Cook and Count

Children can make relief maps on plastic trays with mashed potatoes.

You will need 4 mashed potatoes per child, a plastic tray with sides, a plastic knife, various vegetables, cut up and some Parsley sprigs.

Put the potato on the tray and let the child/ren make a map of the neighbourhood or any place they know well.
Use the other vegetables to illustrate the places on the map- parsley for bushes or trees; carrot sticks for fences or railroad tracks. Carrot cubes and radishes can be houses.

Talk about maps. Where are you looking from? What is your point of view?
Are you a bird looking down? (bird’s eye view)

When the child/ren finish talk about each part of it in a non-critical way. Children often do not understand the relative size of things, but this is not important.

When finished, the map can be eaten!