Map Makers

Directions:

This vacation activity will give your kids an opportunity to exercise their cartographic skills and have some fun in the process.

Once your kids have gotten their bearings, ask each family member to draw his or her own map of the place you're visiting. The map should start with the place where you're staying, whether it's a hotel, motel, relative's house, or campsite. Then, based on your comings and goings, see if your kids can expand the map to include nearby roads, buildings, or landmarks that are of importance to them. When the maps are complete, study them to see what was considered worthy of representation.

The maps will serve as a fun record of what is of interest to your children. Should you return to the place, you can pull out the maps beforehand to rekindle fond memories. Be sure to have your kids revise the map when you revisit; the differences will help you chronicle your child's growth. Your kids will also get a chuckle when they see that they chose features such as the "really cool driveway" or the "neat climbing rocks."

More on: Games for the Whole Family

Excerpted from:

© 2005 by Steve and Ruth Bennett. Excerpted from 365 Unplugged Family Fun Activities with permission of its publisher, Perseus Books Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

To order this book visit perseusbooksgroup.com.