Around the World Preschool activities

[Maggie at the Fort]

We are heading to Disney in 36 days! My 3 year old daughter is home with me during the day. I don't use the homeschool word since she is 3 and doesn't really need school yet but we have been working in some "learning time" based around things she is interested in. She has always been fascinated by maps and after watching her study my photos of Epcot I realized there were great opportunities for "learning time" there. Since we only have about 6 weeks we are going to do a quick "visit" to each country in World showcase. (2 a week). We are finding each on a map, doing a flag craft, maybe another craft or activity, listening to music from the countries and my husband's favorite, making food inspired by each country. I am hoping it will make the countries more fun as she hears and sees things that look familiar as we visit. If she really loves it we might do another round of the countries or explore other countries after we get back.

Has anyone ever tried this? Any suggestions? I have a word document with links to the printables and activities I have found. If anyone is interested I am happy to share just pm me!

 

[ABCastillo]

Such a great idea!


Have you thought about doing a scrapbook too? Something you can add a photo to after you visit world showcase maybe.

 

[km77]

Really interested in the ideas you come up with. I have PM'd you

 

[RatherBeInAK]

I did this with DS2.5. Or, started to do it. We made it through a couple countries before life got too busy and it fell by the wayside. I plan on doing it again (and sticking with it!) the next time we go.
We got out the globe and talked about the location of the countries as we studied them. We checked out some books from the library about them too. I wish I could remember the name of the series we really liked. It was very young child friendly. He wanted to read the book on France over and over. Next time we go to the library I'll look up the name. The two main countries we focused on were Mexico and France. We made tortillas and papel picado banners and had a mini fiesta one night for dinner. The papel picado banner was fun. I took rectangles of colorful tissue paper, folded them into small rectangles, and then we used different kinds of paper punches on them. It was much like making a paper snowflake but we used punches instead of scissors. For France we learned a few french words (and sang the opening song to Beauty and the Beast a million times). We also went on a "french picnic" as suggested in the book we liked so much. We ate cheese, salami, grapes, and a baguette. It was super easy and he thought it was the best thing ever.
I hope those ideas help! I'll pm you for your list. I'd love some more ideas for our next trip.

 

[ChitownFamily]

I only have a minute- but your concept is exactly what the homeschool curriculmn Five in a Row is all about, for your 3 yr old, keep it fun & light. Check out the book lists on the Five page & add a book into your preschool at home. Btw there area ton of blogs supporting fun "preschool at home" I can leave some links later today, if you are interested

http://fiveinarow.com/

 

[melglnh2o]

Hi. I just sent you a PM. Thanks!

 

[Maggie at the Fort]

So far the biggest hits have been the paper cup maraca and the troll paper doll. She also loved getting to smell all of the mexican spices when we were cooking together last night.

Such a great idea!


Have you thought about doing a scrapbook too? Something you can add a photo to after you visit world showcase maybe.

I hadn't thought about it but I grabbed a little folder today at the store so we can put all her papers together afterwards. We can add some photos from the trip. She will love looking through it! For now we are putting all of her flags and maps and things up on the wall so she can see them often.

Really interested in the ideas you come up with. I have PM'd you

I emailed you!

I did this with DS2.5. Or, started to do it. We made it through a couple countries before life got too busy and it fell by the wayside. I plan on doing it again (and sticking with it!) the next time we go.
We got out the globe and talked about the location of the countries as we studied them. We checked out some books from the library about them too. I wish I could remember the name of the series we really liked. It was very young child friendly. He wanted to read the book on France over and over. Next time we go to the library I'll look up the name. The two main countries we focused on were Mexico and France. We made tortillas and papel picado banners and had a mini fiesta one night for dinner. The papel picado banner was fun. I took rectangles of colorful tissue paper, folded them into small rectangles, and then we used different kinds of paper punches on them. It was much like making a paper snowflake but we used punches instead of scissors. For France we learned a few french words (and sang the opening song to Beauty and the Beast a million times). We also went on a "french picnic" as suggested in the book we liked so much. We ate cheese, salami, grapes, and a baguette. It was super easy and he thought it was the best thing ever.
I hope those ideas help! I'll pm you for your list. I'd love some more ideas for our next trip.

Fun ideas. I love the idea of a banner. Maybe we can do that when we get home! I totally understand the challenge of keeping it up. I think that is part of why I posted here. Maybe that will help me stay with it. I would love to hear the name of the series. We are headed to the library next week.

I only have a minute- but your concept is exactly what the homeschool curriculmn Five in a Row is all about, for your 3 yr old, keep it fun & light. Check out the book lists on the Five page & add a book into your preschool at home. Btw there area ton of blogs supporting fun "preschool at home" I can leave some links later today, if you are interested

http://fiveinarow.com/

Thanks for the link. I will check it out right now! We read all the time but I realized there were no applicable books in our (very extensive) children's book collection. Our next trip to the library should help!

Hi. I just sent you a PM. Thanks!

I emailed you!

 

[tba]

We are heading to Disney in 36 days! My 3 year old daughter is home with me during the day. I don't use the homeschool word since she is 3 and doesn't really need school yet but we have been working in some "learning time" based around things she is interested in. She has always been fascinated by maps and after watching her study my photos of Epcot I realized there were great opportunities for "learning time" there. Since we only have about 6 weeks we are going to do a quick "visit" to each country in World showcase. (2 a week). We are finding each on a map, doing a flag craft, maybe another craft or activity, listening to music from the countries and my husband's favorite, making food inspired by each country. I am hoping it will make the countries more fun as she hears and sees things that look familiar as we visit. If she really loves it we might do another round of the countries or explore other countries after we get back.

Has anyone ever tried this? Any suggestions? I have a word document with links to the printables and activities I have found. If anyone is interested I am happy to share just pm me!

PM'ing you (and subscribing too); I'd love the links to printables and activities. Thanks so much for sharing! Perfect timing as we're planning to work in some preschool "cultural geography" ideas in anticipation of our trip. The only thing we've started is practicing some basic words/phrases in different languages. I've just picked up a few children's books in the library, (Flags of the World, Houses and Homes Around the World, and Asian Children's Favorite Stories. We'll be looking for more in the coming weeks. Haven't done it yet, but had planned to check pinterest for possible craft related ideas, and would like to include a food experience related to each country too. We plan to spend 2 days of our trip in Epcot; I think my 4 yr old will love it.