Mapping God's World on the Bathroom Wall

Sometime during the middle school years, each of my children took a world geography course where they did lots of mapping using blank outline maps. They filled in landforms like mountains, rivers, oceans, lakes, forests, grasslands, and deserts. They also filled in political maps with names of countries, capitals, and important rivers. 

At the end of the course, the children had to draw their own continents with national political boundaries using a grid. The end-of-the-year map included political boundaries, landforms, and important places. Some of them were works of art, being so precise, neat, and colorful. 

When my youngest son came along, I decided to let them do something a little more creative. They would make their final world map, but this time, it would be on the master bathroom wall. 

The first decision was to choose the map projection for the wall. They had to choose between the Robinson projection, Mercator projection, and the Universal Transverse Mercator System. They chose the Universal Transverse Mercator System which did make some of the countries look a little bit odd. 

Once we choose the projection, Jimmy and his friend carefully measured to make the lines of latitude and longitude drawing lightly with pencils. Later these would be erased. 

Using the lines, the outline of continents was drawn first with light pencil so that they could be erased if need be. 

---

Can you see the latitude and longitude lines?

After the continents were drawn, it was time for all the nations. This was the most time consuming work. Once all the countries of the world were drawn, it was time for painting each country a different color. 

When the paint dried, its was time to write the names of each nation inside the nation. ​

Our map on the master bathroom wall turned out beautifully.

However, it was a very time consuming. 

What amazed me was how much they learned about mapping and geography during this project. They had to work intensely with lines of latitude and longitude (those original lines they later erased). They had to correctly draw each nation--art and geography rolled into one!

With it being a room in a house, they had to go to Lowe's to purchase the wall paint and paint carefully to make the bathroom look nice. 

Now, that the wall is finished, it is a daily reminder to me each morning when I brush my teeth that the world is God's and He calls me to make disciples of all the nations. I pray while I brush for different nations, world revival, elections in various countries, and world leaders. It has really given me a heart for the world. 

So, one geography project taught my son an intense geography lesson and left me with an ongoing spiritual one. That's what I call a lifestyle of learning!

---

At Powerline Productions, we have lots of resources for your geography studies. 

We love the Lord, traveling, and learning all about places all around the world! So, all our geography resources are Christ-centered, travel-focused, fill of knowledge, creative, and fun! 

Travel God's World Geography, our middle school (5th -8th) geography curriculum, combines conversational text with unit study fun, mapping, crafts, living books, and research projects. Children will have a blast making their passport and traveling around the world continent to continent while they  explore landforms, cultures, missionaries, natural resources, businesses, transportation, and more!  

Travel God's World Cookbook takes families from continent to continent, too, but this time everyone gets to explore different countries and their famous sights, flags, and delicious recipes. You will love learning geography in your kitchen. 

You can join our family on a trip to London, England where we explore the sights, learn history, craft, listen to music, enjoy art, read aloud, bake, and cook our way to learning fun! Travel to London Unit Study is a blast for all ages! 

Travel the World Country Report Lapbook is a research project for older kids that culminates in creating a keepsake lapbook they can share with loved ones! Choose a country, read, research, and put together a lapbook. Everyone can work on a different country or the family can work together. 
​
​Until Next Time, Happy Homeschooling!

Love, 
Meredith Curtis

---