• Find a large, open space to use for this activity-ideally, outdoors.

Gather the group in a large, open space. Tell the children to imagine the space as a map. Invite participants to think of themselves as pins they will stick in this map indicating the place where they were born. If all participants were born in the same county, state, or region, the map can represent that local area. Adjust the map if any participants were born in other countries. Participants will almost certainly need help identifying a location in the space that roughly corresponds to their birthplace.

If you have time, you might wish to repeat this game, with participants standing in a location that represents the birthplace of one of their parents, or one of their grandparents.

Acknowledge that the map will be very approximate, so no one should worry if they do not know exactly where they (or other family members) were born. Encourage all participants to make as good a guess as they can.

If you play this game with the birthplace of parents, make sure you invite all the children to choose one parent. Suggest a mother, a father, a birth parent, or an adult who has been an important part of raising them.