Kiddos

A Olivia & Doudou learning journey

Help people find a way

How can pictures, maps and crossings help us connect places?

Turn a place into a map, add directions, notice natural and built features, then connect settlements with routes and crossings.

Begin the journey

At your own pace.

Use one chapter at a time over several visits. Open the related notebook page only when it helps the conversation.

A discovery to listen for.

The child can match a feature to a symbol, explain a direction from the compass, and connect two places with a plausible route or crossing. Accept pointing, signing, words or an adult-supported drawing; revisit individual lesson checks when useful.

  1. 1Olivia hugs Doudou beside a small park model. Three views show a red-roof pavilion on the left, a tree at the back right and a pond at the front right, ending with a simple symbol map.

    Start here

    One Place, Three Views

    What stays the same in the three pictures?

    Match three features across a side view, a directly overhead view and a simple map of the same place.

    Explore this lesson
  2. 2Olivia and plush Doudou study an imaginary park map on a table. A title, symbols, matching key and a compass rose explain how maps work. A path leads from a start star across a bridge to a playground. North, east, south and west are labeled.

    Build on your last discovery

    How to Read a Map

    What does the title tell us?

    Use a title, key and compass rose to interpret a simple map and follow a connected path.

    Explore this lesson
  3. 3A bird’s-eye garden surrounds a four-point compass: a tree north, flowers east, a bench south and a playground west. Olivia and supported plush Doudou observe from a corner.

    Build on your last discovery

    North, South, East & West

    What is east of the compass?

    Use four compass directions to describe the positions of places from one clear reference point.

    Explore this lesson
  4. 4From a train window Olivia and plush Doudou observe a labeled river, hill and woodland, plus a bridge, road and houses built by people. The road crosses the river on the bridge.

    Build on your last discovery

    Nature & People Shape Places

    Which labeled feature carries the road across the river?

    Compare natural and human-built landscape features and describe how one built feature relates to nature.

    Explore this lesson
  5. 5Olivia and Doudou look from a safe viewpoint across a connected landscape: a dense city, a town with shared spaces, a small village, and fields and woods around them.

    Build on your last discovery

    Cities, Towns, Villages & Countryside

    What looks different between the city and the village here?

    Compare visible settlement patterns and describe a connection between built places and surrounding countryside.

    Explore this lesson
  6. 6Olivia examines three house models: an overhang shading a window, a sloping roof carrying rain downwards, and a living floor raised on supports. Doudou rides securely in her backpack.

    Build on your last discovery

    Homes and Their Surroundings

    What is making shade over this window?

    Explain one visible relationship between a home feature and its surroundings, without assigning one house type to an entire country.

    Explore this lesson
  7. 7A harbor scene groups a train, bus and bicycle on land, a ferry and sailboat on water, and an airplane in the sky. Olivia holds Doudou behind a viewing barrier.

    Build on your last discovery

    Ways We Travel

    Which vehicles travel on water?

    Sort six familiar vehicles by the environment in which they travel and explain a choice.

    Explore this lesson
  8. 8Three scenic examples show a beam bridge with support below its deck, a stone arch bridge and a red suspension bridge with hanging cables. Olivia watches from a protected promenade with Doudou in her backpack.

    Build on your last discovery

    Bridges Connect Places

    What is the deck of a bridge?

    Recognize three bridge forms and identify a visible part that supports each crossing.

    Explore this lesson

For teachers

A sequence you can adapt.

Turn a place into a map, add directions, notice natural and built features, then connect settlements with routes and crossings.

Paper and a pencil or crayon; the pictures can be viewed on a screen. No purchase or travel is needed. Read the answer cues and offer a described or pointed response.

  1. One Place, Three Views

    Match the same features across side, overhead and symbol views.

    Return prompt: The simple map uses shapes for features. Next, use a map key to match symbols with meanings.

  2. How to Read a Map

    Match symbols with the key and follow a connected route.

    Return prompt: The key tells us what a symbol means. Next, use directions to describe where it is.

  3. North, South, East & West

    Describe positions from one compass reference point.

    Return prompt: Directions help us describe a place. Next, notice which features are natural and which people built.

  4. Nature & People Shape Places

    Explain how a built feature relates to natural surroundings.

    Return prompt: Natural features and buildings share a landscape. Next, compare places where people live together.

  5. Cities, Towns, Villages & Countryside

    Compare visible settlements and a connection between them.

    Return prompt: Look within one settlement. Next, notice useful features of homes and their surroundings.

  6. Homes and Their Surroundings

    Explain the useful feature shown on one home model.

    Return prompt: Homes are connected with other places. Next, choose ways people might travel between them.

  7. Ways We Travel

    Choose a way of traveling that fits a route.

    Return prompt: A route may meet a gap. Next, compare three ways bridges support a crossing.

  8. Bridges Connect Places

    Identify a bridge support and explain its crossing.

    Return prompt: A crossing can also be a landmark. Next, recognize the Golden Gate Bridge among three book destinations.

Closing check: Tell a pretend journey and explain a connection, a useful destination and one way to care for the place.

Take this journey onto paper.

The poster pack includes every lesson in this journey. The companion includes parent conversations, classroom plans and a discovery record.

A3 poster PDFA4 poster PDFUS Letter poster PDFConversation & classroom guide