Monday, August 25, 2008

A new meaning for Map*Quest

In a homeschooling house, it IS possible to separate the school from the other aspects of life. Around here, we can, but it's not necessarily fun. Or blogworthy. :-)

We have been studying Geography. For the groundwork, we have been studying maps, map language, and how to read/write maps.

On Saturday, we needed to purchase pants. What a better chance to try out our mapping skills - than at the Mall?? We took the Professor who took over the orienteering lesson. (It's one of his skills)

Here he is doling out grid paper and pencils in front of the "Directory".

He told them the number of the store we sought.
He told them what they needed on their maps.


And right about that Time J-man needed to find the potty.
Incidentally, the nearest one was down the escalator.
So down we went.

And came back to find this:


And this:

They had to write the legends down. They needed to note landmarks such as telephones and escalators.



We managed to find the store we sought.
There has been some discrepancy about who's map was best, but we managed to get to the store without too many hitches.

Of course, the Professor didn't bother to tell them that there were little folded maps of the mall right there for them to take.

And they didn't notice.

9 comments:

The Gang's Momma! said...

Okay, all that orienteering stuff is cool and all. But I'm mostly impressed that you ventured out to a MALL in BACK TO SCHOOL season. And you don't seem to have lost your salvation in the process. Kudos to you :)

Peculiar Blogs said...

Great stuff!! It sounds like fun! And great way for the Professor to get involved!

Monkey Giggles said...

That is a creative idea. I might need to use that.

I can get loss in a box. I am terrible about directions.

Livin' Life said...

That sounds like so much fun. I remember my years that my mom home schooled me and my brother but this sounds like actual fun.

Kelli said...

That is an awesome idea. Really. Woah. Very impressed!

Growin' With It said...

man, homeschooling can be so much F-U-N!

Anonymous said...

What a great idea. If I could bring myself to drive through Honolulu traffic to get to the mall, I would give it a try. But, at the thought of the traffic my courage fails. I am a weak, weak woman.

PS- ComfyDenim, Thanks for stopping by my corner of the web

Katie said...

Even though we are no longer "technically" homeschooling, we do this kind of stuff too. How else are they supposed to learn? Worksheets? Textbooks? (snorts incredulously)

Halfmoon Girl said...

great idea!