Written from the vantage point of both a mother and teacher educator, the author recounts the journey taken by Sarah, her 4-year old daughter, as she is introduced to and explores map making as a means of representing and making sense of familiar and unfamiliar places. Offering Sarah's experience as context, the author offers both a practical and theoretical discussion of children's emerging geographic literacy, its relationship to identity development and the importance of understanding children's experience and socio-emotional development to inform pedagogy.