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MAP WORLD
Children are fascinated by maps of the world. Using maps in art projects is both a way of teaching them about geography and a way of showing them how easy it is to alter the world (great for kids who want to feel more in control of their environment). You can buy an inexpensive paperback atlas in many bookstores.
Choose any map from the atlas, tear it out, and follow our suggestions below to make your own "Map World." For example, if you use a map of the United States you can:
- Color in all the mountains, shade in the rivers and other bodies of water, and put a star sticker on the capital of each state.
- Cut out each state and make a collage of your new United States. You can make an abstract design, you can group all the large states on one side and all the small ones on another, or you can switch states that your child has an interest in (if you live in Kansas City and Grandma lives in New York and your child would like her to be closer to you, just move New York next to Kansas).
- arrange the states into a new alphabetized United States. Start with Alabama in the northwest corner and move down and around until you end up with Wyoming where Florida used to be.
When you're done with the maps in the atlas, you might try drawing a map of your own neighborhood. Using graph paper or plain white paper, draw in the streets, the houses, the parks, and whatever monuments or landmarks your child loves.
Copyright ©1993 by Meredith Brokaw and Annie Gilbar