Maps

Old Map of Daerland

I’ve always liked maps. Real or imagined, they’re artistic and quite useful.

I was cleaning out desk drawers and unearthed a forgotten map of Daerland I had sketched back when I realized I needed the layout to write the story. Of course, things changed as the story grew, and my illustrator did her magic for the final version for the book.

Map-making is a great activity for kids young and old. We read Treasure Island in my 4^th grade class and when I announce they’ll be making their own treasure maps, excitement erupts. They really take it seriously. So creative! And we're lacking in creativity these days.

There are lots of map-making ideas on social media, like spilling rice, seeds, or even watercolor on paper and tracing around the outside to make the shape of the land. I used some rancid wild rice on its way to the compost as an example. Voilà! In a couple minutes, a new country is born!

There are many different styles for map lettering and symbols. Some are black and white, some are in a limited color palette, and others are in full color. You can make them look old and weathered with tea staining, tearing, or burning the edges (adult supervision), or you can make them crisp and clean. Look up a few examples for your kids and see what they can create.

Working with real maps is also fantastic. When I was a kid, It was great fun to freehand draw maps of real countries or trace them from the atlas and fill in the info I wanted. Learning how to read a map, understand a map key, and use a map scale may all seem passé with GPS on our phones, but I would argue this is still a valuable skill and worth kids learning. Kids can make a map of a favorite place, like a park, and then visit the place to make sure their map matches. And who knows? Maybe creating a map, real or fantastical, will spark an idea for a great story!