Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Explore the World with your Kids #readforgood

It is week 6 at the MeMeTales Readathon! This week travel around the world with your kids for the Global Culture theme this week. Teaching your kids about world cultures helps them appreciate the differences in people and their traditions. MeMeTales has just the right books for you to get started. Click on the photos to    read the book.
     
  
We have always had a Map of the World on the wall at Putti's eye level. When she was a couple of months old, I used to hold her in my arms and walk around the house talking about various things including the map on her wall. I would point out to various countries and tell her that is where her grandparents live, her uncles live etc. As months passed by she started pointing out to things. Then while I was talking to her about the map, she would at times point to some country and I would say "Oh yes! that is Argentina" or something like that. I had no intention of teaching my girl geography at that age, but she loved to listen to me talk and I would talk about anything around the house including the map:) This really caught her interest as she grew and could point to about 20+ countries on the World Map before she turned 2! The map and the globe are still one of her favorite things to play.
I have not done anything further, but intend to explore the world with her, maybe study one country each month. Here are some Simple tips to Travel around the globe without ever needing a suitcase. Change them as suitable for your kid's age and interest.
  1. Have a map in the house and use push pins to illustrate where a country's located. Every time you learn about a new country, use another push pin on your world map. 
  2. Learn about the Flag of the country and try and make one. A rolled paper flag would be very easy to make and color.
  3. Learn about the weather in other countries to learn what it's like for other kids who live there.
  4. Create or wear the types of crafts you would find in that country. Beadwork, clothing, origami -- the possibilities are endless. 
  5. Learn what each country's official language is. Try to learn a couple basic words in that language. 
  6. Keep a calendar of upcoming holidays celebrated in other countries.Teach your child about the history of each holiday too. When did it begin? Why? Decorate your home for their holidays.
  7. Learn about each country's marketplace through pictures and articles. Search YouTube for videos of street markets in other countries. You'll be surprised at how much your child can learn about world cultures from thousands of miles away through many resources you can find online.
  8. Cook authentic recipes together. Find what foods are popular in the country. Check out 'Around the World in 12 Dishes'.
  9. Search for a pen pal in the country you're learning about with your child. There are many free websites that will match your child with pen pals around the world.  This is also a hidden lesson in language arts and social studies.
  10. Learning about each culture's etiquette can be enlightening. Try practicing a country's dos and don'ts of etiquette for a day or week.


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We are sure to have many fun ideas to share!

Disclosure: I will be receiving the books that I feature from MeMeTales in exchange for sharing our fun ideas each week. 
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