Science
This theme is always challenging for me, because I never want to misinform someone about the cultures of the world. All of my research came from google, and before using it I made sure it was listed by at least three different sources. If I have been mistaken about any of these activities and their origins, please feel free to email me misslindsay146@yahoo.com and I will be sure to fix the issue 🙂
Africa
- Pestel
- Mortar
- Bay leaves
- Cumin seeds
- Rock Salt
- Anything to crush
Mortar and pestle have been used everywhere and have a great deal of history, but were found to be used in Ancient Egypt in 1550BC to grind food, medicine, cosmetics etc. Have kids spoon a small amount of their herbs into the mortar and use the pestle to crush it up!
Asia
- Sand
- Tray
- Stones
- Plants
- Zen garden tools
Zen rock gardens originated in medieval Japan and symbolize simplicity and serenity. Add some sand into a tray and place a basket of add-ins close by. Have kids rake the and and stack stones to build a zen garden. I also play some calming music 👌🏻.
South America
- Macaw Print out-I used canva to make this
- Feathers
The South America Macaw are native to the tropical North and south America. Laminate your template or place inside of a pocket pouch ( I got these from Amazon). Have kids add their feathers to their template to decorate their Macaw. Towards the end of the activity we through all of the feathers in the air and watched them fall slowly.
South America Counting
- Printable
- Pompoms
- Spoons
Although this doesn’t qualify as science I don’t have a category to throw this under. Your kids can roll the di/dice, count the number on them, write the number, and then ladle the correct amount of “ingredients” onto the soup. For a less challenging approach, you can write the number and they can count the ingredients.
Europe
- Europe atlas template
- Tape
- Crayons
- Scissors
This little atlas turned out SO cute, but took much longer to put together than I anticipated. You will need more than 30 minutes to complete this activity in a group setting. The atlas contains a page for: Food, animals, structures, and wardrobe. Each section has three images. I had the kids cut their own images out and tape them to the book on the correct page. When they finished putting the book together, they colored it.
I used Canva.com to create this booklet.
Sensory Bin
South America
- Feathers
- Leaves
- Vines
- Logs
- Tropical birds
- Etc.
For this sensory bin I tried replicate the Amazon Rainforest with what I had available. I think it turned out really cute 😊.
Europe
- Loose tea
- Tea cups/pots
- Sugar cubes
- Tea bags
Add materials to the sensory bin and play!
Dramatic Play
South America
- Feather masks
- Parrots
- Colorful decor/dress up
For this set up, I tried to replicate the Carnival in Rio De Janeiro. I added as much color as I could and played some music for the kids.
Europe
- Dramatic play printable set
- Props/dress up
You ABSOLUTELY need this Italian food dramatic play area for your kids! This is hands down my FAVORITE one I’ve created, and I wanted to share it with all of you! It is so cute you and your kids will want to stay in this center forever. This can be used for dramatic play at home, or in the class.
It all started with a tool bench….
It was letter Pp week and I already knew I wanted to do pizza. I saw that tool bench and immediately visualized a brick pizza oven. You can either print out the brick wall from the PDF, or you can make your own from red paper. Either way it is going to be stinking cute! I sorted all of the toppings and hung up the orders. The kids completed the orders and delivered the pizza.
….And then it turned into an Italian Food Restaurant!
The theme was around the world week and I already had this activity from last year, however my mind ALWAYS wants to create something new! So I turned it into an entire Italian food set up! From the framed pictures to the Carbonara, you will feel like you’re in Italy!
This activity can also be used in the Numbers corner/center. There are blank pizza order cards to write in numbers or create custom orders.
Need more ideas?
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