I want to present the concept of mind maps to you, which are simple diagrams with connecting lines 〰️ to represent ideas, thoughts, concepts, tasks, and topics in a visual format.
You can let your kids make the mind maps in a way where the main idea takes center stage, and the sub-themes of that category extend outwards, like the branches of a tree.
Mind Mapping Activities for Your Kids
In my opinion, these mind-mapping activities can help your kids declutter thoughts and write down their ideas 💭 by visualizing, arranging, and sorting them.
I found that mind maps can help your kids in many ways by improving their memory and creativity, helping them organize their thoughts, and making learning fun and exciting for them.
In this blog post, I have included a list of activities your kids can do with mind maps as the base layout for other activities. 😊
Mind Mapping Dice Game
I present you with a fun dice 🎲 game with mind maps that my son loved playing.
You can assign a topic to each number from 1-6 and let your kids roll the dice. Depending on the number on the upper face side of the dice, they can list five things associated with that topic category, like food, birds, animals, sports, and so on.
Pro Tip:
I usually have the mind map ready beforehand with the numbers from 1-6 and topics assigned for each written down for ease.
Mind Mapping Birthday Party Planner
My son had a lot of fun planning one of his birthday parties with a mind map chart, making the whole experience more exciting.
Let your kids plan their birthday 🎂 party in detail by simplifying the whole process with a mind map, where they can write down their ideas.
They can begin by choosing the design and flavor of the cake, the people they want to invite, desserts, the theme, decorations, and other details they want for their birthday party.
Mind Mapping Food Recipes
My son and I love spending time together in the kitchen, trying new dishes, and these food recipe mind maps come in handy.
Kids can choose a food dish they want to eat from a recipe book or cooking blog 🍜 – a chocolate cake or a sandwich, and break down the recipe into simple mind maps with your help.
Simplify the recipes to the ingredients, cooking times, utensils needed, the method, and other notes for an efficient and smooth cooking process.
Mind Mapping Number Sense Representation
I discovered my son could understand number sense better and present it well with the help of a mind-mapping math activity.
You can specify a number 🔢 for your kids to make a mind map showing all the different ways it can be written – with dots, addition, subtraction, tally marks, Roman numerals, pictures, and words.
Mind Mapping Emotions Chart
I understand the importance of getting your kids acquainted with the different emotions, and I’m sure this activity will prove helpful.
You can guide your kids to make a mind map of the various emotions 😁😭 humans experience, like happiness, sadness, anxiety, fear, anger, surprise, excitement, etc. Let them write down simple definitions and facial expressions associated with each to make an emotions chart.
Pro Tip:
I put this chart in my son’s room as an emotions check-in point, where he would point to the emotion that best described his day.
Mind Mapping Favorite Things
Give your kids a chance to list their favorite ❤️ things through a mind map.
They can list their favorite animal, toy, color, fruit, food, book, movie, and other categories. The possibilities with a mind map of their favorite things are endless, and they can keep adding more.
Mind Mapping Geometric Shapes
I found a simple way to teach kids the various geometric shapes, an activity inspired by my friend who did this with her daughter.
Kids can make mind maps to learn the names and outlines of various geometric shapes. They can draw and label the different geometric shapes ⭕️ and color them with crayons for a fun math and coloring activity.
Mind Mapping Animals
I would suggest making a mind map of the different classifications of animals 🐮🦒 as a fun way to get your kids interested in wildlife.
Your kids can make a chart with the groups of animals – mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians and list a few examples of each to discover the various species existing.
A fun fact – this activity led to my son developing an interest in and a love for animals.
Mind Mapping About Me Section
Every kid is unique and different from each other in many aspects, and the motive behind mind mapping an about me section is to help our kids highlight and celebrate themselves ❤️ and get to know themselves better.
Ask your kids to write down their likes and dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, personality traits, ambitions, hobbies, and other details about themselves.
Mind Mapping Shopping List
My son loved bringing his mind-mapped shopping list whenever we went shopping together.
You can ditch the usual shopping list 🛒🧾 and get your kids to create a fun mind map shopping list with categories like toys, food, stationery, books, and other items they want.
Mind Mapping Day Planner
Let your kids write down the things they have to do on a particular day 🗓️ along with timings – tasks to complete or activities and sports to take part in with mind maps tailored for their routines of each day.
I’ve observed that this routine planning system leads to productivity and allows kids to complete their routines smoothly.
Pro Tip:
Kids can spend 5 minutes every morning making their daily routine mind maps for that day.
Mind Mapping Goals Setting
Having goals, small or big, can motivate your kids to do better and improve themselves in various aspects.
Encourage your kids to create mind maps of their goals 🎯 to track their progress towards them. They can include waking up early, eating more veggies, counting to 20, or even cleaning their room as a goal.
Pro Tip:
I found my son benefitted from setting goals at the start of every month.
Mind Mapping Book Review
“Books are uniquely portable magic.” – Stephen King.
After your kids finish reading a book, you can encourage them to make simple mind maps to review the books 📚 they read.
They can include the author’s name, themes, characters, quotes, things they liked and disliked, and the takeaway message.
Mind Mapping Professions
My son enjoyed learning about the various professions 👩🏽🌾👩🏽⚕️ that people in the world practice.
Guide your kids to make mind maps around the different professions – lawyers, farmers, firefighters, doctors, and nurses, by including categories like their work, tools they use, the uniform they wear, etc.
Pro Tip:
Show your kids videos regarding each profession for them to write down the points they found from watching.
Mind Mapping About Family Members
“Family is not an important thing. It’s everything.” – Michael J. Fox.
You can encourage your kids to make individual mind maps by having interview-like conversations with family members 👨👩👧👦 to know more about them and understand them.
Kids can include the family members’ birthdays, occupations, hobbies, likes and dislikes, personality traits, favorites – foods, colors, flowers, and so on in these mind maps.
Mind Mapping Drawings
My son, who loves art and drawing, enjoyed this fun activity, and I’m sure your kids will love it too.
Give your kids a topic to create mind maps with drawings ✍🏼 related to the aspects of that topic. Kids can learn about these topics while also using their creativity.
Pro Tip:
An example I could give you is, if the topic is fruits, your kids can draw and color the various types of fruits they know and categorize them.
Mind Mapping Color Spotting
“Color is the fruit of life.” – Robert Henri.
You can write down a few colors 🎨 – red, blue, pink, green, yellow, black, white, and so on, on paper slips, which can be easily spotted around you.
The fun begins here – urge your kids to look around their surroundings to spot objects in the mentioned colors and list them to make a mind map.
Mind Mapping Planets
My son, who loves everything to do with space, enjoyed this fun learning activity about planets and can maybe help get your kids interested, too.
I recommend you start by teaching your kids about the eight planets 🪐 in the solar system by making a mind map with fun facts, drawings, and other details that might excite them.
Mind Mapping Parts of the Speech
I suggest you introduce your kids to the basic concepts of the parts of the speech 💬 with a fun activity.
Kids can make a mind map to learn the basics of parts of speech, like nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, determiners, and so on, by including simple definitions, examples, and usage for each.
Pro Tip:
I recommend teaching it on a surface level, just enough to acquaint your kids with the concept.
Mind Mapping Family Trees
Kids can understand the relationships of the various family members and relatives and their connections with them through family trees 👨👩👧👦🌳 in the form of mind maps.
In my opinion, understanding the family tree can help kids build their core identity and allow them to feel a sense of belonging to a larger community.
Pro Tip:
You can add passport or stamp-sized photographs next to each person’s name so your kids can recognize them better.
Mind Mapping Seasons
Teaching your kids about the different seasons we experience becomes much easier for you with this activity.
Start by writing down the seasons 🌾 on individual sheets of paper to make mind maps based on the elements of the different seasons. Guide your kids to include descriptions, drawings, fun facts, activities they do, and memories associated with each season.
Mind Mapping Character Creations
Your kids can create their own characters 👨🏽🎨 in the mind map format, deciding their features, age, back story, personality traits, strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, hobbies, and so on, using their imagination.
I must tell you that my son had so much fun creating his own characters and did this activity together with his friends, too.
Pro Tip:
If your kids are willing, get them to draw the characters they imagined, using the mind map as a reference.
Mind Mapping Room Arrangement
Our kids spend a lot of time playing in their rooms, and this is a fun activity where your kids can try making a mind map to illustrate their room arrangement 🏠 just from memory.
Specify a particular part – wall, side table, wardrobe, dressing table, and your kids can write down the aspects that make up that space – photo frames, posters, mirrors, toys, clothes, etc.
Mind Mapping Parts of the Body
I recommend making mind maps with your kids to help them learn about the parts of the body 👤 in a simple way. They can list and label the different parts of the body, with their uses and facts, and also include drawings and images for better understanding.
Pro Tip:
I put this mind map chart near my son’s study table for a few months for him to look at and learn from.
Mind Mapping In-Depth Topics
Do you want to acquaint your kids with topics in detail? I suggest you simplify them for your kids to help them learn about various things in-depth 📖 with mind maps.
Learning becomes more fun and exciting when you break down the topics into different aspects for your kids to expand their knowledge by noting information, facts, drawings, and other points associated with that topic as a mind map.
Mind Mapping Problem Solving
I agree that sometimes, our kids may find the problem they’re in the midst of overwhelming, 🙁 with no solutions in sight – which can be difficult for us as parents to watch.
I recommend you encourage your kids to work through their problems by making a mind map with various courses of action to help them take the first step to get closer to finding solutions.
Pro Tip:
My son, I realized, was more positive after he sat down to clear his head while making the mind maps.
Mind Mapping Storyboard
I found this activity very useful to encourage my son to write stories 📝 by simplifying the process.
Before any story is written, your kids need to decide upon the elements of the story, like the characters, genre, setting, plot, solution, etc. Guide them to make a mind map with their initial thoughts on paper to create storyboards to form the basis of their creative stories.
Mind Mapping Synonyms and Antonyms
I guarantee that your kids can learn the synonyms and antonyms of different words in an easy way with mind maps.
You can list various words for which your kids can look up 🔎 the synonyms and antonyms for those particular words with a thesaurus or Google and write them as a mind map.
Pro Tip:
I made my son spell and repeat the words as he wrote to help him learn and register them better.
Mind Mapping Continent Lessons
Travel to different continents 🗺️ around the world from the comfort of your couch with this fun learning activity that your kids are sure to love.
Your kids can create a mind map to learn about the seven continents of the world and their notable facts – their countries, landscapes, animals, birds, food, temperatures, etc.
Mind Mapping Country Lessons
After learning about the continents of the world, kids can move on to learning about the countries 🌍 of each continent.
Guide your kids to make mind maps about various countries by making notes of their languages, foods, cultures, monuments, animals, and details and fun facts they can find regarding that country.
Mind Mapping Morning and Evening Routines
Do your kids struggle with following a routine? Allow them to create a mind map to display the activities to do in the morning 🌞 and evening 🌝 to follow as a routine.
Divide the page into two sides, with the routine activities branching outwards to display the things they need to do, as simple as brushing, playing, going to school, listening to stories, etc.
Mind Mapping Story Recollection
You can improve your kids’ recollection abilities and memory 🧠 with story recollection mind maps.
You can read a story of their choice along with them and help them understand the plot. They can retell it in their own words with a mind map using a few sentences to convey the main story.
Mind Mapping Bucket List
Every kid has a list of things they want to do – a bucket list that may include traveling to a place, learning a new hobby, trying an activity or sport, etc.
You can encourage your kids to document their bucket list items through a mind map with relevant categories and colorful drawings to accompany them.
Mind Mapping Meal Planner
You can make your kids look forward to meal times with dishes 🍲 they enjoy eating.
Get your kids to make a mind map chart to write down the food dishes for different meal times – breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. This makes mealtime exciting for your kids and less stressful for you to think of possible food dishes to put together.
Mind Mapping Pollution Reduction Ideas
Raise your kids to be environmentally conscious and nature-loving people by instilling a sense of responsibility towards the planet from a young age.
You can start by encouraging your kids to think of different ways to reduce pollution and limit their contribution to waste generation, a big problem we face today.
Making a mind map for this can help kids make small and impactful choices to take better care of the planet 🌍 we live on.
Conclusion
I would say these mind-mapping activities helped my son write down all his ideas and thoughts in a simplified manner and helped make learning and creating lists more fun.
I hope you enjoyed reading this list of activities I put together to help your kids learn how to mind map.
Please comment below if you would have any thoughts to add or questions for me to answer – I would love to hear from you. ❤️
I’m a former teacher (and mother of Two Childs) with a background in child development. Here to help you with play-based learning activities for kids. ( Check my Next startup Cledemy.Com)