Sunday, May 27, 2012

Road Trip Map for K

K, being four, is very interested in everything we do ALL THE TIME. It's a million questions for a trip to the grocery store. So I want her to be involved and as aware of what is going on with our trip as she can be. We are going to have our maps/gps to tell us where we are but  I really don't think she gets it by looking at stuff like that yet. She is only starting to realize when she sees the Arch in pictures that , hey, that's where I live.

I started brainstorming about giving her a map or something she could draw on that would be easy for her to understand and not just a regular old fold up map.  She's  awesome at her colors and really starting to always remember her letters and numbers.

I went online and found a site called : EduPlace . They have awesome black and white line drawing maps of the whole country and the world.  So I took the whole USA map and brought it into Photoshop ( but you could use any program for this)  and I traced around only the states we would be driving through. Can you see my excellent tracing skills?



I colored each a different color and put their abbreviations into each one.After I did, that I deleted the layer that the black and white map was on. I blew it up to be a whole 8.5'x 11" sheet size and added the fun border and title .



Now as we pass from state to state, I can tell her and she can fill in the state we are in. Of course the heart is home and the star is Pensacola Beach , FL where we are heading. You could do this with any road trip you are doing. If you have any questions, please ask me.  Happy travels this summer!




Monday
What is the Gunny Sack -Making the world Cuter -Debbie Doo -DIY How Off
DIY Shop - Lines Across My Face -I should be mopping the Floor
Great Fun 4 Kids

Tuesday

How to Nest For Less - Tip Junkie - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia -The Kurtz Corner
Sugar Bee - Romance On A Dime - Chronic Christian Crafter - Funky Polka Dot Giraffe
The Winthrop Chronicles


Wednesday
Oopsey Daisy - Thrifty Home - Someday Crafts - Sew Much Ado
- Junk in Their Trunk  - Southern Lovely


Thursday

My rePurposed Life - Beyond the Picket Fence - Somewhat Simple - Live Laugh Rowe
Loving this Crazy Life -Scrappy Crafty Happy - Fireflies and Jellybeans - The Shabby Cottage
Quality Cheap Home  - The Taylor House
House of Hepworths

Friday


Naptime CraftersStay At Home Nation
Young and CraftyMy Turn(ForUs)
Delicate Construction
Serenity Now
Family Ever After


Saturday



Six Sister's Stuff
Be Different Act Normal


Sunday
Nifty Thrifty Things

40 comments:

  1. That is so cute and clever! Thanks for sharing! Pinning. :)

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  2. Great idea!!! Happy travels. Hopping over from the newbie party XO

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    1. Thanks, Katherine. Nice to meet other newbies!

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  3. Wow Emily its looks like were neighbors. I too live in St Louis.
    Visiting from newbie party.
    Anne

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  4. My kids make up maps all of the time it is really funny to see how we get from our house to say Disneyland on their maps! Thanks for providing the link for the maps I think we will use that this summer on our travels.
    Jennifer
    http://www.practicallyperfectprincess.com

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    1. Thanks, Jen. That's so cute that they like doing that. I hope my daughter likes it too.

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  5. That's a really fun idea ... and I love the educational component to it as well!

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    1. Thanks, Randi. It's fun to slip that education in there :)

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  6. This is a great idea! I know when I was a kid, for our family trips I was always the one with a map in hand. It's so fun to look at and trace the progress.

    Thanks for sharing this at Romance on a dime. I'm pinning this.

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    1. Thanks, Betsy. I appreciate the pin and the compliment.

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  7. Great idea! When we travel my daughter always wants to know how much time we have left...in minutes. I always keep a calculator handy:)

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    1. Dude... in minutes? now that's chart I can't make.

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  8. Replies
    1. Thanks to the person with the awesome name!

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  9. What a smart idea! Thank you for sharing it.

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  10. Replies
    1. Thank you, Melissa and thanks for visiting!

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  11. I just saw this on Shabby Creek Cottage and had to check it out. We live in STL and will be traveling to Destin in a couple of weeks. How cute is this? Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thanks, neighbor. Have a great trip. I can't wait to go.

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  12. This is a great idea! A great "tangible" tool for the little ones...love it! And, and great answer for the "are we there yet?" Thanks for sharing...so cute! Thanks for sharing with us @ Toot Your Horn Tuesday!

    Erin

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    1. Thanks, Erin. We'll see how it does firsthand soon.

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  13. I'm definitely going to do this before we go on a road trip this summer for my youngest. I've always shown the kids a regular road atlas, but this is so much easier for them to decipher.

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    1. Cool. I hope they like it as much as mine did.

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  14. Hi Emily,

    Here from the Freedom Hop, love your blog description, I can relate! Now following, would love for you to come on by and visit sometime :)

    Hugs, Tanya

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    1. Thanks and you make some really cute things. I'm following back.

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  15. I love maps! My mother used to have us put together a wooden map of the United States. I also loved knowing where we were at. (We moved often) and I learned so very much about geography. I still have the puzzle. This would have been something that I loved. (hard to keep up with wooden puzzle pieces in the car,lol) Thank you for not only sharing a great idea at Freedom Fridays but also bringing great memories back to me:)

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    1. No Problem, Evelyn. I'm glad it brought you back.

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  16. I featured your project this week at Romance on a dime!! Feel free to pick up a featured button!!

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    1. EEEEeeeeeee.... Thanks , Betsy. That is so sweet. I'll go grab that now.

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  17. Cute idea and should really keep your little one busy on the trip. Map reading is becoming a lost art!
    Visiting from Taylor House...

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  18. Thank you so much for sharing this at Taylor House Thursday! You were one of the top views last week and are being featured today!

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  19. Great idea... and wow that looks like a looong road trip!

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    1. It was. 15 hours with stops. They did good though.

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  20. Another great idea!! I am now your newest follower. (and a KC gal, we are practically neighbors ;) Welcome to blogland!
    Shelby @ The Bean Sprout Notes

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    1. Thanks, Shelby. Hey neighbor! If you are ever in the STL let me know.

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  21. This is a great idea for the little ones!! We love it. We appreciate you linking up to our "Strut Your Stuff Saturday". Hope you'll come back soon! -The Sisters

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    1. Thanks, ladies. I'll see you next week or sooner.

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