There are SO many places that our family would like to visit around the globe; China, Australia, Greece, the list is endless. This summer, although we would LOVE the opportunity to actually travel the world with our children, we are spending time traveling to other countries through Art, Music, Literature, Local Travel and even in our Playtime. As parents, we are providing our children opportunities to travel the globe, without actually traveling there!
Check out some simple ways you can bring the world into your own home, just in time for the olympics too! Just click on the images to bring you to each activity!
Art & Crafts
Toys and Games
Here’s another hands on way to learn about other cultures. You can recreate a place with place and print out the landmarks. Discover different modes of transportation or simply play with dolls from that region. Using play to learn is best!
Cooking
Clothing and Objects
A great way to experience another culture is to find out the clothing and items that come from that region. Sometimes friends travel and it’s an easy thing to bring back or you can stumble upon them at garage sales. Playing dressup can take you to any place on earth!
Literature
The first thing you should get out to travel the world is a Globe and a Children’s Atlas! Libraries are full of books about every place around the world. Just pick a destination and a book will take you there. You can learn about the land, monuments, culture, foods, art and even famous people from your destination. Folktales are a fun way to learn about another place! Encourage your children to act out stories from other regions during playtime.
Language and Music
Travel
Many cities offer opportunities to visit other countries without traveling very far.
- Local Museums– Our local art museum hosts several exhibits that feature artists of other cultures. They even have monthly family friendly cultural events that are free of charge. We take advantage of these and take our kids when possible.
- One-time events – Many dance or performing groups may hold a one-time event that is free or low-cost. We have seen drummers, dancers, and even painters from other countries performing their art. Many of these events are listed in our local paper and online.
- Family Vacations– Using part of your family vacation to stop at a location that teaches your family about another culture is also an amazing way to travel the globe! We were fortunate to be able to take a trip to Disney World this year. Our adventures in Epcot have spurred an interest in reading, cooking, and learning about other cultures.
We can’t wait until our next adventure! Where is your next adventure?
To get more inspirations we encourage you to check our Around the World Page or
Follow our Bilingual Babies & Geography Pinterest Board!
I LOVE this post! Thanks for sharing
This is wonderful! What a great resource!
Great ideas! These would work really well for something I've been planning. As it's not always possible for bilingual families to travel to their minority language countries, it would be great if a group of parents of that origin could together organize a summer camp for their children. Each parent would in turn plan and do the activities for one day with the children (and this is where your post is really helpful, the ideas are all there!) and all in the minority language of course!
http://journalofabilingualfamily.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/finally-in-france-now-where-are-all-french-kids/
How fun!!!!
Thank you for sharing with my Super Link Party!
Great post with perfect ideas! I see how comfortable my daughter is around friends of different origin and skin color and glad to see that our virtual travels at home make her curious about the world.
These are creative ideas for ways to celebrate world travel right from home. I saw this post on growingajeweledrose. Please stop by and link this to Artsy Play Wednesday on Capri + 3. I hope to see you there.
: 0 ) Theresa
http://www.multiples-mom.com
So many great ideas! I can't wait to take my boys to Epcot. We live near Disneyland and have season passes. One day, maybe when all four are potty trained, we want to plan a Florida trip. Thanks for linking up to The Sunday Showcase.
These are wonderful tips! Kids will surely enjoy this as well as educating them at the same time. This is about the right age that kids absorb information rapidly. Thanks for sharing!