By Paul Dunwell, writing for EasyFrame
© Copyright EasyFrame 2019
What this article is about
If you have a jet-setting family, as I have, it's easy to forget where you've taken the kids on holiday. (Let's hope you don't arrive home without them and forget where they were last seen.) Small children may struggle to understand where they've been. Two of mine had been as far as New Zealand by the time they were five, and by now the four of them have visited the majority of countries on the planet. As memories fade, so do the details of itineraries and adventures, sometimes before you've unpacked. So there is real merit in an enduring, framed record of where you've all been.
It needn't stop with the kids. A map can show where mummy or daddy is working. It can record where relatives come from. In my own case the folk come from all four countries of the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, France, Scandinavia and the Caribbean. All of that can be captured in a project children can do with or without adult help. It's also a chance for them to talk to grandparents or great-grandparents and ask for details that ought to be recorded before they're forgotten. Such conversations forge bonds between generations.
There could be value for the elderly too. As memory fails, they may respond well to a visual reminder of the life they've led.
So this article offers a few ideas for charting origins and travels on sizeable maps that are precious or intriguing enough to frame and hang.
Keep it simple if kids are involved
The process should be easy for children to follow. Ask for their ideas, or guide them (try letting them work out what you already have in mind!). Countries, counties, cities and oceans can be shown in thousands of ways.
- Doodles. Children can make a glue-on drawing for each place, or for a memorable event or view.
- Paint. Use it for areas of flat colour.
- Collage. When I was a kid my dad made brilliant artwork by cutting scores of flat-coloured pieces from a clothing catalogue and gluing them side by side on a neutral base. (Very cleverly, it may also have stopped mum buying dresses.)
Map pins are a brilliant way to mark places you've visited, and they let you update the chart every time you go somewhere new. You need a softwood or cork backing so little fingers can push them in. Coloured string or cord can show routes.
You could colour-code it all, with a key to remind you what you had in mind. Interactive pieces like these should be framed, but it doesn't make sense to glaze them.
DIY projects apart, I love the Lonely Planet Kids travel map, which you can buy from Amazon at www.amazon.co.uk/Family-Travel-Lonely-Planet-Kids/dp/1760341010. There is a European version, and an Australian one at the Lonely Planet shop at https://shop.lonelyplanet.com/products/my-family-travel-map-australia-1. You'll probably have to iron it before you glue it to the backing board.
The appeal of a commercial product is that it gives children a neat starting point, so you are marginally more likely to end up with something that isn't an eyesore!
Educational value
It is hard to overestimate what children learn from this. They start to identify cities, countries, continents, seas and oceans, and to join the dots when they hear news from abroad. They learn about locations, distances, scales and time zones, and about climate, even if only which countries are polar, temperate or equatorial. They learn about keys, legends and symbols. You become the facilitator, and you don't need to be a teacher to do it!
Such maps can be used to plan adventures as well as record them. Your kids could turn out to be the 21st century's Phileas Fogg (from 'Around the World in 80 Days', don't you know!).
Conclusion
This sort of project is inexpensive and great fun. It can fill a few hours on a cold, dark winter's day and produce something the whole family can take pride in.
Whatever you create, you'll probably want it framing. Unless you know your stuff when it comes to picture frames and mounts, it's worth going to experts. EasyFrame is an obvious and affordable supplier, whether you want everything you'd need to do the job yourself or would rather they did it for you. Any good framer will show you a range of solutions and advise on what suits the work and where it will hang.
EasyFrame is on 01234 856 501 and sales@EasyFrame.co.uk, and they'll always chat even if you don't want to buy!