Where does our food come from?

We received a gorgeous shiny new map and decided to put it to use immediately!

Here we are; continent, country and city located.

We located the other continents and familiar countries, then talked about the characteristics of the map:

• Colour used to show a countries border
• Grids
• Symbols
• Legend/Key

The concept of the whole world being illustrated on a 40′ x 28″ map is a difficult thing to explain to a six-year-old. I kept the language simple. This map is part of a two map package: “Laminated Canada/World Rolled Map“, a great set for teaching many geographical concepts.

We have been collecting labels from fruit and vegetables for quite a while (thanks for the idea Glenna) and sticking them on the kitchen cupboard:

At this time of year we rarely buy fruit and vegetables anywhere but locally, or BC for apples and cherries!

During the winter we do treat ourselves to fruit from further afield.

The map is laminated and huge, giving us lots of room to add information.

Locating the country the fruit or vegetable came from, took a little while in some cases (my central American geography is sketchy).  Not all the stickers had the produce listed so I recommend adding stickers at the time of washing or eating fruit/vegetables.

This activity could easily be used in the classroom to develop map reading skills and global awareness. Would your children be willing to bring in produce stickers from home?