Creating a geography craft is a fantastic way to teach geography in a hands-on way that won’t soon be forgotten. Also, look at my pages Homeschool Geography , Free Africa Unit Study for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning | Free Continent & Country Reports and Learn About Indigenous Animal Geography Fun Activity for Preschool to Elementary for more ideas and tips.
When you think of geography most likely you think of map skills, states, countries, mountain ranges, etc.
But it is so much more than that.
Geography is the study of Earth and the forces that shape it, both physical and human.
Specifically, it is the study of Earth’s landscapes, its people, places, and the environment.
I am going to show you how to make an embroidered map.
We made Africa but you can apply the same technique to any map you like.
You also don’t need to be an embroidery expert.
I am fairly new to it myself. If you know how to sew a basic stitch, you can create this pretty keepsake map.
Not only is sewing your embroidery map a fantastic way for kids to learn geography but they also are learning a beautiful handiwork skill that will translate into hobbies or maybe even a career later in life.
It is great practice in fine motor skills, patience, planning, spatial recognition, and of course art!
6 Facts About The Continent of Africa
First, look at these facts about Africa.
- There are 54 different countries in Africa and 9 dependent territories with more than 1.3 billion people living on the continent.
- More than half of the African continent is covered by grassland or savannah.
- Northern Africa is made up mostly of the vast Sahara Desert and the semi-arid Sahel zone which also includes fertile land in the Nile delta.
- Central Africa has rainforests and coastal plains. It is also home to the continent’s highest mountains and lakes.
- Southern Africa is mainly on a high plateau.
- The southernmost city on the African continent is Cape Town in South Africa. It has about 5 million inhabitants and is one of the most populous cities in the world.
Next, look at some of these books to add to your collection about Africa.
Books About Africa
13 Resources for Children Studying About Africa
Add one or two of these books to your study about the art of Africa.
Africa For Kids: People, Places, Culture gives children not only a peek into the land and its people but the artwork of even simple everyday items like weaving and serving plates.
Here is a coloring book filled with African souvenirs to color that is soothing and a great springboard for discussion.
I found this beautiful book of African Patterned Scrapbook paper that can be used for many craft projects.
Atinuke’s first non-fiction title is a major publishing event: a celebration of all 55 countries on the African continent! Her beautifully-written text captures Africa’s unique mix of the modern and the traditional, as she explores its geography, its peoples, its animals, its history, its resources and its cultural diversity. The book divides Africa into five sections: South, East, West, Central and North, each with its own introduction. This is followed by a page per country, containing a delightful mix of friendly, informative text and colourful illustrations.
Enter into the daily life of children in the many countries of modern Africa. Countering stereotypes, Africa Is Not a Country celebrates the extraordinary diversity of this vibrant continent as experienced by children at home, at school, at work, and at play.
With its wide sky and warm earth, Princess Gie Gie’s kingdom is a beautiful land. But clean drinking water is scarce in her small African village. And try as she might, Gie Gie cannot bring the water closer; she cannot make it run clearer. Every morning, she rises before the sun to make the long journey to the well. Instead of a crown, she wears a heavy pot on her head to collect the water. After the voyage home, after boiling the water to drink and clean with, Gie Gie thinks of the trip that tomorrow will bring. And she dreams. She dreams of a day when her village will have cool, crystal-clear water of its own.
Artists Leo and Diane Dillon won their second consecutive Caldecott Medal for this stunning ABC of African culture. "Another virtuoso performance. . . . Such an astute blend of aesthetics and information is admirable, the child's eye will be rewarded many times over."
Omar and his brother Hassan, two Somali boys, have spent a long time in the Dadaab refugee camp. Separated from their mother, they are looked after by a friendly stranger. Life in the camp isn't always easy. The hunger is constant . . . but there's football to look forward to, and now there's a chance Omar will get to go to school . . .With a heart-wrenching fairytale ending, this incredible true story is brought to life by Victoria's stunning illustrations. This book perfectly depicts life in a refugee camp for 8-12 year olds.
When a terrible drought struck William Kamkwamba's tiny village in Malawi, his family lost all of the season's crops, leaving them with nothing to eat and nothing to sell. William began to explore science books in his village library, looking for a solution. There, he came up with the idea that would change his family's life forever: he could build a windmill. Made out of scrap metal and old bicycle parts, William's windmill brought electricity to his home and helped his family pump the water they needed to farm the land. Retold for a younger audience, this exciting memoir shows how, even in a desperate situation, one boy's brilliant idea can light up the world. Complete with photographs, illustrations, and an epilogue that will bring readers up to date on William's story, this is the perfect edition to read and share with the whole family.
Things Fall Apart is the first of three novels in Chinua Achebe's critically acclaimed African Trilogy. It is a classic narrative about Africa's cataclysmic encounter with Europe as it establishes a colonial presence on the continent. Told through the fictional experiences of Okonkwo, a wealthy and fearless Igbo warrior of Umuofia in the late 1800s, Things Fall Apart explores one man's futile resistance to the devaluing of his Igbo traditions by British political andreligious forces and his despair as his community capitulates to the powerful new order. With more than 20 million copies sold and translated into fifty-seven languages, Things Fall Apart provides one of the most illuminating and permanent monuments to African experience. Achebe does not only capture life in a pre-colonial African village, he conveys the tragedy of the loss of that world while broadening our understanding of our contemporary realities.
Those looking for a concise yet informative, visually breathtaking yet affordable East African safari need look no further than this spectacular field guide. Featuring full-color photos of 475 common species of bird, mammal, snake, lizard, insect, tree, and flower, Wildlife of East Africa takes us on an exquisite one-volume tour through the living splendor of the main national parks and game reserves of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Many of the species included--from pelicans to plovers, ostriches to elephants, from the daintiest of antelopes to cattlelike giants, from leopards to lions, baboons to gorillas, chameleons to crocodiles, acacias to aloes--also inhabit neighboring countries. The selection was based on the personal experiences of the authors, wildlife experts who have been leading safaris in the region for more than twenty years.
Heads up: this is a great book but there is a rite of passage and has a part about circumcision.
Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton gives American kids a firsthand look at growing up in Kenya as a member of a tribe of nomads whose livelihood centers on the raising and grazing of cattle. Readers share Lekuton's first encounter with a lion, the epitome of bravery in the warrior tradition. They follow his mischievous antics as a young Maasai cattle herder, coming-of-age initiation, boarding school escapades, soccer success, and journey to America for college. Lekuton's riveting text combines exotic details of nomadic life with the universal experience and emotions of a growing boy.
Fifteen-year-old Amadou counts the things that matter. For two years what has mattered are the number of cacao pods he and his younger brother, Seydou, can chop down in a day. The higher the number the safer they are. The higher the number the closer they are to paying off their debt and returning home. Maybe. The problem is Amadou doesn’t know how much he and Seydou owe, and the bosses won’t tell him. The boys only wanted to make money to help their impoverished family, instead they were tricked into forced labor on a plantation in the Ivory Coast. With no hope of escape, all they can do is try their best to stay alive—until Khadija comes into their lives. She’s the first girl who’s ever come to camp, and she’s a wild thing. She fights bravely every day, attempting escape again and again, reminding Amadou what it means to be free. But finally, the bosses break her, and what happens next to the brother he has always tried to protect almost breaks Amadou. The three band together as family and try just once more to escape.
Next look at more geography crafts.
More Geography Craft Ideas
- How to Make a Paper Mache Planet Earth is a simple classic craft idea to familiarize your child with the landforms and bodies of water of the planet.
- Make a Fun and Easy Salt Dough Daniel Boone Wilderness Road Map
- Paper Art Landforms are beautiful and interesting, helping to cement the different landforms in their mind.
- Hands-on Geography Mesopotamia: Fun Salt Dough Map
- As a big fan of LEGO I of course agree– Is There Anything You Can’t Do With Lego? This demonstrates a simple map of Australia. Crafts don’t have to be consumable items, a reusable resource like LEGO gives you endless use.
- Hands-on Geography: Longitude/Latitude Mapmaking Activity
- Lewis and Clark Louisiana Purchase Edible Map
- Another delicious map idea is How to Make a Rice Krispies Edible Map.
- Marco Polo Unit Study – Salt Dough Map + Free Printable Map Flags
Finally, look at how to learn a handwork skill and geography too.
Embroidered Map Fun Geography Craft
Depending on skill, age, ability, and how often it is worked on this will probably take about 2-4 hours total.
It is a lot for one day, especially for a child who is new to the craft and should be broken up over several days.
Also, know that the marker fades after several days.
You will need:
- Embroidery fabric
- Embroidery needles
- Embroidery thread
- Embroidery loom
- Water erasable pen
- Map outline of Africa
Print a physical map of Africa (or whatever continent or country you like).
I highly recommend reducing the size by 25% or 50% before printing.
I printed my full size, and it was too big for my hoop.
If this is the case for you just move the fabric around until you can embroider the whole piece.
Cut a piece of thin embroidery fabric to a few inches larger than the map all the way around.
Tape the printout to a window and then tape the fabric over it.
Use the fabric marker to trace the outline of the map.
Then any important characteristics like mountains, rivers, etc.
Place your fabric on your embroidery hoop, pull it tight, and tighten down the screw.
Cut off a piece of black thread about as long as your arm.
You can use the full thickness of the embroidery thread or carefully pull off 3 or 4 of the strings to use if you would like a thinner line.
Run the thread through the needle, leaving about 3 inches of a tail coming out the eye of the needle. On the other end knot as close to the end as you can and then trim excess.
Come through the back side with the needle, pinching the tail of the thread with the needle. Start at one end of the outline and stitch in and out, starting a new stitch very close to the last one.
Continue until you have filled in the complete outline.
When you’re finished with the outline, tie a knot in the end of the thread, as close as you can to the fabric.
Use different colors to mark off each of the topographical features like mountains and rivers.
Fill in each area with a different type of stitch if you like to create interest and make it more obvious that the land is different.
Flip your fabric over and cut any loose threads to clean up the back. It’s okay if your back is messy from big knots or thread running all the way across, you won’t see it on the final product!
You can either wait for the purple fabric marker to fade to invisible or use a wet paintbrush to brush away the marker, it will just fade out.
To display, you can either mount it in a hoop, place it in a frame behind glass, or back it with felt to make it stiff for tabletop use.
