So my kids are a few years past preschool now, but somehow I find myself teaching preschool lessons on a weekly basis again for our homeschool co-op. Here's a lesson we recently did on maps:
First we read this very cute book:
As the Crow Flies: A First Book of Maps
The text is simple and narrates where some animals travel in a day. Then it shows a simple map of where they've gone. At the end the book shows one big map of where all the animals have gone.
Then we decided to make our own maps:
We used the following materials (one per person):
12 x 18 black construction paper
white crayons
matchbox cars
In advance I used the white crayon to draw a windy road and two houses for each child:
Then we helped them label each map to say "{child's name}'s Map" and whose house was whose on their map.
Then we had the kids draw the lines down the center of the road and add any other landmarks they wanted to add (trees, ponds, other houses, etc).
After we were done labeling and drawing, I gave everyone a matchbox car to use follow their maps. While they were playing, I reminded them about how people use maps to figure out where they're going.
The kids really enjoyed the book and the activity.
