Our journey to Guatemala

Guatemala was a special study for our group because it is the birth country of two of our friends!  We had a great time learning about their birth country and concluded our study with a get together at their home.

We began with clay pots:

    Soap carvings:

We got to have a bit of hands on experience with actual instruments and keepsakes from the Fauth Family’s trip to Guatemala.

BANG!  BANG!  BANG!  We smashed out our own corn tortillas.

  

The girls gave a joint presentation on the historic city, Tikal. 

Then it was time for some yummy eats with friends!

Another wonderful country study with friends.

Brazil with Kids

The kids had a fun time at our Brazil get-together:

Presentations

 

Making masks for Carnival:

Creating mosaics with ONLY products that come from the rainforest.

Food!  Chocolate, lots of chocolate because it comes from the rainforest!  And lovely fruits.

Another fun journey with the kiddos and our friends.

Studying South Africa

Sickness hit.  And many of our kids missed our South Africa get together.  My T (age 6) was home sick, so I went ahead and left her brothers there as well.  One of the other family had a house full of sickies, so she remained home with her 4 kiddos.

That left a small group of 5 compared to our normal group of 12 kiddos running around.  It was kinda nice in some ways, though we missed our friends!

During our time together, we used an audio CD of music to learn some South African dances and games played by traditional South African tribes.

 

Then we prepared our snacks before we had to grill them.  We cut wedges out of bananas and stuffed them with chocolate chips, craisins, pecans, and raisins.  They were going to be grilled in their foil wraps for 10 minutes while we worked on crafts.

Our first activity was the creation of “Rainbow People”.  We painted the various parts and then put them together with brads.  This idea was swiped from this site.  It’s a great idea and she has very detailed instructions as well as more decorated rainbow people.

We also made South African shields. 

 

Fresh mango and papaya…

Fresh orange slices, bread, and our stuffed banana boats.

YUM!

Another great day of learning!

Studying Nigeria

At our get together time with our friends,  I chose to read, Jungle Drums by Graeme Base while we made it through a transitional moment. 

It was our FAVORITE African tale.  My children loved the illustrations.  It was a cute story with a great lesson.  I will be adding this book to our permanent library!

T (age 6), who adored the book, “Jungle Drums,” wrote an excellent 5 page narration of the story complete with her own illustrations. 

Kayleigh wrote her own presentation this time around, without any help or suggestions.  She wrote a first person presentation as if she was a little girl from Uganda.  (That was the information available in her book)

Next, we created Nigerian huts.  These were the tops of soda bottles wrapped with masking tape and painted brown.

 

Then Mrs. Colette helped the kids put on a top with raffia.

Our second craft was an African mask made from newspaper and masking tape.  After the kids created these basic shapes, we wrapped them in aluminum foil for masks.  (These would be well created with paper mache as well)

 

Meanwhile…D and C could be found playing in the other room!  Sometimes they participate, but after painting their huts, D was done this time!

Next we took advantage of the beautiful weather for some African playground games.  Here the head of each line is trying to chase the tail of the other line.

A circle game.  At the same time you both jump and put out a foot.  If you put the same, the person in the center has to leave the center.  If you put out a different one, the person in the center gets to stay and keeps going.

Classic Hopscotch

And now for an African snack which included a yam bake, plantains, and a cookie.

Another wonderful time of learning with friends!