Category Archives: Country Studies
Ethiopia and Prester John
We were studying Ethiopia last week and decided to take a little side trip to Prester John. Prester John was a mythical Christian monarch known to Europeans in the Middle Ages. The legend said that somewhere in the mysterious east … Continue reading
Geography On A Trading Card
You can use these printable trading cars as a tool to teaching kids where countries are in the world and a few facts about them. It will give athletic or sports-crazy kids a peg on which to hang their knowledge … Continue reading
Balkan Peninsula Map
The Balkans are a geographic area of southeast Europe lying between Italy and Turkey. The area is named for the Balkan mountain range in Bulgaria and Serbia. The entire region is very hilly and mountainous and is a peninsula, surrounded … Continue reading
Germany
Color a map of Germany. Trace the rivers, label the cities, write in the seas, and don’t forget the Black Forest and the Bavarian Alps. The Saar River of Germany Also remember to find Germany on a world map or … Continue reading
Japan’s Mountains
There was a time when I believed in order to educate children I had to touch on everything. . . all the facets of every subject. What if I missed something? What if there were holes in their education? The … Continue reading
David Thompson: Cartographer
David Thompson was a Canadian explorer, surveyor, and map maker of the early 1800′s. He is known as the greatest land geographer who ever lived. The natives of the North American continent knew him as Koo-Koo-Sint, “Star-Gazer”. Born in England in 1770, he was poor and … Continue reading
South Korea For Kids
Teaching about countries in the world can be very simple and easy, requiring little preparation. For south Korea start by finding a map to color and the flag to color. Then use a student atlas to fill in the rivers, mountains, … Continue reading
Wayang Puppets
Wayang puppets come from Bali and Java in southeast Asia. They’ve been around as a form of art and entertainment for thousands of years and they’re still vying with TV for entertainment value. The puppets are shadow puppets, silhouettes on a … Continue reading
Russia Fact Book
Print out this PDF fact book of Russia for your kids. It has pages on Natural Resources, Religion, Cities, Language, and Holidays. The cover has a picture of the Russian flag to color. Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend … Continue reading
Tea and Crumpets
One of my favorite ways to teach about other cultures is to eat some of their foods. Americans probably know more about the English than other foreign cultures, but still . . . Here are two traditional English foods that … Continue reading
Country Study: Japan
We were lucky to have our grandparents visiting us all last week. It corresponded perfectly with our country study of Japan. Grandpa and Grandma have both been there (Grandma’s been there LOTS of time and also worked with a student … Continue reading
Map of Ancient Egypt
Historical maps are great tool for understanding the past. You can see when you look at a map of Egypt why people lived only along the river. You can see the boundaries of the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms and … Continue reading
Tanzania
The ancient land of Zanzibar and Tanganika, located in modern Tanzania, was a center of the Arab slave trade. Arabs would raid cities along the coasts and further inland. Capturing and killing as many villagers as possible in their raids. … Continue reading
Haiti
Located on the western side of the Island of Hispaniola, in the Caribbean Sea, Haiti is part of the Greater Antilles. The Greater Antilles is a mountain range whose tops stick up above the sea to form islands. The formation … Continue reading
Venezuela
To learn more about Venezuela, start with a book about the country from your local library. See if they have a travel movie as well. My older kids read the books on their own, but for the younger ones, I … Continue reading
France Activities
Here are some activities to do when studying France: Have some French food: It can be very simple, like croissants, cheese, and grapes. You can also go all out and look up some French recipes online for the full meal … Continue reading
An Extremely Condensed Russian History
The word “Rus” means red and comes from the red-headed Norse men who sailed from Scandinavia and conquered and settled what is now western Russia. The Rus were ruled by the Mongols for a time, but then threw off the … Continue reading
A Free Trip Around the World!
To take your kids on a free “trip” around the world call up a travel agent in your area and ask them if they might have time to spend some time with your kids helping them find out information about … Continue reading
