Above Virtual Road trip Created by Miss Eleana and her son, Patrick.
It is spring break time, and although we cannot actually travel, we can take a virtual road trip with the children. Although mainly the Monarch children have been working with the map of the United States, this project is fun for all and can take on many forms. All it requires is some paper and an active imagination. (This project can of course be adapted to travel across other countries/continents).
Version I: Road trip across the United States
Take the children on a virtual road trip across the United States! Print a blank map of the United States: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e4/d7/69/e4d769742a76da9dba84a36ca541413f.jpg. Mark your starting point (San Diego) on the map and color the state of California. Now decide where you would like to go next (maybe the Grand Canyon in Arizona? Or continue to San Francisco in California? Or rather Las Vegas in Nevada?). For each state you plan on visiting, color that state and choose city(s) or landmarks to visit and mark. Learn some fun facts about each stop (e.g. state motto, state bird, state flower, state capital, state flag, points and landmarks of interest, food specialties, climate, size, etc.).
National Geographic has a wonderful website with many facts and photos for each state: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/states/. You can expand this project in various ways, for example you can include math by calculating distances, the number of days the road trip would take, the number of stops it would require for gas, how many suitcases you would need, how many pairs of shorts, how much toothpaste, etc. You can introduce language by helping the child write the names of places and states, etc. This project could morph into many things and take you many places! Have fun with it! As mentioned in a previous geography post, Montessorians use a particular color scheme for the map of the U.S., which, if you would like to follow it, can be found here: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2975/3018/products/USA_Map_2048x.png?v=1523816946
Version II: Road trip to visit family and friends in the United States (or other country)
If you have friends or family living in other parts of the U.S., you can create an alternative version of the project described above. Print the same map and color the states and mark the cities where friends and family live. Learn fun facts about the states and cities you mark on the map (as described above).
Version III: Places where you have lived/ have visited
If you have been fortunate enough to travel widely throughout the world or have lived in various places (with or without your children), you could create another version of this project. Print the same map and mark/ color all of the places you have visited/ lived. Show your children your pictures from these places, and talk to them about your adventures there. You can take the same approach to learning about these places as described above.