Preschool Treasure Maps


Well, this turned out to be a little bit of work on my part, but it was my own fault.  I was trying to be lazy, but my four year old would not have it.


He really likes maps so we checked out the book   Follow That Map!: A First Book of Mapping Skills from the library.  This is a great introduction to all kinds of maps and the features of maps.  A group of children loses their cat and dog and go looking for them using a variety of maps, asking the reader questions along the way.


Here comes the part where I don't look so good.  Drew's favorite map was the treasure map and he really wanted to do a project with a treasure map.  (Sometimes I just curse myself for coming up with such crazy fun projects. Sigh.)  I am almost always up for a good project, but this was Sunday morning.  Early Sunday morning. And I could not be described as a morning person.  I briefly thought about making one of our letter treasure maps, but I thought I could pacify him with printing off a treasure map to color.  There's lots online but I used one I found on Spoonful.


Do I even need to tell you that this was not going to cut it?  This is the point when I thought, this kid is driving me crazy.  He needs to burn off some energy.  I'll modify the map so he has to move around a lot.  And once I had started that I figured why not add some letter recognition in there since I was already off the couch anyway?

I made some construction paper cut-outs that said things like, "Take 10 big steps.  Find A in the dining room." and "Do 20 jumping jacks.  Find B in the kitchen." (See how I snuck some counting practice in there too?  Sneaky, aren't I?) 


I stuck these to the map.


I also made 3 letters for each room.  I put a smiley face on the back of the correct letter.


Then I hid them:


My two year old stayed interested for about 4 letters, but Drew did the whole thing and then did it all again.  It didn't hurt that the last stop had two chocolate/gold coins.  What's a treasure map if it doesn't lead to treasure?

24 comments:

  1. Sounds like a fun way to burn off some extra energy!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am in awe of you. You are such a great mom. This looks like so much fun.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for this idea! My son adores following maps and I'm running out of ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'll have to check this out at the library. Cole is all about maps.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That is so creative! This activity took a lot of planning on your part but looks well worth it. This would be a fun activity to capture on video. I hope you will stop by and share this (and any other arts, crafts and play posts) on Artsy Play Wednesday on Capri + 3. I hope to see you there.

    : 0 ) Theresa
    http://www.multiples-mom.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Definitely looking for that book. My son likes following maps, too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is such a great idea! I'm going to have to pin this one so I remember for when we do school! Thanks for sharing. Found your post from the Sharing Saturday linky party!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very Creative! Will try this on days when my kids and I are in the opposite ends of the energy scale.

    Thanks for the inspiration :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. so fun! Just wanted to invite you to join my Tasteful Tuesday Party. I have been hosting a recipe party (pretty successfully!!!) for over a year now, and this week we are opening up for crafts, DIY and home decor. Hope you can come by and check it out! http://www.nap-timecreations.com/2012/08/fresh-pesto-pasta-salad-and-tasteful.html

    ReplyDelete
  10. what a super fun idea!!

    Would love it if you could share this on my link party that runs from Saturday-Thursday @ www.serenityyou.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is fantastic! I love it and can't wait to do it. Thanks for the idea. Pinning. (sugarsnips.com)

    ReplyDelete
  12. So great! I've often thought about teaching my kiddie how to read maps by teaching him to navigate our neighborhood. This is a great idea to get us started!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh, that sounds so fun!! Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. That book looks awesome and my kids would LOVE this. Thanks for the inspiration. Maybe I will incorporate it into our first week of homeschool. http://thehandleyhome.blogspot.com Love your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Cute idea! I have a little guy that loves anything pirates. We will give this a try!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Love this!! Stopping by from Mom's Library Link-Up :)

    xx melissa @ mamamiss

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ahhhh this is awesome! I can see how it would be a ton of work, and I LOL'd at you trying to be lazy. So much fun. I'm going to have to create something like this for my little ones. Thanks for sharing with The Sunday Showcase. :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Awesome idea! Thanks for sharing. I hope you’ll link this up today (or anytime this weekend) at One Creative Weekend on OneCreativeMommy.com.

    ReplyDelete
  19. so cute, my son would love this! Thanks for linking to the first every craft link at Tasteful Tuesdays! Hope you come back again this week and show off your stuff! Party Opens tonight at 8:30. http://www.nap-timecreations.com

    ReplyDelete
  20. Fantastic! My little one decided to make some maps--Dora style--yesterday. Yours is a little more sophisticated! Great job. Thanks so much for linking up at One Creative Weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Love this! What a fun way to combine learning and movement. Thanks for sharing at Discover & Explore.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment!