Forest Room: Mapping the World

Many children have a good understanding of their spatial relationship to the world, even at the young age of two and a half. Often an interest in mapping crops up at some point during the year, and because we know this is an important skill, we are eager to nurture the children's interest.  This year some children found the plaid blankets covering the dolls and used them as rudimentary maps.

Looking at the communal map

After allowing the children to explore the maps they created themselves, we invited them to draw their houses on a large communal piece of paper. Without suggestion, some children began to add streets, their school, trains, and cars.  We hung their work up and noticed that they studied the map during the course of the day.

Drawing her family in her house

We then offered the children individual pieces of paper and asked them if they would like to draw their houses. Some children were eager to do this, adding important destinations such as Smoothie King, caves and the forest, as well as family members.

Child's map to Smoothie King, Alligator Crump, and the Garden

According to Professor David Uttal of Northwestern, spatial reasoning (being able to visualize things and then transform them into something else) is "critical to many areas of learning."  Being able to see the relationship between a symbol and what it stands for is one step toward spatial reasoning. Understanding that maps can show us the connection between important points helps children develop relational thinking.

Map from child's house to the fire station

A map showing the way from the child's house to some caves