DIY Pin Maps for Geography

Several months ago, when Adam and I were thinking of sending Oscar to a Montessori school, one of the neatest activities we saw at the school we toured was a pin map that looked somewhat like this:

(Photo source: Montessori Elementary)

So when we started studying geography in earnest last month, I knew we just had to have one! I really loved The Kavanaugh Report's ingenious idea of using corkboard for the map, but I did not love the thought of painstakingly cutting out all those little countries and tracing each one! So I came up with a shortcut. Without further ado, here is the tutorial for my version!

Materials needed:

-One 12" corkboard square tile (this is what I bought)

-5 thumbtacks

-Sharpie (make sure it's a fresh one with lots of ink!)

-Heavy-duty toothpicks or T-pins

-White glue

-Packing tape

Step 1

Print an outline map of your desired continent. I couldn't find a proper-sized picture of South America, so I copied one to a Word document with 1/2-inch margins, and maximized the image size as large as it would go. The final printed South America image was about ten inches, which gave a nice space of an inch either way on the corkboard.

Step 2

Center the map on the corkboard and pin down all four corners so it won't shift around.

Step 3

Using the remaining thumbtack or some other more ergonomic piercing device, punch holes very close together around the outlines of the countries.

Step 4

Here's where the magic begins! Take that Sharpie and trace over the outlines that you just punched. Take your time to really let the ink soak through.

Check out what's happening underneath!

Magic.


Step 5
After punching and inking the entire map, remove the paper and go over your lines again with the Sharpie to really make them pop. Voila, you have your map!

This part took me about forty minutes to make.

Step 6
Time to make flags! I bought the flag set PDF from Montessori Print Shop and used their instructions to make our little flags. Oscar got to help with this part by pulling the little plastic tops off our fancy toothpicks we already had in the house, and by handing me one toothpick and flag at a time to assemble. Next time, I think we're going to go with T-pins, because Oscar ended up breaking a couple flags (after all that hard work!) before he got the hang of poking them in the existing corkboard crevices. Metal T-pins should hold up a bit better.

Step 7
Use it! Like The Kavanaugh Report, I didn't print a control map and just had Oscar get up to look at our wall map instead. Easy peasy. I'd post some pictures of Oscar at work with it, but it's been very hot here lately, and pants have been optional around our non-air-conditioned house.

Total spent on this project: about $5.



This post has been linked up with Living Montessori Now. Check out their blog for even more cool educational ideas!