OK so last week was totally hectic; coming home from our real vacation and starting their summer sports classes. So we weren't able to visit Italy and Greece :( if we have time over at the end of our trip I might squeeze in a day or two!
So this week we're off to Russia! We had a great time at the library today and found all kinds of stories to help them learn the culture...I LOVE FOLKTALES!
The Little Humpbacked Horse: A Russian Tale
Baboushka: a Russian Christmas Tale retold by Arthur Scholey
Vassilisa the Wise: A Tale of Medieval Russia retold by Josepha Sherman
Annushka's Voyage by Edith Tarbescu
The Peddler's Gift by Maxine Schur
Eloise in Moscow by Kay Thompson
Baboushka and the Three Kings by Ruth Robbins
The Wizard King and other Spellbinding Tales: Ivan and the Wizard retold by John Matthews
I haven't decided on all our crafts this week but I know the one I want to try are simple and fun!
Russian Jewel Eggs
Nesting Doll Puppets
Russian Flag bookmark
Our movies for the week:
Anastasia (I love this movie!)
Bartok the Magnificent (again...who doesn't love Bartok?!)
Peter and the Wolf
Not quite sure how well Russian food would go over with the picky people in the house (me and my son!) so I thought we'd stick to something sweet.
Russian Tea Cakes
We can't wait to get started! Hopefully we'll have some great pictures!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Destination United Kingdom and France!
Well, since we are on our real vacation this week, my options are kinda limited as what I can do! However I discovered the more the merrier! I've involved my four nieces (two are 13 and the other two are 6), and my 11 year old nephew. They really like the arts and crafts part of it!
I didn't check out as many books at the library before I left as I didn't want to travel with them so our books this week are:
B is for Big Ben, an England Alphabet
E is for Eiffel Tower, a France Alphabet
These books are great if you've never read them. They can also be found at www.discovertheworldbooks.com
Our crafts are a lot of fun, everyone is having a great time.
Friendship bracelets/bookmarks made with blue, white, and red for the colors of both England and France's flags
Wooden puzzles (we made the telephone booth, a chateaux, a train, and the Eiffel Tower
Foam Tiara's and jewels
Sun Catchers to represent stain glass windows
One thing my dad always does for me when I come to visit is have fish fry! Great food, awesome family, good times!! So our food this week was pretty much done for me as soon as we got off the plane!
Fish and chips
Croissants and pastries
I didn't check out as many books at the library before I left as I didn't want to travel with them so our books this week are:
B is for Big Ben, an England Alphabet
E is for Eiffel Tower, a France Alphabet
These books are great if you've never read them. They can also be found at www.discovertheworldbooks.com
Our crafts are a lot of fun, everyone is having a great time.
Friendship bracelets/bookmarks made with blue, white, and red for the colors of both England and France's flags
Wooden puzzles (we made the telephone booth, a chateaux, a train, and the Eiffel Tower
Foam Tiara's and jewels
Sun Catchers to represent stain glass windows
Got my nieces working on puzzles too!
Alisa's finished Chateaux
Suncatchers! Even got my mom to do one too!! I love family vacations
Our finished suncatchers!
Almost all the wooden puzzles...My son's Locomotive, my daughter's Eiffel Tower, and my Red Phone Booth!
One thing my dad always does for me when I come to visit is have fish fry! Great food, awesome family, good times!! So our food this week was pretty much done for me as soon as we got off the plane!
Fish and chips
Croissants and pastries
Monday, June 27, 2011
Destination: South Africa
Today we land in South Africa. Every body is excited for safari adventures!
This weeks books are focused more on the animals than the South African culture:
The Village of Round and Square Houses by Ann Grifalconi
Giraffe Trouble by Jean Craighead George
Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae
The Selfish Crocodile by Faustin Charles
Kiss Kiss by Margaret Wild
Our recipes are fun but not really S. African cuisine:
Edible Elephant Ears
Meerkat Mac and Cheese
Lemur Lemonade
Zebra Zany Ziti
Our crafts are simple this week:
South African flag, friendship bookmark
Safari expedition
word searches and crossword puzzles
Beaded bracelets
Making an African Drum
Creating Batik art
This weeks books are focused more on the animals than the South African culture:
The Village of Round and Square Houses by Ann Grifalconi
Giraffe Trouble by Jean Craighead George
Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae
The Selfish Crocodile by Faustin Charles
Kiss Kiss by Margaret Wild
Our recipes are fun but not really S. African cuisine:
Edible Elephant Ears
Meerkat Mac and Cheese
Lemur Lemonade
Zebra Zany Ziti
Our crafts are simple this week:
South African flag, friendship bookmark
Safari expedition
word searches and crossword puzzles
Beaded bracelets
Making an African Drum
Creating Batik art
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Leaving Brazil!
We had such great time in Brazil and Ecuador. The kids had a blast learning about the rainforest, the Amazon river, Carnival, Volcanoes and the Galapagos Islands!! We are geared up and ready for our next adventure.
Created a rain forest in the living room!
Added animals for our Rain Forest Expedition
our Amazon river!
Swinging on the vines!
swimming with the Piranha
exploring the rain forest
writing down the animals we saw
Competing to see who could find all the animals first
Amazon word searches
creating Carnival mask for our visit to Rio de Janeiro
Fun times!!
creating Volcanoes as we visit Volcano Alley in Ecuador
Ingredients:
soda bottle, with play-doh cone
hot water with red food coloring
baking soda
dish detergent
vinegar
Volcanic explosion
our science experiment, learning about sugar plantations in Brazil
more fun times!
If all goes right, we should have rock candy crystals in a few days!
Brazilian bookmarks using the colors of the Brazil flag
Monday, June 20, 2011
Destination: Brazil!
Today we've landed in Brazil. So much planned, every body is so excited.
The books we will be reading are:
A is for Anaconda; A Rainforest Alphabet by Anthony Fredericks
If I ran the Rain Forest (Dr. Suess) by Bonnie Worth
Bratz Spring Break Safari by Christine Peymani
We're Roaming in the Rainforest: an Amazon Adventure by Laurie Krebs
Scholastic's The Magic School Bus in the Rain forest
Our activities include arts and crafts and our first science experiment!
Sugar Plantation: Making Sugar Crystals
A Rainforest Expedition
Carnival Masks
We will be learning simple phrases and counting from 1-10 in Portuguese
We will also be trying our hand at making fried plantain :)
The books we will be reading are:
A is for Anaconda; A Rainforest Alphabet by Anthony Fredericks
If I ran the Rain Forest (Dr. Suess) by Bonnie Worth
Bratz Spring Break Safari by Christine Peymani
We're Roaming in the Rainforest: an Amazon Adventure by Laurie Krebs
Scholastic's The Magic School Bus in the Rain forest
Our activities include arts and crafts and our first science experiment!
Sugar Plantation: Making Sugar Crystals
A Rainforest Expedition
Carnival Masks
We will be learning simple phrases and counting from 1-10 in Portuguese
We will also be trying our hand at making fried plantain :)
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Leaving Mexico
Whew...what a week :) so much planned and almost all of it done! The kids had a blast and can't wait til we land in Brazil tomorrow!
Out of all the things we did, the arts and crafts were definitely the favorites! I have to admit I was surprised at how quick the kids picked it up! The only problem we had was the paper mache maracas. My son does not like icky stuff on his hands so he was totally grossed out by the paper mache paste :) so we only ended up doing one maraca each instead of a pair. This actually was a good thing, apparently I don't have the patience to wait for them to paint and decorate, LOL! After an hour of constantly opening paint jars and changing water, I was ready to pull my hair out :) But they had a great time so in the end that was all that mattered!
Our Mexican crafts:
Out of all the things we did, the arts and crafts were definitely the favorites! I have to admit I was surprised at how quick the kids picked it up! The only problem we had was the paper mache maracas. My son does not like icky stuff on his hands so he was totally grossed out by the paper mache paste :) so we only ended up doing one maraca each instead of a pair. This actually was a good thing, apparently I don't have the patience to wait for them to paint and decorate, LOL! After an hour of constantly opening paint jars and changing water, I was ready to pull my hair out :) But they had a great time so in the end that was all that mattered!
Our Mexican crafts:
Mayan Temples made from Homemade Play-doh
Ojo de Dio's
Maracas
We had a great week and definitely consider it a success! Off for a good night of sleep as we get ready for our next adventure!!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Links
A link to some of the sites I'm using for the Mexico destination.
The major book I'm using for ideas is Ultimate Class Field Trip. This book is totally awesome! Since our school supply store doesn't have pretend passports or a very good selection of arts and crafts, this book has been a gem! We've used it for our passports, journals, recipes, passport stamps, and some of the science projects.
I used a different set of instructions for play-doh. Normally I mix all the ingredients into a pot and cook it together but this had us separate the dry and wet stuff then mix it together. I wouldn't say one set of instructions is better than the other, but word of caution on this one. If you try to knead it soon after you everything together - its hot! LOL, I didn't think to let it cool down first :)
One of the best sites I've found is for kid-friendly crafts! The site is made for girl scouts and boy scouts so its tailored to young children. Some of the projects, they offer the material for sale. Everything I've chosen to do, can be made with material found at home or in a craft store. We used this site for the Ojo de Dios.
For the computer research, the kids searched Mayan culture for kids, and Aztec culture for kids. The Mayan search turned up some fun word searches and a memory matching game. The Aztec search led them to some entertaining folk tales.
We still have one more major craft project planned. We'll be making maracas! The kids are very excited about this one. Since the paper mache has to have time to dry, it will actually be a two day project. One day to make them, and one day to paint them!
The major book I'm using for ideas is Ultimate Class Field Trip. This book is totally awesome! Since our school supply store doesn't have pretend passports or a very good selection of arts and crafts, this book has been a gem! We've used it for our passports, journals, recipes, passport stamps, and some of the science projects.
I used a different set of instructions for play-doh. Normally I mix all the ingredients into a pot and cook it together but this had us separate the dry and wet stuff then mix it together. I wouldn't say one set of instructions is better than the other, but word of caution on this one. If you try to knead it soon after you everything together - its hot! LOL, I didn't think to let it cool down first :)
One of the best sites I've found is for kid-friendly crafts! The site is made for girl scouts and boy scouts so its tailored to young children. Some of the projects, they offer the material for sale. Everything I've chosen to do, can be made with material found at home or in a craft store. We used this site for the Ojo de Dios.
For the computer research, the kids searched Mayan culture for kids, and Aztec culture for kids. The Mayan search turned up some fun word searches and a memory matching game. The Aztec search led them to some entertaining folk tales.
We still have one more major craft project planned. We'll be making maracas! The kids are very excited about this one. Since the paper mache has to have time to dry, it will actually be a two day project. One day to make them, and one day to paint them!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Destination: Mexico!
Alright, today we land in Mexico as part of our virtual vacation! Our suitcase is packed, passports ready and we are so excited. We have many exciting things planned.
Our nighttime reading this week includes books about the Mexican culture and history!
The Spirit of Tio Fernando by Janice Levy
Mis Abuelos y Yo by Samuel Caraballo
Grandma's Chocolate by Mara Price
Me oh Maya by Jon Scieszka
The Skirt by Gary Soto
Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto
Big Bushy Mustache by Gary Soto
The kids are probably most excited by the arts and crafts!
Building Mayan ruins out of homemade play-doh
Making maracas from paper mache
Creating the Ojo de Dios or God's eye from yarn and craft sticks
Our food and games will try to include learning simple words and phrases in Spanish!
We'll play a bullfighting game where they will practice their counting from 1-10
We'll be making homemade tortillas, tacos, quesadillas, and tostadas
The kids will also get practice time on the computer researching different cities and history of the Mayan and Aztec cultures. Some of the exciting destinations we'll visit are Mexico City and the Yucatan Peninsula.
Pictures will be posted as we go! The kids will be keeping track of their adventures in their travel journals (what a great way to work on their handwriting skills over summer break).
Our nighttime reading this week includes books about the Mexican culture and history!
The Spirit of Tio Fernando by Janice Levy
Mis Abuelos y Yo by Samuel Caraballo
Grandma's Chocolate by Mara Price
Me oh Maya by Jon Scieszka
The Skirt by Gary Soto
Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto
Big Bushy Mustache by Gary Soto
The kids are probably most excited by the arts and crafts!
Building Mayan ruins out of homemade play-doh
Making maracas from paper mache
Creating the Ojo de Dios or God's eye from yarn and craft sticks
Our food and games will try to include learning simple words and phrases in Spanish!
We'll play a bullfighting game where they will practice their counting from 1-10
We'll be making homemade tortillas, tacos, quesadillas, and tostadas
The kids will also get practice time on the computer researching different cities and history of the Mayan and Aztec cultures. Some of the exciting destinations we'll visit are Mexico City and the Yucatan Peninsula.
Pictures will be posted as we go! The kids will be keeping track of their adventures in their travel journals (what a great way to work on their handwriting skills over summer break).
Saturday, June 11, 2011
My first ever blog and intro to our virtual vacation!
Ok, so as first attempts go this will probably be pretty lame :) hopefully I'll get better as we go along! I've created this blog to try to showcase our summer vacation. Since it will be a virtual "Around the World" tour, we will be posting pictures and stories of the places we're visiting, the crafts we're creating to learn about the different cultures, and the food we'll be attempting to cook and eat! With two young kids (ages 6 and 7) and a ton of summer activities, sports, and camps going on, I'm not quite sure how detailed our trip will be!
In preparation for our trip, we have created passports, travel journals, airline tickets, and a semi-detailed itinerary! We currently have a cardboard suitcase that will hold all our documents. I'm still working on decorating that one so not ready to post any pictures of it yet. But for each country we visit, the kids will be decorating their own passport stamps to put in their passports. We will also be learning about their national flag (they will color these and put in their journals) and how to count 1-10 and speak key phases in each language. Now that should be interesting since I only speak English and who knows how bad I'll butcher those! But it should be a great learning experience for all.
For crafts, we will try to do something fun like making masks or jewelry, science experiments like making volcanoes and sugar crystals, and using clay to "build" (and I do say that lightly!) one of the national monuments from each place we visit. We will try to cook or eat something authentic from each country. Unfortunately both my son and I are extremely picky eaters so this particular experience should prove quite interesting! I joked with my mom that when we "visit" Japan its going to be a night of ramen noodles...France will be croissants!
We plan on basing our bedtime stories around our vacation. Finding fables, fairytales, and fiction that are inspired by each country! Thank goodness for libraries, I just have to remember to reserve the books with enough time to have them delivered to our local library!
Alright so that is it for blog number one! LOL! So excited for our vacation to begin and I'll be back Monday after we "land" in Mexico!
For crafts, we will try to do something fun like making masks or jewelry, science experiments like making volcanoes and sugar crystals, and using clay to "build" (and I do say that lightly!) one of the national monuments from each place we visit. We will try to cook or eat something authentic from each country. Unfortunately both my son and I are extremely picky eaters so this particular experience should prove quite interesting! I joked with my mom that when we "visit" Japan its going to be a night of ramen noodles...France will be croissants!
We plan on basing our bedtime stories around our vacation. Finding fables, fairytales, and fiction that are inspired by each country! Thank goodness for libraries, I just have to remember to reserve the books with enough time to have them delivered to our local library!
Alright so that is it for blog number one! LOL! So excited for our vacation to begin and I'll be back Monday after we "land" in Mexico!
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