Our local homeschool group had their first Festival of Nations in March 2013. It was a hit with my kids and 15-20 other families. I highly recommend it for other groups, or families who like the idea of focusing on one area and really diving deep into the culture, geography and history.
How did we choose our country? We narrowed it down to a movie we'd been watching, "Rio," and wanted to learn more about the rainforest that was featured. No matter what country you pick, it's going to be a hit when you make it a part of your regular lessons. Take clues from your kids and their interests. It could be a movie they saw, a game they played, a friend they met, something on the news - something that sparked their interest in the culture of an unfamiliar place.
Our family traveled to Brazil in South America via books, videos and music. We learned the most about the country and about doing research while making our display board. We dove deep into our library's free resources including music CDs, books, as well as movies. We searched the web (with Mom on watch) utilizing Google, Netflix and YouTube. It was the multi-media event of the year!
We danced to the music at home and in the car. Once or more a week we watched a movie or read a book about Brazil, fiction and non-fiction. We tried their native foods. You could try speaking their native language, Portuguese. We looked at online pictures and videos of the sights, activities, dancing, parades, virtual tours, etc. Immerse yourself, that's the key!
Here is just some of our favorite resources to get you started on your journey!
Click here for your Tour of Brazil
complete with links, books, activities, printables and display ideas!
