Week 8: The Land Down Under ... and Our Last Class

For our final destination, we traveled to Australia where we learned about the Aboriginal people or first Australians. After our discussion, we made dot paintings using Aboriginal symbols and our own creative ideas.

Then we played a game to see how much everyone learned during our Extended Day session. It was impressive how much everyone remembered from the different countries. I hope the kids will continue their interest in our amazing world.

Here are the questions from our game -- Kids: see how much your parents know! (Answers are below)

1. We visited eight countries together. Can you name at least three of them?
2. This country has more people than any other country in the world – about 1.3 billion!  
3. This country has more endangered animals than anywhere in the world, including the Komodo Dragon, Javan Rhinoceros and Pygmy Elephant. 
4. In the Czech Republic, people celebrate these special days. It’s like getting an extra birthday each year! 
5. The city of Machu Picchu was built by what ancient people of Peru?
6. In Turkey, these symbols are used for protection and good luck.
7. Many people travel to Uganda for this reason.
8. Which color is considered lucky in China?
9. We decorated Czech gingerbread called pernicky to celebrate what spring holiday? 
10. We celebrated the Chinese New Year. This year is a special one – the Year of the (what animal)? 
11. We made a special Indonesian snack called buah-es. What was one of the ingredients?
12. In Turkey, what drink is offered to make guests feel welcome? 
13. Name one way Ugandan people use creativity to deal with not having much money.
14. This country has the world’s biggest castle.
15. Cocoa, tomatoes, potatoes and corn all come from this country.  
16. When you travel to another country, you must have this document. 
17. These people have lived in Australia for over 45,000 years, making them the oldest civilization on earth.   

Thanks again for traveling with me! I had such a great time.

Answers:

1. United States, China, Turkey, Peru, Indonesia, Czech Republic, Uganda, Australia
2. China  
3. Indonesia 
4. Name days 
5. The Incas
6. Evil eyes
7. To go on Safari/See the animals
8. Red
9. Easter 
10. Dragon 
11. Fruit (Mango, Strawberries, Pineapple), Coconut Milk, Pineapple Juice and Ice
12. Tea
13. Make items out old materials (e.g. soccer ball out of plastic bag), use bicycles/motorcycles for transportation, work as extended families to raise money for necessary things like school fees.
14. Czech Republic 
15. Peru
16. Passport
17. Aboriginal People

Week 7: Uganda - The Pearl of Africa

Hujambo (Hello!) from Uganda. I was sad to miss Extended Day this week because I was sick. But, luckily, Erica Luetzow (Will's mom) came to the rescue and led the group to East Africa for our Uganda adventure.

Many people know Uganda for its amazing animals. People come from all over the world to go on safari and see the elephants, giraffes, zebras, lions, cheetahs, hyenas, chimpanzees, hippos, crocodiles and more!

But, the people of Uganda are just as interesting! The class played a game to learn about the day-to-day life of the Ugandan people. Here are some things we learned:

• In Uganda, 40% of people have no clean water. Millions of children in rural parts of Uganda often miss school because they must spend the time collecting water for their families.
• Because gasoline and cars are expensive, many people get around on bicycles and motorcycles. There are even motorcycle taxis called "boda-boda."
• In Uganda, schools are not free. Parents must pay tuition plus money for books and uniforms. Often, extended families will all pitch in to raise the money needed for school.
  
• The most popular sport in Uganda is soccer -- but they call it football.

The people of Uganda do not have a lot of money - about half the population live on less than $1.25 per day. But, they have creative ways to work with what they have. The class did a craft from Uganda to highlight this: beads made out of old magazines. If you'd like to try this at home, see familyfun.go.com/crafts/paper-beads-664236/ for instructions.

I can't believe that next week is our last Extended Day class. I've had such fun traveling with you all. Looking forward to learning next week about Australia and having a last-day-of-class celebration.

Additional Information

Our "Extras" page was getting full, so I created two separate pages. One is Recipes and the other is Learn More, with links to web sites you might like to explore. Enjoy!

Week 6: Czech It Out!

Dobry den (Hello) from the Czech Republic. Or, if you are talking with friends, say, "Ahoj!" (Hi!).

I know I'm not supposed to play favorites, but the Czech Republic is a very special country to me. It's where my dad was born! I'm excited to share a little about the country and people with this class.


Beautiful Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic
and the city where my dad was born.



Everyone enjoyed meeting Hurvinek,
the Czech marionette

The Czech Republic is not a big place-- it is about half the size of North Carolina! But, this little country has lots to do and see. Did you know that there are over 2,000 castles in the Czech Republic? The Prague Castle is the largest castle in the entire world!

Spring is a very special time in the Czech Republic. The cold winter is over and people are ready to celebrate! There is a lot of excitement leading up to Easter. In our class, we talked about celebrations and decorated (and ate!) perníčky, traditional gingerbread cookies served at Easter time. Take a look!

Everyone waited to eat their cookie
until I took their picture. That's willpower!

Then, we decorated wooden eggs based on Czech designs and our own creative ideas. Hope everyone had fun! Happy Easter! - Veselé Velikonoce!

See you next week when we travel to the east African country of Uganda.

Week 5 - Indonesian Island Adventure

Selamat pagi (Hello!) from Indonesia.

We had a great time learning about this interesting country. Did you know Indonesia was made up of 18,000 islands? We spent some time talking about Indonesia's fascinating animals. There are more than 300,000 different kinds of animals that come from Indonesia and, sadly, more endangered species than anywhere in the world.

Evan thinks Indonesia is pretty cool!






Then, we headed down to the kitchen to make a popular Indonesian snack ... buah es. It's a fresh-fruit shake often served from street carts in Indonesian cities. (Check out the Recipe page!)

   



Maddie adds the pineapple!

 

Blending the buah es.





  

   

  


"But will we like it?" Iain wonders.

 

Callie and Will are fans of buah es!



After our cooking adventure, we tried out a batik technique using crayons and paper. (For those students who didn't get to finish, here are easy do-at-home instructions)

Paper Batik:

1) On a piece of white paper, draw a picture or design. Note: your batik will work best if you create a picture with large areas of color, minimal detail and lighter, brighter colors. Cover the entire sheet with crayon!

2) Fill a bowl or basin with enough water to cover your paper. Submerge your picture in the water for about 15 seconds. Crumple it into a ball, squeezing out the excess water.

3) Carefully unfold the sheet. (Go slowly so it doesn't rip!)

4) Using black water-based paint, cover your entire drawing with a thin layer of paint.

5) Place a sheet of newspaper over the painted page and press gently. (This will absorb excess paint).

6) Carefully peel the newspaper away and let your artwork dry.

7) Enjoy your batiked paper!





Elena, batik artist, at work.



  





Special thanks to Georgia,
one of our fabulous class assistants
-- and today's photographer!









Week 4: Peru - The Kingdom of the Sun

Hola (Hello!) from Peru. Or in Quechua, Peru's other official language, Rimaykullayki!

We started our class by talking about Peru's amazing history and the ancient Incan people who called themselves Children of the Sun. Then we had a familiar snack with surprising origins ...
Did you know that hot chocolate and popcorn were first enjoyed by the Inca people? 

After snack, we talked about some of Peru's amazing animals including the llama. The llama has been important to the people of Peru for thousands of years. We made our own felt versions. Take a look!




A few from our herd of llamas. Aren't they creative?

 

I can't believe we are already halfway through our Extended Day spring session. But, we have lots more traveling to do ... off to Indonesia next week for an island adventure. See you then!

Check Out the "Extras" Page

Visit the new "Extras" page for recipes, links and more information about the countries we have studied.