Geography: Igniter of Wonder and Imagination

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Geography is something that I have always enjoyed and appreciated. Map-making and map-reading have something so mysterious and magical about them. They can, literally, take you anywhere. At  A Daily Picture Book, we practice both map-reading and cartography regularly. Right now my girls and I are working on a map of the USA over a few weeks, while we frequently encounter different maps through our reading of A Daily Picture Book.

The Why of Geography

Why is geography important? First and foremost it ignites wonder. It helps understand how big the world is and how diverse it is, in just its landscapes and extremes, there is so much to discover. It awakens imagination, as we have to form in our mind a picture of things yet to have been seen. Geography explores the unknown, gives us the opportunity to travel without leaving our homes and to discover new worlds. 
It is a quest of discovery and adventure, a wonderful ignitor of imagination as well as a practical life skill.

Geography in our daily life

Geography is part of our daily life, we talk about it a lot, without realizing it. When we give direction to a friend, or explain to a relative where we live, or discuss the weather. Geography  impacts our lives in big and small ways and is present in our every day. Therefore we should be more curious about it and explore it. Everything about our life is determined by our geographical location: northern hemisphere versus southern hemisphere, East versus West. It determines our climate, our weather, the flora and fauna surrounding us, what we can plant in the garden and what will grow in abundance.

Exploring our geography

Here in Colorado we sit at the edge of the Great Plains and at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Our climate is very dry, it can be sweltering hot in the summer while reaching dreadful negative temperatures in the winter. But always, the sun shines. When we have more than 3 days of cloud cover, it is so unusual that we all become depressed and lethargic. It’s borderline funny once you notice it. Through all these extremes we have a wonderful diversity of geographic location to explore from the flat and treeless landscape of the Plains to the rugged cracks and eternal snows of the Rockies, we are blessed to be able to discover and study multiple ecosystems and geographical marvels. Get out the door and go explore your geography.

Geography as a life skill

In a more hands-on way, map-reading is an essential life skill that is becoming a lost art due to technology. Reading a map is not very difficult but it requires some basic familiarity. You need to know how to orient it (North always at the top), how to read the key and the scale and especially to be able to know where you are. The easiest maps to start with are zoo and museum maps, especially with little ones. First they love them and it makes them feel important and second they learn so much by just looking at them. It used to drive me crazy that each child had to have their own maps, but at the end of the day it’s totally worth it. The value that the children get from them is priceless. They learn to read maps, they learn direction and they learn how to plan their visit and which paths to take. All of these crucial life skills are necessary for the rest of their lives.

Diving deeper

The next step from a zoo map would be to help your child navigate and map their own home then neighborhood. Not only is it fun but it also teaches them to be more aware of their surroundings and to pay attention as to where you are going. Having your 5 years old give you direction to the grocery store or the library can make for an interesting road trip. Just make sure you are not in a time crunch when doing it…) Then explore city maps, then state, nation and world. And once you are familiar with these more general maps you can start looking at more precise regional maps, topographic maps, road atlases and other more site specific maps.
Resources:
– Learn How to Read a Map
– Teaching Basic Map Skills to Young Children

Picture books that teach about maps

Henry’s Map, by David Elliot
Henry is a tidy pig, as pigs are wont to be. Here keeps his sty tidy, but he thinks the farm is a mess. To help his friends he decides to create a farm map. A very sweet approach to map making and map reading, as Henry uses his map to find his way home. Great illustrations as well as an engaging story. 

Where Do I Live?: A First Look at Geography and Community for Children, by Neil Chesanow, illustrated by Ann Iosa
From your bedroom to the moon, how to find out where you live without getting lost. This a basic introduction to geography, a little more textbookish than I usually like but it gets the job done.

Maps and Mapping, by Barbara TaylorThis is a great how-to book that introduces how to draw a map, create a key, a scale and all the mappish things that there is to learn. We enjoy this one, not so much as a read-aloud but as a tool and guide. It usually stays out for days on end.

Draw the World series by Kristin J. DraegerThis is my very favorite! I love this book series so much, they are simple, you can do it all in one sitting or take your time, up to you but at the end you have a beautiful map and you know where in the world things are. The addition of the Draw the Natural Wonders of… is phenomenal! The girls and I are working our way through the USA and it’s not quite as easy as it might seem. I am already planning on remaking my map, when I have a free minute, lol!

Fun ways to use this skill

One of our favorite activities around map is to create our own islands, continents and worlds. We have had so much fun building up maps of entire islands and continents, and the story that stem from these creations are spell-bounding. It is one amazing imagination trigger!

A couple of fun resources

• The Lord of Maps has some great first step tips, unfortunately he did not pursue the classes he started past mountains, but I still found it to be a great way to get started. The shorts are worth watching to help you think through ideas. His picture book made it on my wishlist for Christmas along with the stamps collection. 
• Brave Writer has a very enticing Worldbuilding course that seems like a lot of fun. There is also a whole month-long lesson on creating imaginary maps in the Partnership Writing writing projects, I believe.
• Geocaching is a fantastic and extremely fun way to have some wonderful geography adventures.
• Orienteering is a little more intense, but no less fun. It doe snot have to be done with a race, you could easily create an orienteering course for your family. You can also just learn to hike and get to a destination using map and compass rather than following a trail. It does not have to be competitive. It’s a life skill that is important to have and does not need to be a competition.

A parting note

I want to challenge you to focus on geography this month. Either through the geography suggestions in A Daily Picture Book memberships or through your own imagination and endeavor. December will be a big globe-trotting and mapping month through the Booklover Membership, I highly recommend it!
I love maps, I think they are beautiful artistic representations of our world, imagination igniters and life skill providers. Old maps, new maps, fantasy maps, they are all worthy of our time and attention. Let’s make geography an integral part of our education.
Love,
Mattie