Most of us rely on a GPS app to travel from point A to point B.

Since 2010, my family has relied on Gyspy’s (the nickname we gave our Nissan Pathfider’s onboard GPS system) directions for thousands of miles on road trips and driving to unfamiliar destinations close to home.

Despite how handy electronic maps are, we still use print maps at places such as museums, malls, and amusement parks.

For example, I recently picked up a brochure for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival that contains a road map showing all the agritourism destinations open during this month-long (April) celebration.

So, teaching your children how to use maps provides them with valuable life skills and gives them a sense of place across the curriculum.

Map Basics

You can introduce maps to children even before they can read. When he was quite young, my son relished the idea of holding the map of Woodland Park Zoo (Seattle) and used pictures of the animals to find his way to his favorite exhibits.

To teach my kids about maps, I started with an old 1965 book called A Map Is a Picture by Barbara Rinkoff (used copies are available through several online booksellers). Although nearly 60 years old, this picture book offers timeless information on maps and how to read them.

It opens with a pirate’s treasure map, then moves to a town map and explains what a map key is and how the scale of a map allows readers to measure distances.

On the following pages, the book shows a world map, then the next two-page spread zooms into a North American map, then a US map, then a map of Kansas, an then a street map of Wichita. The next page displays a road map and asks readers to find their way from Wichita to Topeka.

Finally, the book illustrates more unusual maps: an airway map, a water pipe map for construction workers, a cartoon-style agricultural map, a sea map around Alaska, and a constellation map.

If you prefer an instructional video, try Maps for Kids.

With older children, you can instruct them about reading maps and globes using longitude and latitude coordinates. Check Rainbow Resource Center and Cathy Duffy Reviews for ideas.

The Study of Geography

The study of geography brings together the natural sciences and social sciences. The National Geographic Society explains, “Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments.”

Geography covers the study of continents and nations, showing their topography and biomes, agriculture and industrial centers, cities and road systems, and the various ethnic cultures that shape them.

To introduce your children to geographical terms, try the picture book Geography from A to Z: A Picture Glossary.

As a child, I loved lying on the living room floor to study the topographical and political maps in our 11″ x 16″ Reader’s Digest Great World Atlas (1963). Driven by my fascination with atlases, I’ve collected many, primarily used, over the years. Here’s a sample of my collection.

Children’s Atlas of the United States Each state has a two-page spread with a small map, timeline, and facts.

Children’s Atlas of God’s World Published by Master Books, this volume covers 22 nations in two-page spreads. These pages list facts about the nation, Christian history and heritage, cultural information, world heritage sites, and maps with important sites marked.

Atlas of the World This thicker volume offers an overview of planet Earth, an introduction to each continent, and features a few nations on each continent with a focus on Europe and the Americas. Simple maps are surrounded by pictures, quick facts on culture and history.

The Eyewitness Atlas of the World This Dorling Kindersley book mixes pictorial maps that highlight natural resources and industry with photographs paired with short paragraphs in the typical DK publication style. It opens with a summary of the earth, followed by chapters on each continent and highlights of a few countries. Includes a glossary and an extensive index.

The homeschool curriculum company Geomatters offers several geography resources. The Ultimate Geography & Timeline Guide teaches geography from multiple angles.

• Unit one covers the basics of maps and globes and the different branches of geography.
• Unit Two examines world cultures and current events and suggests various fun activities.
• Unit Three addresses geography across the curriculum.
• Unit four offers a study of the continents at the middle and high school levels.

In 2007, my grandparents took a five-month cruise around the world. I asked for a copy of their itinerary and turned it into a second-grade geography curriculum for my son. From January through May, we traced their route (in red) on our laminated wall map and read about their ports of call.

The same year, my sister’s family took a cruise through the Panama Canal (in green). [world map]

Maps in the Curriculum

My love of geography spilled into my lesson plans for my children. We used maps extensively in our history lessons and incorporated them into other subjects.

History

I printed maps from Knowledge Quest’s Blackline Maps of World History CD (2004) that coordinated with the historical period we were studying. My kids labeled cities, nations, regions, and colored bodies of water, mountains, and other geographical features. They stored these maps in their history notebooks.

Master Books has incorporated Knowledge Quest into its curriculum line, and the product is now called Map Trek.

We also used Geomatter’s blackline laminated “Mark-it Maps” with dry-erase markers in our studies. When my son was in fourth grade, we illustrated the expansion of the United States.

During our study of the Age of Exploration, we traced the routes of the various explorers.

Current Events

Similar to history, the study of current events lends itself easily to incorporating maps.

When my kids were in fifth and ninth grades (2014-15), we subscribed to World Magazine, a Christian publication, that provided a paper wall map on which we could locate current events.

Today you can use World Magazine’s student website to inform your kids about current events and mapping. Subscription required.

English

You can use maps in literature studies. For instance, if a book you’re reading includes travel, such as The Hobbit or Around the World in 80 Days, your student can mark the different points of the journey. Of course, you will need to find a map of Middle Earth to trace Biblo’s or Frodo’s journeys.

Second, you can map a collection of books as you read them. When I did Five in a Row with my son, we placed the story disks on our blackline wall map.

Third, you can mark the hometowns of the authors you read on a map.

Science

Using maps comes naturally in earth science, where you can locate features such as volcanoes and earthquake faults.

When my daughter was in second grade (2012), we went through Exploring Creation with Zoology 3: Land Animals of the Sixth Day. The curriculum had a set of animal stickers, which we placed on our world map to show where each animal lives.

Bible Study

I keep a Bible atlas beside my favorite Bible resources where I do my daily devotions. That way I can look up locations as I read them in the Bible.

Don’t neglect to show your children that the cities and other places mentioned in the Bible are real locations. Pull out a Bible map when reading about Israel’s forty years in the wilderness, Jonah’s attempted escape from God, and Paul’s four missionary journeys.

As you can see, maps can be used in nearly every subject.

Whether planning your next trip to the zoo or a summer vacation, hand your children an appropriate map and ask them to navigate you to the given location.

Lorinda K. F. Newton homeschooled her children from 2004 to 2023, and her family joined Academy Northwest in 2014. Her family lives on beautiful Whidbey Island north of Seattle, Washington. She writes about faith, culture, and governing from a biblical worldview on Substack, where she also publishes the “Newton Library Update” about her home library. Her older posts can be found on at Lorinda’s Ponderings. ©2023 by Lorinda K. F. Newton.