My Neighborhood and Simple Maps

Your child's neighborhood is the familiar area around home. It includes nearby streets and places your family visits. In the countryside, homes and farms may be spread farther apart.

Start at your door

Name the room you are in. Move toward the entrance and talk about inside and outside: "We are inside our apartment. Now we are outside, in the hallway." Home may be a house, apartment, farmhouse or mobile home.

Help your child picture small places inside bigger places. Put a drawing of their room inside a drawing of home. Put home inside a larger neighborhood drawing. Explain, "Our neighborhood is in our city. Our city is in our country." For a rural home, use the countryside around you. Nesting cups or boxes can hold the pictures.

Your child can be in a room and a country at once. If they call the city a country, point back to the pictures. Name the city and country separately, with your home inside both.

Give a visitor the address

An address gives the details needed to find a home. Start with the building number and street name. Use your real address when you practice together. An example is, "I live at 14 Maple Street, in Springfield."

1. Look at the number on your door or building. Say the digits in order.
2. Find the street sign and say the street name.
3. Put the number and street name together.
4. Add your town or city when those parts are familiar.

Practice briefly on different days. Try clapping each part or singing it to a tune. If your child swaps 14 and 41, look at the number again and follow the digits with a finger.

A full address may also need an apartment number and postal code. In the United States, it includes a state and ZIP code. The building number finds the building; the apartment number finds the home inside it. A child with two homes can learn one address at a time.

"The blue house" describes a home, but another house could be blue too. Show how the number and street name help a visitor find the right place. Explain that an address also helps mail reach your family. Practice sharing it with trusted helpers; if your child is lost, they can ask a police officer or a store worker behind a counter for help.

Link each place with an action your child knows. "We buy food at the grocery store. We play at the playground." This gives a place name a clear meaning.

Notice a few places

On a short walk or drive, choose two or three stops to talk about. Ask, "What do people do here?" Point to a useful clue, such as the pumps at a gas station or the wide truck doors at a fire station. Then name the place together.

A bus stop may have a sign, bench or shelter. People wait there for a bus. A post office is a place to mail letters and packages. At a pharmacy, people get medicine. A community center or place of worship can be a place to meet others.

Your neighborhood may have different places close by. In a rural area, the school or hospital may be a long drive away. Use the places your family actually visits.

Sort by what happens there

Back home, use photos or quick drawings to make groups:

• Buying: a grocery store and bakery.
• Learning: a school and library.
• Playing: a playground and pool.
• Getting well: a doctor's office, clinic and hospital.
• Staying safe: a fire station and police station.

Some places fit more than one group. Your child may learn at a park as well as play there. Ask what they do there before deciding where to put the picture.

Borrowing and buying

At the library, say, "We borrow these books. We bring them back so someone else can read them." At a bookstore, people buy books to keep. Let your child act this out with a toy library and store.

Compare a farm and a grocery store too. Farms grow plants and raise animals for food. Stores sell food brought to them. For a health example, explain that a doctor's office offers checkups. A hospital can care for people who are very sick or badly hurt; its emergency room is open day and night.

Shared places and private places

A public park or library is for people in the community to use. Someone else's home and yard are private places; we visit when invited. Looking alike does not make two places open in the same way. Talk about where your family can go, and who welcomes you there.

Look around with your child and ask, "What did people make here? What came from nature?" A single place can have both kinds of features.

Look at the parts of a place

A natural feature comes from nature, such as a hill, stream or rock. A built feature is made by people, such as a bridge, sidewalk or fence.

A park is a useful place to look closely. People plan it and look after it. Its swings, benches and paths are built. Trees and grass are living things, and people may have planted them. A pond may have formed naturally or been dug by people. Ask about each feature instead of sorting the whole park into one group.

If your child calls a bridge natural because it crosses a river, look at its parts. Say, "The river flows here. People built the bridge so we can cross it." If your child calls everything green natural, notice a planted lawn beside wild plants.

Name land and water

Use pictures or familiar places to show these differences:

Still water can have ripples. It means the pond does not flow along like a river. Near water, stay within arm's reach of your child and give them your full attention.

Compare two places

Choose two places your child knows, or use two photos. Ask what you can see, hear and do at each. Draw a line down a page and add a few pictures on each side.

For a park with swings and a pond with reeds, you might say, "Both places have plants. The park has swings, but the pond has water and reeds." Use both to name something shared. Use but to name a difference.

Let the pictures guide the comparison. Some parks have ponds, and some ponds have paths. If your child says, "There are birds at both," add birds to both sides. Ask for one more detail they can point to.

A special place matters because of the people, experiences or feelings connected with it. Your child's choice might be a grandparent's kitchen or a small corner of the yard.

Ask for the child's story

Ask, "Where do you like to go? Who is there with you?" Give your child time to answer. Help them finish, "My special place is … because …"

For example: "My special place is the garden because Nana and I read there." Write their words beside a drawing or photo. A place can matter even when it looks ordinary to someone else. Children who have moved or live in two homes may choose places in different neighborhoods.

Talk about feelings too. "I feel calm in the garden" and "I feel excited at the pool" connect a feeling with a place. If siblings feel differently about the same place, listen to both. Ask what happens there for each child.

Belonging to several groups

A community is a group of people who share something. It may be a place, school, language, team or faith. Your child belongs to a family and may also belong to a class, swimming group and neighborhood.

Draw your child in the middle of a page. Around them, add pictures of their groups. Let them tell you who belongs in each picture. Belonging to one group does not take away the others.

Shared places need care from the people who use them. At the library, use a quiet voice so others can read. At the park, put litter in a trash can and leave flowers growing for others to enjoy. Choose one small action together during a visit.

Find a story in a name

Notice a street or park name. A name such as "Mill Road" may remember a mill that once stood there. Some places are named after people or features of the land. Many names come from the languages of the first peoples who lived there. Mississippi, for example, comes from an Ojibwe word meaning "great river."

Ask an older neighbor or relative about a local name. Look for an information sign together. Write down the story beside your child's drawing of that place. A special place your child knows well can later become a landmark on a walk or a feature on their own map.

Position words say where one thing is compared with another. Give the word something to point to: "The sock is under the bed." When your child says "there," supply the words for what they mean.

Try the words with your body and toys

Choose a word your child knows, then add one new word. First, act it out: "Stand behind the chair." Next, place a toy: "Put the rabbit behind the chair." Then look at a picture and ask where something is. Swap roles so your child gives the instruction.

Use these pairs in daily play: in and out, on and off, inside and outside, above and below, in front of and behind, near and far. Name top and bottom when you stack blocks. Move a toy up and down as you say each word.

Show the small differences

For between, place a block on each side of the toy. Move one block away, then ask your child to put the toy between the blocks again. For above, hold a toy higher than a box without resting it on the box. Lower it onto the lid and say, "Now it is on the box."

Choose a clear front

A toy car has a front at its headlights. Put a figure in front of the car, then behind it. The car keeps its own front when you walk around it.

A plain ball has no clear front. People sitting on opposite sides may mean different places by "in front of the ball." If your child's answer surprises you, ask them to show you from where they are sitting.

Use movement words

Movement words describe the path something takes. Make a short course: "Walk around the cushion. Go through the tunnel. Step over the rolled towel." Add across, along and past during play: cross a rug, follow its edge, pass a basket.

Give one instruction at a time at first. During cleanup, say, "Books go on the shelf." At mealtime, ask for a cup next to a plate. If your child uses "in" for everything, answer with the right word: "Yes, you found it under the stool."

Use familiar places to move from "under the table" to "next to our building." Name both places so your child knows what you are comparing.

Beside or across the street?

Build a small street with boxes. Put a store beside a school on the same side. Put a playground facing the school on the other side. Say, "The store is next to the school. The playground is across from the school."

Add a home between two buildings. Ask your child to show which building is on each side. Then use the same words on a walk. A corner is where two streets meet. Walking along a fence means following its length; at the end of a street tells where the street stops or meets another street.

Near depends on what you compare

Near means a short way away. Far means a long way away. Compare two places from the same starting point. "The mailbox is 20 steps from home. The park is a 10-minute walk. The mailbox is nearer."

A park can be near home without being right next to it. There may be several buildings in between. If your child uses "next to" for any nearby place, set two toy buildings close beside each other. Move one a short way along the street to show the difference.

With three familiar places, ask which is nearest and which is farthest. You can compare the steps or time needed to reach them.

Begin left and right side by side

Stand beside your child, facing the same way. Name a hand and raise it together. A sticker on one wrist can help your child remember that side. Keep the practice playful; these words take time to learn.

Place a toy building on your child's right. Ask them to turn around without moving the building. Now it is on their left. Their right hand is still their right hand: what changed was the way they faced.

When you face each other, your right hand is opposite your child's left hand. Return to standing side by side to demonstrate again. On a route, pair the word with a landmark: "Turn left at the bakery." The bakery gives your child a clear place to look for while they learn the direction word.

A route is the way from one place to another. A landmark is something easy to notice and remember along that way. It helps your child recognize a place or remember where to turn.

Look for things that stay put

On a familiar trip, let your child choose three to five things to notice. A large tree, bridge, statue or building with a bright sign can work. A parked van or a passing dog is less useful because it can leave.

Ask, "Will we be able to find it tomorrow?" Your child may love a tiny flower beside the path. Enjoy looking at it, then ask whether someone else could spot it easily. Choose a larger nearby feature to help mark the route.

A landmark can come from nature or be built by people. A hill visible across town may guide many people. A particular gate may help just your family recognize a turn.

Connect a landmark with an action

Landmarks are especially useful where the route changes. "We turn at the bakery" tells your child both what to look for and what to do there. A landmark on a long straight part still helps them recognize the way.

Try the familiar route from home to the park: the neighbor's blue door, the giant tree, the crosswalk with the traffic light, the library, then the park gate. Say each name when it comes into view. Near roads, hold your child's hand, stop at the curb, and cross with an adult at a crosswalk or corner.

Make a picture trail

1. Photograph the landmarks during the trip.
2. At home, lay the photos in the order you passed them.
3. Ask your child to name the next picture before you show it.
4. On another trip, pause before a landmark and ask, "What comes next?"

Your child can give each landmark a memorable name, such as "the giant tree." Use that same name when you talk about the trip. If they forget one, show the photo and ask what they remember doing there. A picture at a turning point may remind them of the action as well as the place.

A route has a start, things you pass, and an end. Help your child put these parts in order before adding several directions at once.

Tell a short trip

Use first, next, then, after that and last to connect the steps. Add actions such as go straight, turn, stop, cross, go over and go through.

Here is one route told aloud:

1. "First, we go out of our door."
2. "Next, we walk past the tall hedge."
3. "Then, we turn right at the flower shop."
4. "After that, we cross at the corner."
5. "Last, we go through the museum doors."

Before a trip, talk through the plan together. During it, ask what comes next. Afterward, use landmark photos to retell it. If your child jumps from home straight to the museum, ask, "What did we pass in between?" Put that photo between the start and finish.

Work out the way home

Lay the outward-trip photos in a row. Move through them backward for the return along the same path. The last landmark you passed on the way there becomes the first one you pass on the way back.

Turns change too. A right turn at the flower shop on the way to the museum becomes a left turn there on the way home. Walk a toy figure around a corner and back again. Keep its face pointing the way it travels to show the two turns.

Play the robot game

Your child directs you toward a toy. Begin with one action: "Go forward." Add a second when that is easy: "Go forward three steps, then turn." End the route with "Stop." Swap roles and let your child carry out your directions.

If your child points and says "this way," name the action: "Yes, go straight." Pair left or right with a landmark while those words are still new.

Compare two ways

Two routes can reach the same place. One might pass the playground; another might take fewer steps. Act them out or walk them, then compare. Ask, "Which took fewer steps? What did we pass on each?" Use the route your child describes to draw a path and add its landmarks in order.

A model is a small copy of something real. A block street or toy farm lets your child move around a place in play. A map is a flat drawing that shows where things are, viewed from above.

Look down from above

Put a cup on paper on the floor. Look at it from the side, then stand beside it and look down. Its open top looks like a circle. Trace around its base. Try a block or shoe too and compare the outlines.

This view from above is called a bird's-eye view. A rectangular table looks like a rectangle from above. On a room map, you can show the bed's space without drawing its legs.

Match the arrangement

Build a model of a familiar room with small boxes. If the real bed is next to the window, put the model bed next to the model window. Match where things are, even when the toy furniture looks different.

Hide a small toy beside a model piece. Ask your child to point to the matching spot in the real room. Start with a few large pieces. Add another piece when the match is easy.

A floor map can be large enough to drive toy cars along its roads. Talk through the trip: "The car goes past the school and turns at the corner." Use a toy person on a box street to show the same route.

Connect a photo and a map

Look together at an overhead photo of your street or school. Find a familiar roof, the road and an open green space. Compare those places with a drawn map. The drawing uses simpler shapes, so it can leave out small details.

If your child thinks a playground is tiny because it looks tiny on paper, compare it with the real playground. Say, "It fits on this page. The real place has room for us to run."

Look at the whole Earth

A globe is a round model of Earth. A world map shows Earth on a flat surface. On most globes, blue shows water and other colors show land. There is much more water than land: about seven tenths of Earth's surface is covered by water.

Find your country together. Explain that your town and street are inside it, but too small to pick out on this globe. Use a neighborhood map when you want to find nearby streets and places.

A map uses symbols to stand for real things. A tree picture might stand for a park. Lines can stand for paths. The symbol can be much simpler than the thing itself.

Read what the symbols mean

A key, also called a legend, explains the symbols on that map. Look at it together. Say, "This shape means a pond. Find the same shape on the map."

Blue often shows water and green often shows grass or parks. These colors are common, but maps can use them differently. Check the key when there is one. A large symbol may simply be easier to see; it does not tell you that the real place is larger.

Follow a route at the zoo

Work through one trip a step at a time:

1. Find your spot. A star says "You are here" at the front gate.
2. Find the destination. The gray elephant picture marks the elephants.
3. Trace the path. Follow it with a finger, past the pond and around the turn at the snack stand.
4. Name what comes along the way. "Gate, pond, snack stand, elephants."

Then follow the route and match the real places to the symbols. If your child finds the elephants first, return to the star. Knowing the destination alone does not show where the trip begins.

Line the map up with the place

Hold the map so its features point toward the real ones. If the pond is ahead, its symbol should point toward the pond. Turn the paper in your hands as needed when you change the way you face. Keep the map lined up with the surroundings; turning your body does not move the pond.

Try this at home with a room map. Point from the drawn door toward the real door. Turn your body, then check the door again.

Find maps during everyday visits

Try simple maps at parks, museums, malls or school grounds. Picture books can offer routes to trace too. In Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins, follow the hen's movement through the farm pictures. In Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney, compare the child's room with the bigger places around it. Ask your child to point and trace while you read the labels.

Begin with a small place your child knows well. One room, a yard or a short familiar route gives them a few clear things to arrange.

Build it first

Use boxes or blocks for furniture and buildings. Tape or ribbon can mark paths. Walk around the real place and name the big things. Ask, "What is beside the window? Where is the door?" Let your child put the model pieces in those positions.

If a piece is in the wrong spot, compare it with the room. Ask your child to move it. A model is easy to change before drawing begins.

Draw a room from above

For a bedroom map:

1. Draw the room's outline and mark the door.
2. Add the bed, then other large furniture in its place.
3. Add a few smaller features that help someone recognize the room.
4. Write the labels your child asks for.
5. Stand in the room and check the drawing together.

Suppose the bed is beside the window, but your child draws it beside the door. Point to the real bed and window. Ask, "Where could the bed go on your map?" Let them make the change.

Your child may draw a tree or house from the side among shapes seen from above. Notice correct positions first. Show an overhead shape when it helps: "Looking down, the table is a rectangle." A favorite item may look very large on the page. Compare it with nearby things without asking for exact sizes.

Draw a way to go

Put the starting place at one end of the paper and the destination at the other. Draw a path joining them. Add the landmarks in the order you pass them. An arrow shows the travel direction.

For a trip from your back door to a vegetable patch, the path can pass a bush and shed before reaching the garden boxes. Your child can move a toy along it and say what comes next. Keep the landmarks in order even when the gaps between them are not exact.

Put the map to work

Mark a hidden toy with an X and invite someone to find it. Watch which parts of the drawing help them. If they get stuck, ask your child what could make the map clearer.

Some children will begin by placing model pieces or ordering three route pictures. Others will draw several features and add a key with two or three symbols. Offer the next small step that fits what your child can do. Let them hold the pencil and make the choices.

A treasure hunt uses clues or a map to find something hidden. Your child can play without reading: you can speak the words, show pictures or mark a map.

Choose the kind of clue

A picture clue shows a place to search. A spoken clue uses words, such as "Look under the cushion." A map clue marks a spot with an X. In a chain of clues, one hiding place holds the next clue.

Try this short chain:

1. Say, "Look under your pillow."
2. Under the pillow, place a photo of the front doormat.
3. Under the doormat, place a living-room map with an X beside the big plant.
4. At the plant, leave a card for you to read: "Look between the two big couch cushions."

The treasure is between the cushions. This hunt has four clues: two spoken clues, one picture clue and one map clue.

Set it up from the end

Choose the treasure and hiding places first. Put the treasure between the cushions. Put the last clue at the plant, then the map under the doormat, then the photo under the pillow. Keep the opening clue to give to your child.

Working backward puts every clue where the previous one will send the player. Walk the chain forward yourself before you begin. Start with three to five clues in one or two rooms.

Choose hiding places your child can reach without climbing. Keep clues away from stoves, outlets and water. Outdoors, keep your child in sight throughout the hunt.

Make each clue clear

"Behind the chair" is confusing in a room with several chairs. Add a detail that picks out one: "Behind the blue chair." Include the position word too; naming the chair alone leaves the child searching all around it.

Let your child do the finding. If they are stuck, point toward the right area or give a small hint. For a harder hunt, add a clue or another room, or give a map that needs turning to match the place.

Let your child guide you

Swap roles. Your child hides a toy, draws the place or gives you a clue. Follow what they say so they can hear whether it works. Ask for one more detail when needed. Afterward, ask which clue helped most and invite them to retell the search in order.