In our house, we love to travel and learn about different cultures and countries. From taking an actual trip to visiting an ethnic restaurant or listening to music from another part of the world, the kids are almost always game.
One of our favourite shows to watch together is "Are We There Yet? World Adventure" on Kids' CBC. "Are We There Yet" features real life kids who travel around the world and share their adventures through travel logs, journal writing, and on-location narrating. The hosts' participate in a variety of activities in each country they visit, from exploring historic sites to sampling the local cuisine and participating in sports that are popular in the region.
Inspired by the show, this summer we decided to begin a virtual trip around the world. We will pick a country, find its location on the globe, prepare recipes from the area, and learn about its culture through crafts, games, stories, and music. As the host of this year's Summer Olympic Games, the United Kingdom seemed like a natural place to start.
Over the past few weeks, we have been enjoying books such as "Katie Goes to London" by James Mayhew, "This is London" by Miroslav Sasek, and of course, "A Bear Called Paddington", by Michael Bond. We have listened to the music of famous British composers Georges Handel (who was born in Germany but later moved to London and became a British citizen), and Gustav Holtz, and drummed along to "The Best of Scottish Pipes & Drums".
Two nights ago, we had a United Kingdom theme night. Before dinner, we played football ("soccer") and a few rounds of "London Bridge is Falling Down" in the garden ("backyard"). Next, we headed inside to enjoy the Cornish Pasties we had prepared earlier in the day:
After dinner, it was time to have fun with our Flags of the United Kingdom puzzle and playset again:
We ended our night off with chocolate flapjacks for dessert:
We are looking forward to learning more about the United Kingdom as we watch the Olympics over the next few weeks. We are also looking forward to watching more episodes of "Are We There Yet" so that we can decide where to go next on our virtual trip.
