While the children were gone over winter break, we rearranged the furniture in the classroom. When the children returned, they were looking for materials and objects. One of the ways we helped the children find what they were looking for was by creating a map of the classroom. At first the children drew their own maps on paper, then we combined their maps together on one large poster-size board.
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| Lily had many details of the classroom in her drawing including the art table and the snack table. Lily's drawing also included the "hanging thing in the bathroom that you and Ms. Masserant always hit." |
Finally the children were given a poster with the outline of the classroom and asked to create individual objects for the map and place them in relation other objects in the classroom. As they worked on drawing the shelves, tables and cubbies, they included many details that were important to them. They noticed mirrors on the backs of shelves, baskets tucked under shelves, and the vases of dried flowers on a shelf in the art area.
While this mapping experience encourages the children to look at details, the children are also developing spatial and directional language; strengthening their fine motor skills and enhancing their ideas about perspective. By extending this experience over many weeks, the children are revisiting and refining their ideas and using other children's work to add more details to their own work.
