I just attended a GeoFest ( Geographers’ Festival, November 2021) where a topic of research reinforced what I automatically did with my fourth graders.

My students loved to work with a variety of maps. Some even explored them during indoor recess! Add dry-erase markers and a little guidance for discovery and the idea of a larger world begins to make sense.

Relative geography uses the cardinal directions and words such as near, above, below, and next to, which allows a person to find a place relative to another thing or place. My house is at the end of the block, next to the house with the yellow front porch. Nebraska is above Kansas. Montana is north of Wyoming. The Atlantic Ocean touches the eastern United States.

What joy can you distribute in your relative geographical landscape?  I hope you will use your instincts to reach out and give a reason for smiles to spread in your wake. Around you. Above you and beside you. Be the relative point of joy in someone’s day.