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Dot Map

Guest blogger: Bilge Cerezci

This next game is not only a great way to build your child’s spatial reasoning skills, but also helps them with the important life skill of reading maps. Mapping can help your children understand the world around them while strengthening their spatial thinking.

Materials:

  • Construction paper in four different primary colors
  • Index cards or small sheet of paper
  • Small ziploc bag
  • Dot stickers
  • Dry erase marker

Directions:

  • Take the construction paper and cut out four large circles from four different colors of paper that are large enough that your child can easily stand on the circle. I recommend using one sheet of paper for each circle you create.
  • After you have your circles, take an index card or sheet of paper, and use the dot stickers to create your map.
  • Your map will be a in a 4×4 pattern, keep in mind that every row needs to have the same color dot stickers.
  • Make sure your dot stickers are the same color as the construction paper you are using.
  • After you have made your map, lay your paper circles out on the floor in the same pattern as your map.
  • It’s best to secure the circles on the floor with tape so they don’t move around too much while you are playing the game.
  • Now take your map and put it into a ziploc bag.
  • Take your dry erase marker and draw a path on the ziplock bag so it shows up on the map.

When first playing this game, keep it simple and draw an easy path with two different turns of direction in it, and then get more complicated as your child becomes more confident. You can draw arrows marking the start and end of the path to make it easier for your child to follow along.

As you encourage your child to follow the directions on the card and stand on the matching dots, ask them to anticipate where they need to go next. “Which way do we turn here? Right or left?” or “Are you going to take a step forward or back? How many steps are left before we get to the end? Let’s look at our card for directions!”

Bilge Cerezci

Bilge Cerezci began her career as an educator in Turkey. After earning a bachelor of science degree in early childhood education from Bosphorus University in Istanbul, she nurtured the development of young minds as a teacher in Turkish preschools. Cerezci moved to Chicago in 2007 to pursue graduate studies at the Erikson Institute and completed her master’s degree in child development with an infancy specialization in 2009. She was awarded her PhD in applied child development from Loyola University Chicago and the Erikson Institute in 2017. During her doctoral studies, Cerezci worked for the Erikson Institute’s Early Math Collaborative, which was launched in 2007 to enhance the quality of early math education by helping preschool and early elementary school teachers incorporate effective early math instruction into their classrooms. Her work for the Early Math Collaborative focused on the refinement of a new tool designed to measure the quality of mathematics instruction in preschools and elementary schools. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member in the Child Development Department of the City Colleges of Chicago and the Teacher Education Department at Loyola University. Dr. Cerezci now resides in New York City, where she shares her knowledge and insights with the next generation of educators as an assistant professor in the Curriculum and Instruction Department at St. John’s University.

Read more posts by Bilge Cerezci

10 Replies to “Dot Map”

  1. Such a great idea! This would be fun to do with just index cards and spots, laminated. You could make pairs and then make the map on one and students could use a little person or bear counter to move on the map.

  2. Seems like this will be very fun to do with my class. I like the idea of putting the map in a bag then using a marker to draw the path line on the bag.

  3. Orienteering is one of my favorite activities and skill that seems to be lacking in today’s children/teens/young adults!! I love this idea!

  4. i like the idea to make the map but at the same time we can create shapes!Dots are also interesting for counting and learn colors

  5. What a great idea for introducing maps! I can’t wait to try this with the younger children!

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