Homeschool › Outdoor Skills › Maps and CompassIf you know which way you're facing and how far you've walked, you can't stay lost for long. Horace Kephart's 1906 camping book has whole chapters on keeping a course in the woods, and the 1911 Handbook for Boys shows how to use a watch as a compass. Here you can try the old tricks and the modern compass side by side.
Things to try In any order, at your own pace. Tick what you've tried if you like keeping track; ticks stay on this device.
Find north from your front door Use a compass, or a compass app with a grown-up, to find north outside your home. Put a marker (a stone, a chalk arrow, a stick) on the north, east, south, and west sides of your yard or porch. A good goal: you can point to all four directions from memory.Learn the eight main points Add northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest to the four directions. Play “compass call”: a grown-up calls a direction and you turn to face it. A good goal: you get eight in a row right.Measure your pace Measure a straight 100-foot line with a tape measure. Walk it normally and count every time your left foot lands; that's one pace. Divide 100 by your count to find how many feet are in your pace, and write it down. A good goal: you've walked the line three times and gotten about the same count.Find direction with a shadow stick On a sunny day, push a stick upright into the ground and put a pebble on the tip of its shadow. Wait 15–20 minutes and mark the new shadow tip with a second pebble. A line from the first pebble to the second runs roughly west to east. A good goal: you've checked your line against a compass.Try the old watch trick With an analog watch in the Northern Hemisphere, point the hour hand at the sun. Halfway between the hour hand and 12 is roughly south (use 1 instead of 12 during daylight saving time). A good goal: you've tried it and compared the result with your compass.Map a room Draw a bird's-eye map of your bedroom or kitchen on graph paper. Include a north arrow, a key for your symbols, and a scale such as one square for one foot. A good goal: a family member can use the map to find something you've hidden.Map your yard or block Pace out your yard, a park, or your block and turn the paces into feet. Draw a map with a north arrow, a scale, a key, and at least five landmarks. A good goal: the map is neat enough to hang on the fridge.Read a real map Get a park trail map or a printed street map. Turn it so north on the map points north in real life, then follow a route you've planned with a grown-up. A good goal: you've led the way to a chosen spot using only the map.Set a pace-and-compass treasure hunt Hide a small treasure and write directions such as “20 paces north, then 12 paces east.” Teach a family member how to use a compass and count paces, then give them your directions to follow. A good goal: they find the treasure using only your directions.Read about it in the old books ← All outdoor skills Teddy Rook Book is not affiliated with or connected to any scouting or youth organization. These pages are free ideas to use however you like.