an island or My capital city is (name of city).  We also sometimes write down the longitude and latitude coordinates as a clue.

I've become much more aware of our beautiful Earth since we put the map on the table...and so have the children.

Brenda