You’ll see plenty of list for RV must-haves that include expensive items, items that you might want for full-time living, but our list is based on experience for what’s really important for renting or enjoying an RV occasionally. We tried to be budget conscience or find items we can reuse for future rv trips.

RV Must Haves for Newbies

Most RV rentals come with the basics. That means an electric cord to hook up to power. Sewer hose (for the poop tank) and a basic water hose. Some even come with leveling pads/blocks, wheel chocks, and a few interior options (think shower curtain). These are all RV must-haves, so be sure to call and check to make sure these items are included.

Even if your rental RV comes with those items, we highly recommend a few add ons to make your first RV trip a success.

Drinking water hose. Even if your rental RV comes with one, I suggest having your own. You never know what someone has or hasn’t used that hose for. We didn’t want to wonder if someone had flushed the tanks with one.

Make sure you buy one that is meant for drinking water, it won’t have a rubber taste. It’s high on our priority list for travel trailers must-haves and isn’t overly expensive or hard to store.

Be sure to get one that is at least 25 feet or longer. Hookups aren’t always convenient and you want to make sure your drinking water hose can reach the hookup. Click the picture below to grab one from Amazon.

Water filter. Super easy to hook into your drinking water hose for perfectly pre-filtered water to drink, brush your teeth, and cook with. Better safe than sorry since each campsite has different water sources (city water, well water).

Flexible connector. Ours came with the water filter. Makes it easy to connect the water hose and filter to the RV. Not an RV must have, but nice to have.

Water pressure regulator. We learned pretty quickly that RVs require a certain level of water pressure and you have no idea what is coming out of the hose. If you don’t regulate the water pressure, you can damage the RV travel trailer. We grabbed an inexpensive option that does the trick and doesn’t break the bank.

Grab your RV Essentials using the links below!

TIP #1: First time RV camping tips for hooking up your water line

When you arrive at your campsite, you’ll want to set up the waterline. First, turn on the water from the faucet, make sure it is clean. Next, take out your water hose. Connect your water hose to the faucet, then add the water filter, water regulator, and flexible fitter before attaching everything to your camper. Go ahead and turn on the water at the faucet, then turn on the sink faucet inside the camper.

RV sewer hose support. We thought we wouldn’t need one of these, but we realized after 8 nights that they work really well to make the wastewater go down the pipe and not get stuck with awkward angles and dips. We used rocks and extra level blocks, but it’s on the list for next time now.

We decided to go ahead and use everything else that was provided, in addition to the items above. When you start looking into RV must-haves, you’ll notice the list can be really long. There were a few items we considered, but decided the cost was prohibitive for a week-long trip. You can decide if the items below are must-haves for you.

TIP #2: Hooking up your sewer line

You’ll want gloves handy for this part or a quick way to wash your hands with antibacterial soap. First, pull out your sewer hose. Attach the sewer hose to the camper/travel trailer. Then run the sewer line/hose to the hookup pipe in the ground. Make sure everything is firmly seated. Next, make sure the sewer line is headed in a level downward direction towards to dumping point. This is where an RV sewer hose support can come in handy (or use lots of rocks and bricks).

RV Friendly Toilet Paper: Don’t make the mistake of grabbing some extra TP from home! Your camper/travel trailer/RV requires specialized toilet paper. Grab some RV friendly toilet paper that breaks down quickly and won’t clog your wastewater hose or tanks.

Holding Tank Treatment: In order to reduce smells, help break down waste, and keep everything smelling fresh, grab some drop in’s for your black water tank.

You’ll add these each time you empty the tank. So you’ll want a small pack for a week-long trip.

Grab your RV Essentials using the links below!

Camper Must Haves

If your rental doesn’t come with anything (other than the electric cord), you’ll need to add the following items:

Wheel chocks: This helps to make sure your trailer doesn’t roll away after you unhook it. We suggest having one in front of and behind each wheel. Most travel trailers and pop up campers have two wheels (one on each side), so you’d need four-wheel chocks.

Leveling blocks: The trailer should be as level as possible. This is really important for the fridge to operate correctly. It also helps with water draining in the sink and shower. Not sure if your trailer is level? Download a “leveling” app.

TIP #3: Leveling the RV/Camper

Not all camping sites will have a perfectly level pad. Most are gravel sites and require you to level the trailer. First of all, you never want to disconnect your trailer without wheel chocks. Place them on either side of the trailer wheels so you don’t lose your trailer.

Next, use leveling pads to help level the trailer. We used ours under the leveling jacks. Then you can use a leveling app inside the trailer to check.

Waste Water Hose: This is one of the must-haves for RV camping! If you have a grey and/or black water tank you’re going to need this to help you dump your tanks.

You don’t need anything fancy, so I’m recommending one that is affordable. They have wastewater hose attachments to make it easier to open/close and clean the tanks and hose. Those attachments are optional.

Grab your RV Must Haves using the links below!

Must Haves for RV Living: Interior

Now let’s talk about the inside. I know when we first rented an RV I had no idea how to store everything. One word… BASKETS. Seriously, go gather all the baskets and bins in your house, you’ll want them.

We used baskets and bins in every cabinet and storage area to keep items from shifting around, tipping over and making a mess.

Foldable bins for clothing. They fit perfectly under the bed storage area. Each person ended up with 2-3 bins and they fold away at home for the next use.

Baskets for the pantry area. We grouped items by meals, snacks, breakfast/coffee, and then one for first aid/sunscreen/bug spray. We tucked the baskets into various places.

Below are some of the baskets that we used, but feel free to raid the house to see what you have. There is no sense in spending a bunch on new baskets unless you plan to use them to organize after you return.

In addition, we wanted to stay organized, so we added some wall hanging storage, hooks, and command hooks in various places to keep items off the surfaces.

Multiple wall hanging organizers for my son’s books/toys in his bunk bed, paperwork for the RV parks and national parks near the dinette, and one on the back of the kitchen cabinet for large utensils. We plan to reuse them each trip and the command hooks were easy to remove.

Grab some great interior RV Must Haves Below!

Broom storage hook in the bathroom. They come in a pack of two and are reusable with removable command strips.

Double door hooks for towels on the bathroom door. We were able to hang all of our towels for our family of three.

Shower curtain with pockets for toiletries. This was a favorite first-time RV camping accessory because it keeps everything stored away and nothing falls over in transit. Win-win.

It comes with smaller and larger sized pockets. We were able to fit all of our toiletries, including my son’s water toys to play in the shower/bath.

Grab these awesome interior RV Essentials using the links below!

Thin laundry bin. When living in a small space, you want to make sure you have a designated spot for everything. This laundry bin is perfect and doesn’t take up a ton of space. It has handles and a drawstring top for easy trips to the laundromat.

What about sleeping spaces? Oh yes, getting a good night’s sleep is high on my priority list. RV rentals aren’t known for their high-quality mattresses, unfortunately. Here are some items that help with that.

Mattress toppers or mattress pads. If you have some extra money in your budget, I suggest a mattress topper. We have some blow-up mattress pads from our camping kit, so we used those. We also added our personal linens and pillows, which made it feel like home.

For future RV travel, we would go ahead and purchase a mattress. Amazon has some lightweight and affordable options that we could store between trips. If you are purchasing an RV, you can spend a bit more to make sure that you sleep well during longer trips.

Grab our favorite interior RV Must-Haves!

Kitchen RV Accessories

Now that you’ve got the interior well organized, let’s talk about the kitchen. Cooking in an RV is usually pretty tight. We rented a 21ft travel trailer, so there isn’t a ton of countertop space. You’ll also want to keep things light because the more weight, the harder it is to pull the trailer and you don’t want to max out your towing capacity.

Lightweight dishes. Walmart has a great set of camping plates, silverware, and cups. Easy to clean and they stack to save space.

Another option is checking your local thrift store for plastic plates, cups, and silverware.

Dish drying rack. This is a must. The more compact and foldable the better. We were gifted one for the first trip, but it was bulky to store, so we grabbed this foldable one for the next trip.

Bins for smaller items. Sounds like a repeat right? I told you it’s all about the baskets and bins. Lol. Seriously though, we grabbed some baskets that we had from strawberry picking and tossed in dish soap, sponge, extra trash bags, and dish towels.

Stock up for all your RV Kitchen Needs using the links below!

Foldable Tupperware, strainers and bowls. Walmart has a great selection in their camping area. We love the bowls that nest inside each other for compact storage.

If you want to save money, check out your local thrift stores. We easily found plastic bowls, a collapsible strainer and extra Tupperware.

Raid your kitchen. Save money by using what you already have. Grab spices, baggies, cooking utensils, and everything you can use that is lightweight. Measuring cups, measuring spoons, and bowls.

Way to make coffee. Whether it be a mini coffee maker, Keurig machine, or a hot water heater. If you decide on a hot water heater, it can also double for tea, making oatmeal and making quick cook pasta.

Ice Trays with a lid. One thing I missed during our RV trip was ice to keep our drinks cold. Grab some ice trays with a lid in order to make ice while maximizing space in the small freezer and reducing spills. It also allowed us to stack on top of the ice tray.

Small Trash Can with lid. We like having small trash cans that can fit under the kitchen cabinet. A lid is helpful to keep everything tidy and neat.

Check out these awesome RV Must Haves!

First Time RV Camping Accessories

Ok. Now you’ve got the inside sorted out, what else? It really depends on where you are going, to be honest. However, here are some RV/camping items that we like to have and why.

Reusable table cloth. You’ll almost always have a picnic table and they are never cleaned between use. We like tossing down a tablecloth to keep everything nice and clean. Add some clips so you can leave the table cloth in place when you venture around the campsite or campground. This is one of our camper accessories must-haves, especially in 2021.

Camping chairs. This is a personal preference for what style you like. We like items that pack small, so here are our picks for comfortable chairs that pack small.

Clothes drying. Get some cording that you can tie between two trees or on your RV to dry suits and towels. The one we linked to is great because the clips are already attached. No need for clothespins.

Welcome mat. It doubles as a shoe scrubber. You’ll save yourself from sweeping out the floors, I promise. We also added a bin for shoes, just as a reminder that we don’t allow shoes in the camper

Campfire Accessories. Firestarter/lighter and quick start bricks to make a fire. Nothing says camping more than a campfire. We also like these roasting sticks for hot dogs/sausages and marshmallows.

Insect/Mosquito Repellent (Citronella). Some campgrounds spray for mosquitos, but others don’t. You’ll want something to keep the bugs away while you are enjoying time in the great outdoors. We like using citronella candles on the picnic table and then spray when we venture away from the rv.

The following items are nice, but up to each person if they need/want these items.

Hammock. Nothing is more relaxing than taking a nap or reading a book in a comfortable hammock. We like the lightweight packable types

Bicycles. Let’s just say campgrounds can be quite large. If you have space, it’s a nice addition to get around. We didn’t have space, but we did bring our son’s scooter and helmet.

Now that you have all the must-haves for RV camping, it’s time to hit the road. Where will your travels take you? Perhaps you enjoy the beauty of the Northeast and National Parks? We love Acadia National Park. Or are you exploring the beaches and mountains of the west coast? The open road awaits you. Did I miss any travel trailer must haves? Feel free to comment below.

Disclaimer: Pack More Into Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and its partners. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Looking for more travel inspiration? Check out our recent posts. Or head back to our homepage to explore destinations.

The post Renting an RV? Check out this list of must haves for RV living! appeared first on Pack More Into Life.

Grab this fun passport kit as an add-on to our global adventures. The kit includes a “passport”, stamps, stickers, and other items to get kids excited about their adventure. You’ll see our passport used throughout the lessons. It’s perfect for our homeschooling Brazil unit.

Each unit we locate the country of study on the map and complete our passport as we progress through the different activities. It makes it seem like we are really traveling the globe together!

Save this Brazil Lesson Plan for the future.

Want to travel to more countries? Check out all of my previous travel units by clicking on the name of the country.

• Japan
• England
• Greece
• France
• China
• Switzerland

Be sure to read through all the Brazilian craft ideas & activities, gather or purchase any needed supplies (most are what you have around the house), and then decide which activities you’d like to cover each day. Each activity has suggestions on how to modify it for younger and older children, but feel free to get creative and share your experience with us.

The following activities work great as Brazilian lesson plans for preschool-aged children, toddlers or elementary students.

If you like a schedule, here is a suggested 3-day “schedule” to complete all the Brazil classroom activities. It makes a great schedule for a Brazil homeschool unit.

All About Brazil for Kids

• The Brazilian people speak Portuguese.
• Brazil is the largest country in South America.
• The capital city of Brazil is Brasilia.
• The Brazilian landscape is very varied. It is most well known for its dense forests, including the Amazon, the world’s largest jungle, in the north.
• Brazilians LOVE soccer and their country has produced some of the best players in the world.
• Brazil has the greatest variety of animals of any country in the world. It is home to 600 mammal species, 1,500 fish species, 1,600 bird species, and an amazing 100,000 different types of insects.

Books About Brazil for Kids

We found quite a few great books for kids about Brazil. We’ve included a few options that you can either purchase on Amazon via the links or you can reserve them at the library for a low-cost option. Grab a few options, even if the reading level is too high for your child, they can still look at the pictures and maps or have an adult read the book to younger children.

Do your kids enjoy watching YouTube? I know my son is always finding fun little videos. Here is a great video with some great facts about Brazil. Learn about Brazil’s culture, geography, and animals.

Brazil Map Activity

Brazil is a country located in South America. It is the largest country in the southern hemisphere. Brazil is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east; French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, and Colombia to the north; Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina to the west; and Uruguay to the south.

If you have a globe, help your child(ren) locate Brazil on the map. If you have the passport kit from Amazon, it comes with a fun colorful map that you can hang up.

• Ask your child what they know about Brazil
• Write down any questions your child has about Brazil

Print the map below (right-click on the image, save it and then print).

Color Brazil GREEN on the map. Then use different colors to show the various countries surrounding Brazil.

You can use watercolors, crayons, markers or colored pencils. I’ve linked to our favorites if you need more supplies.

Preschool Kids: Color the map

Elementary Ages: Talk about the various regions. Ask questions about the map:

• What is the Capital City of Brazil? Mark the capital on the map with a star and write Brasilia.
• Add the location of the Amazon river with a thick blue line. The amazon river runs through the northern part of Brazil into the top of Peru.
• Add the neighboring countries names

Brazilian Flag Activity

The Brazil flag is known in Portuguese as Verde e amarela, or less usually Auriverde, is a blue disc depicting a starry sky spanned by a curved band inscribed with the national motto “Ordem e Progresso”, within a yellow rhombus, on a green field.

Make a flag of Brazil.

For preschoolers, practice cutting and gluing with the instructions below.

Older kids can choose to paint or hand draw and color.

For this craft, all you need are: (if you need supplies, click on the links)

• pair of scissors (kids)
• glue stick
• 1 sheet of yellow and green construction paper or cardstock
• A print out of the center of the falg

Step 1. Draw and cut out the shape of a rhombus on the yellow construction paper.

Step 2. Glue the yellow rhombus in the center of the green construction paper.

Step 3. Print out the center blue disc and glue to the center of the rhombas.

Step 4. Voila! Display on a string or use painters tape to add it to the wall.

Brazilian Recipes

Grab the kids and make your very own Brazilian cheese puffs! They are a perfect light and fluffy snack warm out of the oven.

Here is the recipe we used to make Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pao de Queijo). The balls are a gluten-free cheese bread with a unique, chewy texture that is made from tapioca flour

Step 1: Lay out all the ingredients.

Step 2: Heat the ingredients on the stove before adding in the tapioca flour and garlic. Let it sit.

Step 3: Mix in the cheese and egg. Then drop 1/4 cup sized balls onto a cookie sheet.

Step 4: Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes and then enjoy!

Looking for more ways to enjoy Brazilian foods? Visit a Brazilian Bakery or steakhouse Restaurant to try new foods (or order take out). Some of our favorite Brazilian foods include:

• Feijoada– a bean stew made with pork and rice.
• Coxinha de Galinha – Brazilian breaded and deep-fried snack filled with shredded chicken.
• Chocolate Truffles (Brigadeiro) – delicious and covered in sprinkles.
• Brazilian Lemonade– made with limes and condensed milk, it’s a sweet treat.

Click the links above if you are ready to try your hand out at cooking some fun Brazilian recipes.

Brazilian Folktales

Brazilian folklore includes myths, legends, and folk tales from Brazil. The population of Brazil was diverse with people from Africa, South American, Portugal and aboriginal people and this “melting pot” atmosphere contributed to many of Brazil’s traditions. The folklore stories explain how the night was formed or how an animal got their coloring. 

Here are some of our favorite stories for children that you can read online:

• Brazilian Folktale Collection

Looking to add to your library collection? Here are some other books below.

Brazilian Music

Listen to traditional Brazilian music while you complete the activities. Ask Alexa to play “Traditional Brazilian Music“, or check out this youtube video with various songs from traditional bands.

The music of Brazil features various regional musical styles influenced by African, European, and aboriginal forms. Brazilian music developed some unique and original styles such as samba, maracatu, and Brazilian versions of foreign musical styles, such as rock, soul, classical music, and gospel.

Let the kids make some fun music of their own with their own rain sticks. A rainstick is a long, hollow tube partially filled with small pebbles or beans. When the stick is tilted from side to side, the pebbles fall to the other end of the tube, making a sound like rain falling.

Items needed for this craft:

• Construction Paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Paper Towel Tube
• Packaging Tape
• White Rice or Beans

Missing some supplies? Click the link to grab them from Amazon.

Step 1: Cut out leaf patterns from the two green colored construction paper.

Step 2: Glue the blue paper to the paper towel roll and then glue on the green leaves.

Step 3: Tape a piece of round paper to the end of the tube so it is closed.

Step 4: Add in 1/2 a cup of rice to make the noise of rain falling.

Step 5: Seal the top of the tube with another round piece of paper and tape.

Step 6: Slowly lift and lower the tube to make the sound.

Animals Native to Brazil

Brazil has the largest diversity of animals in the world. The Amazon rainforest is home to many of these animals and is a popular tourist destination to see the famous pink dolphins, jaguar, squirrel monkey, sloths, and macaws.

The pink river dolphin is found in the Amazon river and known as Amazon river dolphin. It is a species of toothed whale which is one of the largest species of river dolphins.

The scarlet macaw is one of the most popular parrots and most recognizable thanks to its bright red, yellow, and blue plumage. It favors humid, evergreen forests and can be found in several areas of Brazil.

Unfortunately, more than one-fifth of the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil has been completely destroyed from deforestation, and more than 70 mammals are endangered. 

The Brazilian parrot is absolutely stunning and makes for a fun craft for kids.

For this craft, you’ll need the following supplies:

• Kids Paints
• Paintbrushes
• White Cupcake Liners
• Construction Paper (Green, Blue, White, Brown)
• Scissors
• Glue

Step 1: Paint four cupcake liners red, two green, two yellow and two blue.

Step 2: Cut out a branch, white circle and beak (my son and I do this project together, so hence the double supplies)

Step 3: Glue the branch at the bottom of the green paper.

Step 4: Glue one red cupcake liner on top the branch to the right of the green construction paper.

Step 5: Fold the yellow, green, blue and red cupcake liners in 1/2 and glue. Then slide them underneath the red body and glue with a bit of overlap.

Step 6: Add two folded red cupcake liners for the wings. Tuck one under the body and one overlapping over.

Step 7: Add another red cupcake liner for the head. Glue the white circle and black beak to finish the head.

Step 8: Use a marker to add an eye and Brazilian Parrot (optional)

Famous Landmarks & Festivals

Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world and includes a diverse landscape with many famous landmarks. Some of its landmarks are manmade, while many are exotic wildernesses.

The famous Amazon Rainforest and River is a wide stretch of river, known as Rio Amazonas that runs between the cities of Manaus and Belem. It is the longest river in the world and home to diverse wildlife.

Iguazu Falls are a spectacular series of waterfalls in Southern Brazil. Visitors enjoy the views of 275 separate drops, some of which reach heights of nearly 300 feet from the boardwalks surrounding the Falls.

One of the most iconic sites in Brazil is the statue of Christ, sitting atop the Peak of Mount Corcovado. It can be seen from almost any point in the city of Rio de Janeiro during the day or at night when the statue glows from the lights. Visitors can take the Corcovado Train to visit the mountain peak and the statue, known as Christ the Redeemer.

Carnival in Brazil is one of the most recognized festivals. Events take place in Rio de Janeiro with samba competitions and parades. The Carnival is an annual event that always begins on the Friday before Ash Wednesday. If you aren’t able to schedule a trip during Carnival, you can still experience the beautify of Samba at the Sambadrome.

Celebrate Carnival in Brazil with two fun crafts below.

Brazil Carnival Crafts for Kids & Activities

There are so many fun crafts that you can do to learn more about Brazil. I’ll share some of our favorite Brazil crafts for kids below. If you find more activities that you love, please share them with me and I’ll add them to this list.

1. Coloring Pages – Click the link for tons of great coloring pages

2. Brazil Carnival Craft Samba Dancers

Samba was created by African people in Brazil from the music and dance culture they brought from Africa. It is most commonly associated with Carnival that is celebrated each year in the town of Rio de Janeiro. The dancers wear colorful clothing celebrating their culture. The craft is meant to be representative of more traditional clothing, compared to the scantly clad outfits in today’s festivities.

Supplies Needed:

Step 1: Layout the supplies including various colors of felt, glue, body cut outs (see below), crayons, white cupcake liners, markers, and a spray bottle for water.

I also added a cookie drying rack and cookie sheet.

Step 2: Color various patterns on the white cupcake liners. Lay them on a cookie drying rack and spray water on the cupcake liners until the colors blend together.

Step 3: Print the dancers body shape (below) and color.

Step 4: Cut out the body shape, choose a piece of felt for the dress and lay the body on top the felt. Make marks for the outline.

Step 5: Glue the felt to the body.

Step 6: Fold your dried cupcake liner into the shape of a skirt (fold it in half and then make an accordion style fold). Add a strip of felt to make the belt.

Step 7: Draw on a face and add yarn for hair.

Step 8: Use felt scraps to make a bow in her hair.

Step 9: If you make multiple dancers, you can string them together like garland for a cute decoration for this unit.

Brazilian Samba: Get Moving!

One of the most recognizable dances and music that comes from Brazil is Samba. Samba emerged in Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century and is now most associated with Rio’s Carnival.

The word “samba” is thought to be derived from the Kimbundu (Angolan) term semba, which referred to an “invitation to dance”. These dances involved gyrating hip movements (called umbigada) and had roots going back to the colonial period in the Congolese and Angolan circle dances.

My son and I had fun with some samba dances. Check out a fun one below.

Grab some fancy pom poms here.

Family-Friendly Brazil Movies

There are a couple of choices for family-friendly movies set in Brazil. I’ll share a few of our favorites below.

Rio(rated G)- When Blu, a domesticated macaw from small-town Minnesota, meets the fiercely independent Jewel, he takes off on an adventure to Rio de Janeiro with the bird of his dreams.

Rio 2 (rated G)- It’s a jungle out there for Blu, Jewel and their three kids after they’re hurtled from Rio de Janeiro to the wilds of the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the vengeful Nigel, and meets his father-in-law.

You should be able to find the movies on Amazon, Netflix or Hulu. If you’d like to buy the DVD, click the photos below. There are also some educational films.

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=packmoreintol-20&language=en_US&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B0057LUI0O&asins=B0057LUI0O&linkId=8f6e2bb239265d92284a4e85dcb2b52f&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=packmoreintol-20&language=en_US&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00JM6W5RE&asins=B00JM6W5RE&linkId=2832ea4e21b8e0d5a6f5ef959f0af12d&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

Learn some Portuguese Phrases/Words

Portuguese is the official and national language of Brazil and is widely spoken by most of the population (98%).

Common Portuguese Phrases.

• Hello: Olá (oh-la)
• Goodbye: Adeus (ah-deuzh)
• How are you?: Como está? (Coh-moh esh-tah? or Coh-moh es-tah? in Brazil)
• My name is…: Me chamo [your name] (Mee sham-oh)
• Nice to meet you: Prazer em conhecê-lo/a (Prazh-air eh con-yo-see-lo/la)

Learn more about Brazil with Little Passports: World Edition

My 5-year-old is a huge fan of Little Passports, a monthly subscription service for kids focused on global learning. They have two versions, Early Explorers is meant for ages 3-5 years of age and it focuses on various themes such as music, oceans, and dinosaurs.

World Edition is meant for children 6-10 years of age and it focuses on a different country each month.

After the first month (when kids receive their world map and suitcase), your child will receive souvenirs, activity sheets, photos, stickers for their map and suitcase, and access to more activities online.

Field Trip: Brazilian Style

Can’t travel to Brazil, but want to experience more? Check out these ideas for celebrating Brazil while staying in the United States.

• Celebrate Brazilian Day in cities like NYC (Sunday before Labor Day weekend)
• Passport DC- dozens of embassies open their doors to the public with music, food, art and dance
• Visit a Brazilian steakhouse restaurant for a Brazil-style meal

Plan your trip!

If you loved learning about Brazil and are looking to plan a trip, check out these great resources from our family travel blogger friends. They’ve got all the best insider tips and tricks.

Before you start your planning, check out some great tips from our friend Keryn about how she took her young son on a river cruise.

You can’t miss a visit to Rio de Janeiro during your trip to Brazil, so don’t miss this post about the top things to see and do in Rio with kids.

Lastly, if you are like me, you love it when someone gives you all their packing advice. So here it is, what to pack for your fabulous trip to Brazil.

I hope you’ve enjoyed taking a virtual trip to Brazil with your kids. Learning about new countries and cultures can be a fun experience for both children and adults. I created this travel blog for families to inspire others to travel and create memories with their families.

Don’t miss our first Virtual trip to Greece, Virtual trip to Japan, Virtual trip to England, Virtual trip to France, Virtual trip to Switzerland and Virtual trip to China. Click the link to head to that post.

Please share your fun activities with me on Facebook or Instagram. Looking to plan an adventure with kids, but not sure where to start? Check out my top posts on my homepage to discover more of our favorite places to travel with kids around the globe.

Like this post? Save it and help spread the word!

Disclaimer: Pack More Into Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and its partners. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

The post Global Citizens Club for Kids: Virtual Trip to Brazil: Brazilian Arts and Crafts for Kids appeared first on Pack More Into Life.

Grab this fun passport kit as an add-on to our global adventures. The kit includes a “passport”, stamps, stickers and other items to get kids excited about their adventure. You’ll see our passport used throughout the lessons. It’s perfect for our homeschooling Switzerland unit.

Each unit we locate the country of study on the map and complete our passport as we progress through the different activities. It makes it seem like we are really traveling the globe together!

Save this Switzerland Lesson Plan for the future.

Want to travel to more countries? Check out all of my previous travel units by clicking on the name of the country.

• Japan
• England
• Greece
• France
• China
• Brazil

Be sure to read through all the Switzerland craft ideas & activities, gather or purchase any needed supplies (most are what you have around the house) and then decide which activities you’d like to cover each day. Each activity has suggestions on how to modify it for younger and older children, but feel free to get creative and share your experience with us.

The following activities works great as Switzerland lesson plans for preschool aged children, toddlers or elementary students.

If you like a schedule, here is a suggested 3-day “schedule” to complete all the Switzerland classroom activities. It makes a great schedule for a Switzerland homeschool unit.

All About Switzerland for Kids

• The Swiss people speak German, French, Italian, and Romansch.
• Switzerland is located in Europe. Switzerland is a landlocked country in Central Europe.
• The capital city of Switzerland is Bern. However, the largest city in Switzerland is Zürich with a population of 1.3 million.
• Switzerland has the highest mountains in Europe. The most famous Swiss mountain is the Matterhorn near Zermatt. Matterhorn is 4 478 m/ 14 692 ft. high.
• The Swiss are known for their banks, their farms and dairies and their clock making skills.
• Switzerland has remained neutral in all the wars, including World War 1 and World War II. 

Books About Switzerland for Kids

We found quite a few great books for kids about Switzerland. We’ve included a few options that you can either purchase on Amazon via the links or you can reserve them at the library for a low-cost option. Grab a few options, even if the reading level is too high for your child, they can still look at the pictures and maps or have an adult read the book to younger children.

Do your kids enjoy watching YouTube? I know my son is always finding fun little videos. Here is a great video with beautiful scenes from all around Switzerland. Learn about how to make cheese, explore the mountains and go paragliding with Colleen and her family.

There are a few ads, but you can skip over those.

Switzerland Map Activity

Switzerland is a country located in Europe. The country shares a land border with Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Italy, and France. Bern is the capital city of Switzerland.

If you have a globe, help your child(ren) locate Switzerland on the map. If you have the passport kit from Amazon, it comes with a fun colorful map that you can hang up.

• Ask your child what they know about Switzerland
• Write down any questions your child has about Switzerland

Print the map below (right-click on the image, save it and then print).

Color Switzerland GREEN on the map. Then use different colors to show the various countries surrounding Switzerland.

You can use watercolors, crayons, markers or colored pencils. I’ve linked to our favorites if you need more supplies.

Preschool Kids: Color the map

Elementary Ages: Talk about the various regions. Ask questions about the map:

• What is the Capital City of Switzerland? Mark the capital on the map with a star and write Bern.
• The highest point in Switzerland is Monte Rosa, which stands at 15,203 feet), find it’s location and highlight it on the map with a mountain shape. Add the name “Monte Rosa”.
• Add the neighboring countries names

Swiss Flag Activity

The Swiss flag is a red square flag with a white cross at the center. The white cross is known as the Swiss cross. Switzerland is the only country in the world with a square flag

Make a flag of Switzerland.

For preschoolers, practice cutting and gluing with the instructions below.

Older kids can choose to paint or hand draw and color.

For this craft, all you need are: (if you need supplies, click on the links)

• pair of scissors (kids)
• glue stick
• 1 sheet of red and white construction paper or cardstock
• A flag of Switzerland to refer to

Step 1. Cut two strips of white paper to form the cross. The strips should be 2″ wide.

Step 2. Lay the white stripes in a cross pattern over the red paper and glue.

Step 3. Display your flag during your unit study. We’ve hung ours on a string down the stairs.

Swiss Recipes

Grab the kids and make your very own Swiss sweet cookies! Your kids can decorate them with sprinkles like Christmas cookies in this fun hands-on recipe.

Here is the recipe we used to make the Mailaenderli cookies.

Step 1: Lay out all the ingredients.

Step 2: Mix the ingredients and then cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Step 3: Roll out dough. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Put cookies on the cookie sheet. Brush with beaten egg yolks and decorate with sprinkles.

Step 4: Cook for 15-20 minutes and then enjoy!

Looking for more ways to enjoy Swiss foods? Visit a Swiss/German Restaurant to try new foods (or order take out). Some of our favorite Swiss foods include:

• Cheese Fondue
• Rösti 
• Raclette 
• Saffron Risotto
• Älplermagronen

Ready to cook a delicious traditional Swiss family-friendly dinner? Here are a few of our favorite recipes.

• Gruyere Potato Gratin – Potato Gratin is the perfect simple side dish for any type of meal. Thin slices of Yukon gold potato are baked in cream, milk, cheese, onions, and wine, until bubbling and golden.

• Bircher Muesli (Swiss Oatmeal) – an easy and delicious make-ahead breakfast recipe, Bircher Muesli is made with oats, fruit, and nuts soaked in yogurt.
• Alpine Macaroni– a traditional Swiss dish served on the slopes of the Alps. It’s similar to macaroni and cheese with a Swiss twist.

Don’t forget to end your meal with a delicious chocolate treat. The Swiss are well known for their chocolate and can either be enjoyed with a plate of chocolate fondue or with these candy bars.

• Toblerone Swiss Milk Chocolate (my personal favorite)
• Lindt Swiss Milk Chocolate Truffles
• Munz Swiss Chocolate Bar

If you aren’t quite ready to cook up a meal, see if you have a fondue restaurant close by. We ordered take-out from The Melting Pot for some cheese fondue and chocolate fondue. Their food is amazing and the in-restaurant experience is really fun for the whole family.

Swiss Folktales

There is no shortage of Swiss myths and legends. One of the most popular is William Tell- the man who skilfully splits an apple on his son’s head with his crossbow rather than bowing down to a local dignitary’s hat – has come to represent the Swiss people’s spirit of independence.

Here are some of our favorite stories for children that you can read online:

• Swiss Folktale Collection

Looking to add to your library collection? Here are some other books below.

Swiss Music

Listen to traditional Swiss music while you complete the activities. Ask Alexa to play “Traditional Swiss Music“, or check out this youtube video with various songs from traditional bands.

The alphorn has long been a tool used by shepherds in the 17th century. It was used to call the cows from the pastures and into the barn at milking time and for religious purposes. Although the alphorn had more or less lost its original function in the mountains, it now won the hearts of its audiences as a musical instrument – and has become a tourist attraction and a symbol of Switzerland.

Animals Native to Switzerland

Switzerland, just like many other European countries, had nearly lost its wildlife between the 17th and 19th centuries. Conservation efforts and reintroducing wildlife back into the environment has brought back many animals considered to be extinct.

Alpine marmots are the largest species of the squirrel family and found in the Swiss Alps at elevations from 2,500 to 10,000 ft. Marmots are excellent diggers and therefore live in burrows. They have large front teeth and a thick fur coat.

The brown bear is an endangered species in Switzerland. It was an extinct animal for almost a century after the last bear was killed in 1904. Conservationists had been unsuccessful at reintroducing the brown bear in multiple attempts but were finally able to add two bears into a national park. Then in 2017, a wild brown bear that had migrated from Italy was seen roaming in Switzerland, the first in over a century.

The Golden Eagle has a wingspan of six feet makes the flight of the golden eagle and impressive sight unless you are on its menu. The bird is considered the “king of the air” in Switzerland because it is unrivaled in air dominance. There are about 300 pairs of golden eagles in the country.

Although not a wild animal, one of the most famous Swiss icons is the St. Bernard mountain rescue dog. Since the early 18th century, monks living in the snowy, dangerous St. Bernard Pass—a route through the Alps between Italy and Switzerland—kept the canines to help them on their rescue missions after bad snowstorms. Over a span of nearly 200 years, about 2,000 people, from lost children to Napoleon’s soldiers, were rescued because of the heroic dogs’ sense of direction and resistance to cold.

Famous Landmarks

Switzerland is known for the beauty of its majestic mountains and historic towns. Most of the major landmarks include mountains, waterfalls, trains, covered bridges, stunning landscapes and castles.

The famous Matterhorn is an iconic emblem of the Swiss Alps. The mountain derives its name from the German words Matte, meaning meadow, and Horn, which means peak. With its 4,478 meters (14,692 ft) high summit, lying on the border between Switzerland and Italy, it is one of the highest peaks in the Alps.

The Jungfraujoch is a peak in the Bernese Alps accessible by railway, ending at Europe’s highest mountain station. Highlights include views of spectacular mountain summits like the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau, and views of the large Eiger Glacier that nestles below them. The Sphinx Observatory, one of the highest astronomical sighting stations in the world, is located here as well

The Bernina Express is a brightly colored train that crosses the Alps, just across the border in northern Italy. It is one of the most scenic Swiss train rides. The route takes about 4 hours and goes over 196 bridges and through 55 tunnels. Guest enjoy views of glaciers and mountain peaks and towns, bridges spanning across 60 meters (200 foot) drop and many more breathtaking sights are speeding by outside of the train, while waiters bring snacks and drinks directly to your seat.

The Rhine Falls, near Schaffhausen, is Europe’s largest waterfall. Guests can enjoy views of the waterfall via a boat tour, from one of the many platforms or while enjoying a bite to eat. Visitors will also enjoy views of the riverside castles, and spectacular boulder perched in the middle of the river at the top of the falls. A children’s playground, historical museum region, and adventure trail make it the perfect spot to visit.

The mountain town of Grindelwald is the largest ski resort town in the Jungfrau region. This lovely alpine town is both a summer and winter activity region. Tourists who visit in the summer can enjoy spectacular hiking trails and some of Europe’s most-loved rock climbing locations. Winter tourists can ski or even try the local toboggan run.

Check out the craft below where you can create your own mountain scene complete with climber or paraglider.

Swiss Crafts for Kids & Activities

There are so many fun crafts that you can do to learn more about Switzerland. I’ll share some of our favorite Switzerland crafts for kids below. If you find more activities that you love, please share them with me and I’ll add them to this list.

1. Coloring Pages – Click the link for tons of great coloring pages

2. Edelweiss Flower Craft

The edelweiss, a delicate mountain flower with furry white petals that grow in high altitudes (2,000 to 3,000 meters). The flower adorns everything from airlines to coins to the logo for the Swiss tourism office.

Supplies Needed:

Step 1: Layout the supplies including various colors of construction paper: dark blue, light blue, white, yellow and green.

Step 2: Draw and cut out the shape for the mountain background.

Step 3: Glue the mountains to the dark blue background.

Step 4: Draw and cut out the shapes for the petals, stems and pollen.

You’ll need 5 larger petals, 5 smaller petals, one large yellow circle, and 5 smaller circles. Also a strip of green for the stem.

Have older children practice drawing and cutting. Pre-cut for younger students.

Step 5: Glue the green stem in the bottom center of the paper.

Step 6: Arrange and glue the five large white petals in a circle.

Step 7: Arrange and glue the five smaller white petals between the larger petals.

Step 8: Glue the large yellow circle in the center of the white petals.

Step 9: Arrange the smaller yellow circles in the center of the flower and glue.

Now you have a beautiful landscape of the Alps with an icon Edelweiss flower to enjoy.

3. Alpine Adventure Climber/Paraglider Craft

The Western Alps is the largest rock climbing area in Switzerland that includes Interlaken and the famous mountains of the Eiger, Jungfrau, and Monch.  Parasailing or paragliding is also very popular in the areas as a way to take in the picturesque views of the Swiss Alps.

Supplies Needed:

Step 1: Layout the supplies including paper plate, blue construction paper background, printed climber or parasailer, paints, paintbrushes, brads, and a toothpick.

Step 2: Cut off the bottom of the paper plate to make it flat.

Step 3: Paint a mountain scene on the paper plate with light grey paint.

Step 4: Add blotches of dark grey paint and wipe it with a paper towel.

Step 5: Add grass at the bottom of the mountains.

Step 6: Print a climber (click the link for the PDF) or a paraglider (below)

Step 7: Cut out the image you choose, cut inside the line so it isn’t visible.

Step 8: Use a brad to attach your climber to the back of your mountain scene. Make sure he isn’t hidden as he climbs the mountain.

Step 9: Glue your toothpick to the front and use a small piece of extra white paper to write “The Alps”. Glue both to the front in the grass.

Step 10: Glue the paper plate to a blue background and have fun with your new alpine climber or parasailer!

4. Alpine Hat Craft

The Tyrolean hat, also a Bavarian hat or Alpine hat, is a type of headwear that originally came from the Tyrol in the Alps, in what is now part of Austria, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland.

Supplies Needed:

Step 1: Fold the paper in half (short wise)

Step 2: With the open end facing down, fold in both corner to meet in the middle.

Step 3: Fold up the bottom flap and then flip it over.

Step 4: Fold up the bottom flap.

Step 5: Fold in each corner and tuck it into the hat, glue, and clip to hold it while it dries. Do this for all four corners.

Step 6: Add a feather and glue.

Step 7: Make a mini swiss flag with extra construction paper scraps.

Step 8: Glue the flag to the hat.

Now you’ve got a cute swiss hat for your stuffed animals. You can add some string or elastic so it stays on.

Swiss Inventions

Switzerland has made some major contributions to the world as we know it. Swiss engineer George de Mestral invented Velcro after studying how seeds stick to clothing. The swiss army knife was invented by Karl Elsener and has adapted to modern times, now including a USB device.

In addition, the Swiss formed the Red Cross in 1863 to set up international rules on caring for wounded soldiers, notably prisoners. Since that time it has grown into the largest humanitarian network in the world, with a presence in nearly every country.  Today this network of national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies is powered by 13 million volunteers, helping roughly 284 million people every year

• Make your own play first aid kit for dolls and pretend play

Make your own first aid kit out of felt. You can be as simple or as complex as you’d like. We did a combo of sewing and gluing to make the various pieces.

Supplies Needed

• Felt sheets in various colors
• Velcro
• Snaps
• Needle and Thread
• Sewing Machine

Step 1: To make the bandaids, make a template out of cardstock or cardboard and trace the shapes onto felt. Also cut out white rectangles for the center.

Step 2: Glue or sew the white strips to the center of the bandaids. Hand sew snaps to the ends (one top and one bottom). You can also use sticky velcro.

Step 3: Make a cute first aid bag out of felt. I sewed the top edges first on both sides with the handles.

Step 4: Cut out two red crosses and pin them to the front and back of the bag. Sew the crosses (or glue).

Step 5: Sew the sides of the bag together to complete the first aid kit bag.

We made quite a few extras, as requested by my son. We made a thermometer, ointment tube, pills, and a wrap bandage. Feel free to get creative and modify with the items you have at home.

Swiss Hiking: Get Moving!

The people of Switzerland enjoy a wide variety of outdoor activities. With nature all around, it is easy to get out and explore. Find a local trail or explore the neighborhood with this nature scavenger hunt.

Here are some of our favorite printable scavenger hunts. See which one will work best for the kids in your family.

• Neighborhood Nature Scavenger Hunt
• Hiking Scavenger Hunt
• Drawing Outdoor Scavenger Hunt

Family-Friendly Swiss Movies

There are a couple of choices for family-friendly movies set in Switzerland. I’ll share a few of our favorites below.

Heidi (rated G)- In the most famous novel about Switzerland, an orphan girl is sent to live with her grandfather in the Alps. There are multiple versions.

A Bell for Ursli (rated PG)- High in the Alps, a boy named Ursli hikes alone into the snowy mountains to find a big bell with which to lead the spring procession.

You should be able to find the movies on Amazon, Netflix or Hulu. If you’d like to buy the DVD, click the photos below. There are also some educational films.

Learn some German Phrases/Words

Switzerland has four official languages, but the majority of the people who live in Switzerland speak Swiss German. For example, the customary greeting in standard, or high, German would be “guten Tag,” but in Swiss German, the all-purpose hello for one person is “gruetzi” or “gruetzi wohl,” and for more than one, “gruetzi miteinander,” the equivalent of “hello, everybody.”

Whereas “guten Abend” is the standard German way of saying, “good night,” speakers of Swiss German would say, “guten Abig” when addressing one person, and “guten Abig zusammen” or “guten Abig miteinander” for two or more. Despite conversational differences, the Swiss use standard German in writing.

There weren’t many options for learning Swiss German on youtube, but here are 10 of the most popular phrases to learn.

Learn more about Switzerland with Little Passports: World Edition

My 5-year-old is a huge fan of Little Passports, a monthly subscription service for kids focused on global learning. They have two versions, Early Explorers is meant for ages 3-5 years of age and it focuses on various themes such as music, oceans, and dinosaurs.

World Edition is meant for children 6-10 years of age and it focuses on a different country each month.

After the first month (when kids receive their world map and suitcase), your child will receive souvenirs, activity sheets, photos, stickers for their map and suitcase, and access to more activities online.

Field Trip: Swiss Style

There aren’t many ways to learn about Swiss culture without traveling to Switzerland, but here are a few ideas.

• Go for a hike in the mountains
• Have fun with winter sports like skiing and tobogganing
• Visit a fondue restaurant for a swiss-style meal

Attend a Swiss festival in your area or nearby. Ohio hosts a swiss festival each year in October with wine and cheese samples along with parades and activities. Click the link to check the schedule.

Plan your trip!

If you loved learning about Switzerland and are looking to plan a trip, check out these great resources from our family travel blogger friends. They’ve got all the best insider tips and tricks.

Looking for a quaint alpine town to explore? Don’t miss Grindelwald, Switzerland. There are plenty of opportunities to hike, amazing alpine playground and views to amaze.

Here is the link to a post I wrote about our long weekend visit to Grindelwald, Switzerland.

Visit Rhine Falls, the largest waterfall in Europe with these helpful tips.

We also loved the lown of Lucerne with its transportation museum, covered bridge, easy access to the mountains and chocolate galore!

I hope you’ve enjoyed taking a virtual trip to Switzerland with your kids. Learning about new countries and cultures can be a fun experience for both children and adults. I created this travel blog for families to inspire others to travel and create memories with their families.

Don’t miss our first Virtual trip to Greece, Virtual trip to Japan, Virtual trip to England, Virtual trip to France, Virtual trip to Brazil and Virtual trip to China. Click the link to head to that post.

Please share your fun activities with me on Facebook or Instagram. Looking to plan an adventure with kids, but not sure where to start? Check out my top posts on my homepage to discover more of our favorite places to travel with kids around the globe.

Like this post? Save it and help spread the word!

Disclaimer: Pack More Into Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and its partners. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

The post Global Citizens Club for Kids: Virtual Trip to Switzerland: Homeschooling Switzerland: Switzerland Crafts for Kids & Activities appeared first on Pack More Into Life.

Grab this fun passport kit as an add-on to our global adventures. The kit includes a “passport”, stamps, stickers and other items to get kids excited about their adventure. You’ll see our passport used throughout the lessons. It’s perfect for our homeschooling China unit.

Each unit we locate the country of study on the map and complete our passport as we progress through the different activities. It makes it seem like we are really traveling the globe together!

Save this China Lesson Plan for the future.

Want to travel to more countries? Check out all of my previous travel units by clicking on the name of the country.

• Japan
• England
• Greece
• France
• Switzerland
• Brazil

Be sure to read through all the chinese craft ideas & activities, gather or purchase any needed supplies (most are what you have around the house) and then decide which activities you’d like to cover each day. Each activity has suggestions on how to modify it for younger and older children, but feel free to get creative and share your experience with us.

The following activities works great as a Chinese New Year lesson plans for preschool aged children, toddlers or elementary students.

If you like a schedule, here is a suggested 3-day “schedule” to complete all the Chinese New Year classroom activities. It makes a great schedule for a China homeschool unit.

All About China for Kids

• Mandarin is the official language of China, but there are many different languages spoken in China, including Mandarin, Yue, Wu, Minbei, Minnan, Xiang, Gan and Hakka.
• China is officially known as the People’s Republic of China and is located in the continent of Asia.
• The Great Wall of China is the largest man-made structure in the world, stretching an incredible 8,850 kilometers (5,500 miles).
• China has the largest population in the world with more than 1.3 billion people.
• Ancient China was a land of inventions. The Chinese invented paper, the magnetic compass, printing, tea porcelain, silk, and gunpowder.
• Chinese New Year is celebrated each year between January and February with parades, feasts with family, fireworks and time off work (15 days).

Books About China for Kids

We found quite a few great books for kids about China. We’ve included a few options that you can either purchase on Amazon via the links or you can reserve them at the library for a low-cost option. Grab a few options, even if the reading level is too high for your child, they can still look at the pictures and maps or have an adult read the book to younger children.

Do your kids enjoy watching YouTube? I know my son is always finding fun little videos. Here is a great video with beautiful scenes from all around China.

China Map Activity

China is a country located in Asia. It is the third-largest country in the world. China has the maximum number of neighbors touching its border. The 14 countries touching its border are India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Bhutan, and Nepal. Beijing is the capital city of China.

If you have a globe, help your child(ren) locate China on the map. If you have the passport kit from Amazon, it comes with a fun colorful map that you can hang up.

• Ask your child what they know about China
• Write down any questions your child has about China

Print the map below (right-click on the image, save it and then print).

Color China GREEN on the map. Then use different colors to show the various countries.

You can use watercolors (like we did), crayons, markers or colored pencils. I’ve linked to our favorites if you need more supplies.

Preschool Kids: Color the map

Elementary Ages: Talk about the various regions. Ask questions about the map:

• What is the Capital City of China? Mark the capital on the map with a star and write Beijing.
• The highest point in China is Mount Everest, which stands at 8,848 m (29,028 feet), find it’s location and highlight it on the map with a mountain shape. Add the name “Mount Everest”.
• The Great Wall of China is the longest man-made structure. Draw your own wall between China and Mongolia.

China Flag Activity

The Chinese flag is a red flag with one large star in the upper left corner with four smaller stars surrounding the larger star. The red of the Chinese flag symbolizes the communist revolution, and it’s also the traditional color of the people. The large gold star represents communism, while the four smaller stars represent the social classes of the people

The flag of China was officially adopted on October 1, 1949.

Make a flag of China.

For preschoolers, practice cutting and gluing with the instructions below.

Older kids can choose to paint or hand draw and color.

For this craft, all you need are: (if you need supplies, click on the links)

• pair of scissors (kids)
• glue stick
• 1 sheet of red and yellow construction paper or cardstock
• A flag of China to refer to

Step 1. Practice how to draw a star on the yellow piece of paper, parents might need to help with this part. You need one large and four smaller stars.

Step 2. Cut out the stars (parents might need to demonstrate).

Step 3. Glue the stars on the red background according to the Chinese flag photo.

Voila! Your child has created the flag for China. Hang it up somewhere or find a stick/dowel and attach it. We’ve been adding our flags on a string hanging down the stairs.

Chinese Recipes

Grab the kids and make your very own egg rolls! Your kids can choose which fillings they prefer in this fun hands-on recipe.

Kids will love helping to make their own egg rolls. Get creative with different items to put inside the egg rolls. Here are some ideas for non-traditional egg roll recipes. Here is the recipe we used to make the egg rolls.

Step 1: Lay out all the ingredients.

Step 2: Saute the cabbage, chicken, shredded carrots and other veggies in some vegetable oil for 5 minutes.

Step 3: Mix together your sauce according to the recipe and pour it over the mixture, cooking another 3 minutes.

Step 4: Scoop the filling onto a single sheet of egg roll wrapper.

Step 5: Fold the sides in, then the back flap and finally the front flap. Add some egg white to seal the front flap.

Step 6: Put the egg rolls onto a cookie sheet, spray with vegetable oil and then cook on each side for 6 minutes.

It took me a bit of practice to get the folding technique right, but eventually, my son and I were a pro! We even tried a meatball, marinara, and mozzarella egg roll. They were both delicious.

Not quite sure you are ready to tackle making your own egg rolls? Visit a Chinese Restaurant to try new foods (or order take out). Some of our favorite Chinese foods include:

• Dumplings (dough with filling)
• Chow Mein (stir-fried noodles)
• Peking Duck
• Sweet and Sour Pork
• Spring Rolls

Ready to cook a delicious traditional Chinese family-friendly dinner? Here are a few of our favorite recipes.

• Chinese Corn Soup – crunchy corn kernels and chicken broth make up this easy Chinese Corn Soup. Add chicken for a heartier meal.
• Chow Mein – a Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles with vegetables and sometimes shredded meat like chicken, beef, pork or seafood.
• Chinese chicken and broccoli – a popular Chinese takeout dish.

Chinese Folktales

Chinese Folktales are a major part of the countries history and proud traditions. Stories are loved by both the young and the old. Folktales and are used to teach important values such as moderation, the value of promises, respect for one’s elders, why you should follow the ways of the culture, justice, and injustice, and the power of wisdom.

Chinese folklore is influenced by the country’s religions and beliefs. The animals in Chinese folk tales often have human characteristics and can speak and perform tasks in the same manner as humans.

Here are some of our favorite stories for children that you can read online:

• The Dragon Princess
• The Fox and the Tiger
• A Legend of Confucius

Looking to add to your library collection? Here are some other books below.

Chinese Music

Listen to traditional French music while you complete the activities. Ask Alexa to play “Traditional Chinese Music“, or check out this youtube video with scenes from China with six hours of music to enjoy while you do crafts and learn about China.

Make your own music with this Chinese pellet drum. Pellet drums are popular with street vendors in China who use them as noisemakers to attract customers. In China, this drum is called taogu, or “rattle drum.”

Here is the instruction to make your own DIY pellet drum. Click on the links to purchase supplies or head to Michaels Craft Store (US-based).

Supplies Needed:

Step 1: Paint the bottom (outside) of the two paper plates red (or another color if you’d like).

Step 2: While the paint dries, cut two 8″ pieces of string and tie on a bead to the end. Make sure you double knot it.

Step 3: Paint a design on the outside of your drum. We choose two Chinese characters.

Step 4: Once the paint is dry, tape the dowel to the inside of one plate. Make sure the handle is long enough for kids.

Step 5: Put glue around the outside edge of the plates and glue the two together. Wait for the glue to dry.

Step 6: Punch a hole on either side of the paper plates and tie the string with the beads. You want the bead to hit the center of the drum (paper plate).

Congrats! You’ve made your first Chinese Pellet drum. Was this Chinese drum craft easy? Find me on Facebook and show me yours!

Animals Native to China

China has a vast area of landscape and is home to a great variety of wildlife. China has the third-largest number of mammals in the world. The most well-known animal is the Giant Panda. Other animals that are native to China are the Asian elephant, North China leopard, the golden snub-nosed monkey, and the Pallas cat.

The Asian elephant is slightly smaller than the African elephant. The elephant uses its trunk for drinking, grabbing, breathing, and smelling. The Pallas cat is almost the size of a domestic cat, but it has a long dense fur coat. Their fur changes color depending on the season.

The North Chinese Leopard is one of the world’s Big Cats, but there are only 100 leopards left in the wild, causing the North Chinese Leopard to be on the endangered animal list. The golden snubbed nose monkey is very rare and can only be found in Southwest and central China. 

The giant panda is part of the bear family and its body is covered by a thick black and white coat.  The majority of their diet composed of bamboo, which they spend 12 hours of the day eating. If you like Panda’s, check out our Panda craft below.

Want to learn even more about animals that call China their home? Check out this fun video to learn about eleven animals that live in China.

Panda Craft

Supplies Needed:

• Yellow and Green Paint
• Paintbrush
• Scrap piece of cardboard (1″ x 1″)
• Piece of white paper/cardstock
• Panda Template (see below)
• Black Sharpie
• Scissors
• Glue

Step 1: Put one dot of yellow and then two dots of green next to the yellow.

Step 2: Use the construction paper to slide the paint down the paper. Stop every 1-2″ and slide left or right by 1cm and then return to the center. The slide will make it look like segments of bamboo.

Step 3: Fill the paper with bamboo and then paint leaves using two different colors of green paint.

Step 4: While your bamboo dries, print the image below or freehand the image on a piece of white paper.

Step 5: Using the black sharpie. Color the bottom of the legs, ears and facial features. Mine looks a bit different because I did a freehand of the image. Lucky for you, I gave you the printable version above.

Step 6: Cut out the body parts and make two loops out of extra construction paper.

Step 7: Glue the largest part of the body to the bamboo background.

Step 8: Glue the two loops to the back of the panda’s smaller body part. Glue that to the center of the large body piece.

Step 9: Make an accordion shape out of a piece of construction paper and glue it to the back of the panda’s head. Then glue it to the body of the Panda. Don’t forget to glue on the ears too.

Now you’ve got an adorable bobble head panda. We hung ours on the wall and my son likes to jiggle his head as he walks by.

Famous Landmarks

China has so many iconic walls, cities, palaces, temples, gardens, and UNESCO sites.

The Great Wall of China is one of the most recognized. It was built over thousands of years as a defense system against invading soldiers from other countries. It is currently the longest man-made structure in the world, with over 13,170 miles of wall.

The Great Wall is about 2,700 years old and was built by over 1 million laborers. It receives over 50 million visitors every year who come to admire its construction.

In order to understand the amount of time it took to build such a large structure, kids should attempt to build their own Great Wall of China. You can use legos, keva planks, playdoh, Melissa and Doug giant brinks or brick-sized rice Krispie treats.

We decided to use a combination of play-doh and LEGO Minifigures. We used this brick maker from our kinetic sand kit to make bricks out of the playdoh and then our son made them into his wall. We stacked higher towers and added fire signals.

Once his tower was complete, he added ladders and LEGO Minifigures to complete the scene. It was a fun way to show how much thought and effort went into making the Great Wall of China over thousands of years.

China has many other notable sites including the Forbidden City. It is an area of Beijing, China, that contains the former imperial palaces, to which entry was forbidden to all except the members of the imperial family and their servants. Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is the inspiration for the movie Avatar and is well known for its giant sandstone pinnacles rise skyward from the valley floor.

The Shaolin Monastery is a Chan Buddhist temple in the Henan Province of China. It is believed to have been founded in the fifth century, the Shaolin Temple played a historical role in spreading Zen Buddhism and martial arts to Japan, Korea, and other countries.

West Lake in Hangzhou is a place that Chinese people call “paradise on earth”. It is a beautiful landscape with mountains and Chinese-style arched bridges near the lake. There are tree-lined walkways, islands, and hill to bike around or cruise along the lake.

Chinese Crafts for Kids & Activities

There are so many fun crafts that you can do to learn more about China. Many crafts pair well with Chinese New Year crafts for kids which takes place between January and February. I’ll share some of our favorite Chinese crafts for kids below. If you find more activities that you love, please share them with me and I’ll add them to this list.

1. Coloring Pages – Click the link for tons of great coloring pages

2. Chinese Dragon Craft

Dragons in China are very important and seen as a symbol of window, power, and luck. Unlike scary dragons in the US, Chinese dragons are seen as kind and benevolent. We will make a fun dragon puppet craft for kids to enjoy. The paper dragon puppet is great for kids because they can play with it and make it dance around when they are finished.

Supplies Needed:

Step 1: Print out the image below.

Step 2: Color the head and tail of the dragon.

Step 3: Cut out the head and the tail. You can either cut around the design or leave a bit of white.

Step 4: Cut three colors of crepe paper to 12″ long (30cm).

Step 5: Fold the paper in half and then in half again. Cut the paper in half to form 6 pieces of crepe paper.

Step 6: Take 3 layers and stack them on top of each other. Fold them into an accordion style.

Step 7: Tape the three-piece of accordion-style paper to both the head and the tail of your dragon.

Step 8: Tape one plastic straw to the head and one plastic straw to the tail (cut off the bendy part if you have a bendy straw).

Step 9: Cut 3″ strips of crepe paper using the three strips that you have left. Fray the bottom of the crepe paper pieces.

Step 10: Tape the 3″ strips of crepe paper to the bottom of the dragons head and tail.

Voila.. you have a beautiful Chinese New Year dragon craft to enjoy. Children can dance around the room with their DIY Chinese dragon.

3. Chinese New Year Lantern Craft

Chinese lanterns are one of the most easily recognized features of Chinese culture. They are used not only as a source of light and simple paper decoration, but they also symbolize good luck, social status, and vitality. Historians believe that the Chinese first began making the now traditional lanterns during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220).

There are three types of lanterns in Chinese culture: the hanging lanterns (most common), the floating lantern (used during lantern celebrations) and the flying lanterns (released into the night skies).

If you are looking for easy Chinese new year craft ideas, start this with this project. In this craft, we will make homemade paper lanterns. They are very easy to make and perfect as a Chinese new year craft for preschool students.

Supplies Needed:

• Construction Paper
• Scissors
• Tape or Glue
• Decorations- Paint, Ribbon, Glitter Paint

Step 1: Take one sheet of red paper and fold it in half. You can either go lengthwise or widthwise.

Step 2: Mark a line every 1″ and cut (leaving 1″ at the top). We used fun scissors. Grab some HERE.

Step 3: Open up the paper and wrap the two ends around to meet each other, forming the lantern.

Step 4: Glue or tape the two ends together.

Step 5: Cut a 2″ strip of paper on the short side of a piece of construction paper to use for the handle.

Step 6: Glue or tape the handle to the lantern.

Step 7: If you’d like to add “light” inside your lantern, roll up a piece of yellow construction paper. Make sure you find the right size to fit into your lantern. Tape the roll together and then slide it into your lantern.

Step 8: Glue or tape the yellow tube inside your lantern. You can insert it in fully or let the bottom hang out and then cut frills into the paper as beams of light.

Step 9: Decorate your lantern. We used glitter paint and ribbon.

Did you have fun experimenting with different shapes and styles of lanterns? Did you know lanterns were really created to keep the wind from blowing out the candle in Ancient China? Pretty smart, right?

Chinese Inventions

China has been credited with many inventions over its thousand-year history. Some of those inventions include papermaking, the compass, gunpowder (fireworks) and printing. In addition, kites were first used as a way for the army to signal warnings (as well as signal fires) and umbrellas were invented to protect against the sun as well as the rain.

We are going to explore two Chinese inventions. Chinese papermaking and terraced farming.

1. Paper Making Ancient China

Among the many Chinese inventions, paper and printing were among the most important Chinese inventions and changed the world. Paper was invented around 100 CE, during the Han dynasty. The first paper was made from rags, but later plant materials were used, such as bark, hemp, and bamboo.

Supplies Needed:

• Paper Scraps (newspaper, construction paper)
• Dye (food coloring)
• Plastic containers (Tupperware)
• Paper Making Screen (or make your own below)
• Paper Towels/Dish Towels

Looking for an easy solution? Buy a kit HERE.

If you want to make your own papermaking screen, here are the instructions. Grab an old photo frame (the larger it is, the bigger the paper). Take out the insides and just leave the frame. Glue in some window screening or mesh around the edges. Use the insert to measure the size of the screening/mesh. Let it dry and you’ve got a paper screen.

• 

• 

• 

Step 1: Cut or rip up scrap pieces of newspaper or construction paper. We used newspaper and just cut out the white parts.

Step 2: Place the pieces into a container and add water to cover the paper. Add food coloring if you’d like. Let the paper sit overnight for 12 hours.

Step 3: Transfer the paper into a blender. Make sure you have enough water to make the blender work. Pulp the paper.

Step 4: Lay your screen over a larger dish (to catch the water).

Step 5: Scoop the paper onto your screening. You can use cookie cutters to make shapes. You want a thin layer.

Step 6: Use a paper towel or kitchen towel to push the paper into the screening and push out the water.

Step 7: Once the paper is dry enough, flip over the paper from the screen onto a towel to dry.

Step 8: Let the homemade paper dry overnight.

Homemade paper works great as teacher gifts, for mother’s day or a fun gift for friends. They are easy to make a cost-effective. You can also write your name in Chinese characters and frame it.

2. Terraced Farming

Supplies Needed:

• Play-Doh
• Cookie Sheet/Tray
• Cup of Water

Step 1: Take a ball of Play-Doh and place it in the center of the tray. Explain to your child that China has many hills and mountains, which is good usable land, but difficult to farm.

Step 2: Have your child pour a bit of water over the mound of play-doh. What happens? Why did all the water run off the play-doh onto the tray?

Step 3: Farmers in Ancient China designed terraces in the hills to make a flat surface to farm on. This also allowed the water to stay on the crop and not wash them down the side of the hill. Have your child make a terraced hillside.

Step 4: Pour the water on the new design and see what happens. Did the water stay in the flat areas? How is this better for farming?

In order to grow more food, the ancient Chinese built terraced fields for water conservation which made it possible to grow rice in hilly areas. They figured out how to use land that was at first unusable into terraced fields.

Chinese Acrobats: Get Moving!

Chinese acrobatics is a wide range of acrobatic acts, balancing acts, coordination, demonstrations of physical skill and Chinese stories and is traditionally performed by a troupe in China. There are two styles of performances: Martial Arts or Circus.

Grab all the members in your family, invite some friends or if you have a small family like ours, mom and dad get to play too! There are four elements of Chinese acrobatics, try an activity or two from each.

1. Flexibility and balance:  See how flexible each member of the family is.

Can you touch your toes? Do the splits? Lay on your belly and touch your toes to your head?

Test your balance by standing on one leg, then try to touch the ground in front of you, to the left, to the right and behind you without falling over. Find a rock and see if you can stand on it with only one foot. Time each other to see how long each person can last before falling over.

2. Group coordination: Pick a favorite dance and see if you can all stay together or create your own moves to your favorite song. Here are some favorites that are family-friendly.

• Cupid – Cupid Shuffle
• Cha cha slide dance
• I Like to Move It (from “Madagascar”)

3. Chinese music and theater: Use your pellet drums to create your own music show or use one of the Chinese folktales to create a theater performance.

4. Martial arts: The Chinese are known for their Kung Fu. Practice your moves with kicks and punches in this ancient Chinese art. You can also play Just Dance Kids Kung Fu Fighting.

Family-Friendly Chinese Movies

There are so many great family-friendly movies set in the country of China. The hardest part is picking which option to watch! We watched Mulan to go along with our China unit, but we’ve seen the majority of these.

Mulan(rated G)- The movie about a young Chinese woman who disguises herself as a man to enter battle in her ill father’s place delivers a positive message of staying true to yourself.

Kung Fu Panda 1, 2, & 3 (rated PG)- Jack Black as Po the chubby panda and extremely unlikely martial arts hero is funny and memorable.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Around the Clubhouse World (Rated G)- Along with countries like France and Egypt, Mickey and the gang visit China and have to figure out a hack for getting over the Great Wall. Perfect for the 5 and under crowd.

Disneynature Born In China (Rated G)- “Born In China” follows the adventures of three animal families — the majestic panda, the savvy golden monkey, and the elusive snow leopard. It is a documentary and not a movie, but great for animal lovers. You can download an activity packet from the Disney website to use with the documentary.

You should be able to find the movies on Amazon, Netflix or Hulu. If you’d like to buy the DVD, click the photos below.

Learn Mandarin Phrases/Words

Learn more about China by practicing a few Mandarin words. Mandarin is a language made up of characters and they represent words or phrases rather than sounds. Chinese writing has over 50,000 characters, but only 20,000 are used today. Chinese is considered one of the hardest languages to learn. The video below will teach you some basic greetings such as Hello, Thank you and You’re Welcome.

Want to learn more Mandarin? Download the Duolingo app for daily practice.

Learn more about China with Little Passports: World Edition

My 5-year-old is a huge fan of Little Passports, a monthly subscription service for kids focused on global learning. They have two versions, Early Explorers is meant for ages 3-5 years of age and it focuses on various themes such as music, oceans, and dinosaurs.

World Edition is meant for children 6-10 years of age and it focuses on a different country each month. One of the countries that is included in the series is China, which is a perfect pairing with this week’s lessons.

After the first month (when kids receive their world map and suitcase), your child will receive souvenirs, activity sheets, photos, stickers for their map and suitcase, and access to more activities online.

Field Trip: Chinese Style

Expand your learning with a visit to a Chinese Garden.

• The New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden in Staten Island, New York, USA
• Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland, Oregon, USA
• Liu Fang Yuan or the Garden of Flowing Fragrance, Chinese Garden at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California
• Seattle Chinese Garden in Seattle, Washington, USA
• The Astor Court in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA
• The Margaret Grigg Nanjing Friendship Garden in the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, Missouri, USA
• Robert D. Ray Asian Gardens in Des Moines, Iowa, USA

Attend a Chinese festival in your area or visit a local Chinese restaurant to immerse yourself in the culinary delights. Chinese New Year is a great time to visit Chinatown and see if they have a parade scheduled.

Plan your trip!

If you loved learning about China and are looking to plan a trip, check out these great resources from our family travel blogger friends. They’ve got all the best insider tips and tricks.

Have your sights set on Beijing? Check out these tips for planning a trip with the kids to Beijing.

Looking to visit the Great Wall of China? Don’t miss these tips for visiting the Great Wall from our travel blogger friend Kyla.

Visit Shanghai like a pro with these top family activities.

I hope you’ve enjoyed taking a virtual trip to China with your kids. Learning about new countries and cultures can be a fun experience for both children and adults. I created this travel blog for families to inspire others to travel and create memories with their families.

Don’t miss our first Virtual trip to Greece, Virtual trip to Japan, Virtual trip to England, Virtual trip to Switzerland, Virtual trip to Brazil and Virtual trip to France. Click the link to head to that post.

Please share your fun activities with me on Facebook or Instagram. Looking to plan an adventure with kids, but not sure where to start? Check out my top posts on my homepage to discover more of our favorite places to travel with kids around the globe.

Like this post? Save it and help spread the word!

Disclaimer: Pack More Into Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and its partners. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

The post Global Citizens Club for Kids: Virtual Trip to China: Homeschooling China: Chinese Crafts for Kids & Activities appeared first on Pack More Into Life.

Grab this fun passport kit as an add-on to our global adventures. The kit includes a “passport”, stamps, stickers and other items to get kids excited about their adventure. You’ll see our passport used throughout the lessons. It’s perfect for our homeschooling France unit.

Save this France Lesson Plan for the future.

Want to travel to more countries? Check out all of my previous travel units by clicking on the name of the country.

• Japan
• England
• Greece
• Switzerland
• Brazil

Be sure to read through all the activities, gather or purchase any needed supplies (most are what you have around the house) and then decide which activities you’d like to cover each day. Each activity has suggestions on how to modify it for younger and older children, but feel free to get creative and share your experience with us.

If you like a schedule, here is a suggested 3-day “schedule” to complete all the activities. It makes a great schedule for a France homeschool unit.

Interesting Facts about France

• French is the official language of France.
• France is the largest country in Western Europe. France borders Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy.
• France has a diverse landscape with beautiful beaches to the South, mountains (alps) to the East and beautiful wide plains for agriculture.
• France is the most visited country in the world, with over 80 million visitors every year.
• The famous Eiffel Tower in Paris was built as the entrance point for the 1889 World Fair. It is one of the most visited monuments in the world.
• The most famous road bicycle race in the world, the Tour de France zig zags through the French landscape.

Books for Kids to Learn about France

We found quite a few great books for kids about France. We’ve included a few options that you can either purchase on Amazon via the links or you can reserve them at the library for a low-cost option. Grab a few options, even if the reading level is too high for your child, they can still look at the pictures and maps or have an adult read the book to younger children.

Do your kids enjoy watching YouTube? I know my son is always finding fun little videos. Here is a great intro to France. Julian and Rosie travel around Paris where they sketch with a French artist, taste crêpes for the first time and finish their adventure atop the Eiffel Tower.

France Map Activity

France is a country located in Europe. France is bordered by the English Channel and Bay of Biscay; Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany to the north, Switzerland, and Italy to the east and Spain to the south. Paris is the capital city of France and also the largest city. France is about the size of Texas in the US.

If you have a globe, help your child(ren) locate France on the map. If you have the passport kit from Amazon, it comes with a fun colorful map that you can hang up.

• Ask your child what they know about France
• Write down any questions your child has about France

Print the map below (right-click on the image, save it and then print).

Color the map with different colors to show the various countries.

• France- Green
• UK- Yellow
• Netherlands- Dark Green
• Belgium- Brown
• Germany- Orange
• Switzerland- Purple
• Italy- Red
• Spain- Blue
• Luxembourg- Pink

You can use watercolors (like we did), crayons, markers or colored pencils. I’ve linked to our favorites if you need more supplies.

Preschool Kids: Color the map

Elementary Ages: Talk about the various regions. Ask questions about the map:

• What is the Capital City of France? Mark the capital on the map with a star and write Paris.
• The highest point in France is Mount Blanc, which stands at 4,807m (15,771 ft), find it’s location and highlight it on the map with a mountain shape. Add the name “Mount Blanc”.

France Flag Activity

The French flag is a tricolor flag with blue, white and red and is called “Le drapeau tricolore ” in French. The flag has changed over the years, such as reversing the colors, making the colors brighter and making the stripes the same size.

The white in the flag represents the Bourbon monarchy which ruled France from the late 16th Century AD until the French Revolution.  It’s also the color of the Virgin Mary and Joan of Arc.  Red and blue are the colors of the city of Paris.

Make a flag of France. The flag is quite simple.

For preschoolers, practice cutting and gluing with the instructions below.

Older kids can choose to paint or hand draw and color.

For this craft, all you need are: (if you need supplies, click on the links)

• pair of scissors (kids)
• glue stick
• 1 sheet of red and blue construction paper or cardstock
• 1 sheet of white paper (preferably cardstock)
• A flag of France to refer to

Step 1. Practice math skills by having kids figure out the proportions of the map. Three colors, 12″ wide paper construction paper. (The answer is each strip should be 4″ wide.)

Step 2. Measure 4″ strips in both red and blue using a ruler.

Step 3. Cut the strip of red and blue paper based on the mark. We used a paper cutter. Want one? Grab our favorite here on Amazon.

Step 4. Glue the red and blue strips of paper to the white background. Make sure blue is on the left and red is on the right.

Voila! Your child has created the flag for France. Hang it up somewhere or find a stick/dowel and attach it. We’ve been adding our flags on a string hanging between two walls.

French Recipes

Grab the kids and make your very own crepes! Your kids can choose between savory crepes like ham and cheese or sweet crepes with nutella and strawberries.

Kids will love helping to make crepes. Get creative with different items to put inside the crepes. Here is the recipe we used to make the crepes.

Step 1: Place all the ingredients inside a blender. Blend.

Step 2: Put about 1/4 of a cup (depending on your pan size) and tilt your pan to spread around the crepe mix. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes per side.

Step 3: Once you’ve flipped the crepe, start adding your fillings so that they can heat up a bit.

Step 4: Fold the crepe in 1/2 and then in 1/2 again. Plate the crepe.

Not quite sure you are ready to tackle making your own crepes? Visit a French Restaurant to try new foods (or order take out). Some of our favorite French foods include:

• Crepes (thin pancakes)
• Quiches (pastry with egg filling)
• Croque Monsieur (grilled cheese with ham)
• Fresh Baguette (bread) with french cheese
• Cheese Fondue

Ready to cook a delicious traditional French dinner? Here are a few of our favorite recipes.

• French Onion Soup – a type of soup usually based on meat stock and onions, and often served gratinéed with croutons and cheese on top of a large piece of bread
• Beef Bourguignon – a beef stew braised in red wine, often red Burgundy, and beef stock, generally flavored with carrots, onions, garlic, and garnished with pearl onions, mushrooms, and bacon.
• Salade niçoise – made of tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, Niçoise olives and anchovies or tuna, dressed with olive oil.

French Folktales

French fairytales and folktales were some of the first oral stories to be written down. Charles Perrault, a writer of fairytales and folklore, was known to have collected many stories from storytellers. He gathered them and then rewrote them for the upper-class who loved the stories and were eager for more. These original stories when on to inspire other notable storytellers, such as Brothers Grimm.

French fairytales were viewed as art by the upper class and were popular in Louis XIV’s court. The King wanted the world to see the intellectual culture of the people of France. The name fairytales actually originated from French folktales because the stories included fairies, as well as plenty of magic, dark and mystical elements. 

Here are some of our favorite stories for children that you can read online:

• Beauty and the Beast
• Cinderella
• Little Red Riding Hood

Looking to add to your library collection? Here are some other books below.

French Music

Listen to traditional French music while you complete the activities. Ask Alexa to play “French Cafe Music“, or check out this youtube video with scenes from France with four hours of music to enjoy while you do crafts or cook in the kitchen.

Want to sing together? Kids love the “Frère Jacques” (“Are You Sleeping?”) song and it is easy to learn. Here are the lyrics in both French and English.

“Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques, Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?
Sonnez les matines, Sonnez les matines,
Ding, Ding, Dong! Ding, Ding, Dong!”

“Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping? Brother John, Brother John?
Morning bells are ringing, morning bells are ringing,
Ding, Ding, Dong! Ding, Ding, Dong!”

Sing along with this fun YouTube Video.

French Animals

France has a wide variety of wildlife because a large percentage of the country is still rural and/or forested, so there are many natural habitats for animals. To date, 120 mammal species have been recorded in the country.

Harbor seals can be found along the coastlines of France. They feed on fish such as salmon and squid. Roe Deer graze the countryside and are smaller than deer in the US. They can live up to 10 years of age.

The alpine marmot is a species of mammal that likes to live in mountainous regions of France at a height of between 2,624 and 10,498 feet. The animals feed on vegetation like herbs and grasses as well as insects, spiders, worms, and grain. The European hare is one of the largest species of hare with an adaptation to the open countryside.

Famous Landmarks

France has so many iconic landmarks, museums, structures, arches and UNESCO sites.

The Eiffel Tower is one of the most recognized. It is named after Gustave Eiffel, who was in charge of building the tower. The Eiffel Tower is 320 meters (1050 feet) in height and was the tallest man-made structure in the world for 41 years as well as a marvel for all of the people in Paris. More than 7 million people visit this iconic tower every year, according to the attraction’s official website.

There are so many fun projects to do with the Eiffel Tower. You can build it out of legos, food or paint its beauty. We decided to make an Eiffel Tower out of fruit, perfect for snack time.

Paris has many other notable sites including the Cathedral of Notre Dame with its towering facade and sky-high towers. This Gothic Cathedral was finished in the 14th century and has stunning rose windows and flying buttresses. There is a fun craft in the activities section below that goes along with the Notre Dame Cathedral.

The Louvre Museum is the world’s largest art museum and a historic monument in Paris, France. If you’ve ever heard of the Mona Lisa painting, she is located inside the museum. Take a virtual tour of the museum to see some of the beautiful art and sculptures.

France is also home to the famous French Alps where tourists and locals enjoy skiing, paragliding, and hiking. The area of Provence features lavender fields in June along with markets, stone villages, and amazing provincial food. Lastly, the coast of France is a hot spot for families escaping to the heat of the coastline.

France Crafts & Activities

There are so many fun crafts that you can do to learn more about France. I’ll share some of our favorites below. If you find more activities that you love, please share them with me and I’ll add them to this list.

1.Coloring Pages – Click the link for tons of great coloring pages

2. Make a Notre Dame window with stained glass

Notre Dame is an old cathedral in Paris, France. It is one of Paris’ most famous landmarks and 13 million people visit it each year. The cathedral is located on a small island on the River Seine. It is a very good example of Gothic Architecture in France with beautiful stained glass windows.

Supplies Needed:

• Contact Paper
• Tissue Paper or Crepe Paper
• Scissors
• Black Construction Paper
• Elmers Glue

Step 1: Cut out squares of tissue paper from various colors. Crepe paper also works if you have that.

Step 2: Cut out a large section of contact paper, take off the protective layer so the sticky layer is exposed.

Step 3: Have your child add little squares of tissue paper all over the contact paper.

Step 4: Fill all the contact paper until you don’t have any clear contact paper showing.

Step 5: Time for the hard part, cutting out the Notre Dame outline. I promise it is easier than it looks. Grab your black piece of construction paper and follow along.

Step 6: Open up your design and place it over the tissue paper squares. Move your design around to make sure you like the window colors.

Step 7: Glue your black construction paper using Elmers Glue.

Step 8: Cut another sheet of contact paper and lay it over the top (covering the black construction paper fully).

Step 9: Cut out the Notre Dame design from the extra tissue paper squares.

Voila.. you have a beautiful Notre Dame stained glass window to display. We made a few different styles and added them to our bay window. Our pup Calvin says hello.

3. Van Gogh Painting

Vincent van Gogh was born in the Netherlands in 1853. Van Gogh enjoyed drawing as a young boy, but at the age of 27, van Gogh decided to devote himself completely to art. One of his most famous paintings Starry Night is the painting we are going to re-create.

Supplies Needed:

• Acrylic Paint
• Cotton Q-tips
• Aluminum Foil

Step 1: Layout all of your supplies on your workspace.

Step 2: Squeeze out a bit of paint onto the paper plates. Use a q-tip to create swirls of paint on the foil.

Step 3: Continue to layer various colors of swirls and wisps.

Step 4: Finish your painting by filling the foil.

How did I do? It was actually quite relaxing to paint with swirls and wisps of wind with pockets of light. Painting with q-tips made it a mess-free project and low cost.

4. Lavender Soap

France is well known for its lavender fields in the Provence area. It blooms from June until August and is absolutely stunning as well as a wonderful smell. France is also known for its luxury soaps and perfumes. Some famous and well-known brands are L’Occitane, Pré de Provence and La Maison du Savon de Marseille.

Supplies Needed:

• Glycerine Soap Base
• Soap Coloring
• Soap Fragrance Oils
• Soap Molds

Looking for an easy solution? Buy a kit HERE.

Step 1: Layout all of your supplies in the kitchen (you’ll need the microwave).

Step 2: Cut off blocks of soap. We used 3-4 per mold. Place them in a dish that you can microwave. If it has a spout, even better. Microwave for 30 seconds.

Step 3: Add droplets of color and fragrance (if you’d like).

Step 4: Mix the soap to mix the colors and fragrance. Then pour the mixture into a mold. Wash the Pyrex container in between colors.

Step 5: Let kids get creative with adding fresh flowers, lavender flowers, lego miniatures or toys. The items tend to “float” so push them down until the soap dries a bit.

Step 6: Wait 40 minutes and then gently press the soap out of the molds. If you are having trouble, but the soap in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.

Soaps work great as teacher gifts, for mother’s day or a fun gift for friends. They are easy to make a cost-effective. Turn them into a gift with these little sachets.

Kids Tour de France

The Tour de France is a multiple-stage bicycle race for men that is held annually in the country of France. It consists of 21 day-long stages over the course of 23 days and covers 2,200 miles.

The bike race includes various terrain and each cyclist is timed each day. The cyclists all start with one minute between each rider. The first-ever Tour de France took place in 1903.

Kids can have their own “mini Tour de France” with their friends or you can do it together as a family.

Grab all the members in your family, invite some friends or if you have a small family like ours, mom and dad get to play too!

You can either just enjoy a bike ride together over a variety of terrain or you can set up races between each other to see who can bike the fastest. It’s a great way to get outside and get some exercise.

Make sure everyone wears a helmet and you check your bike’s for loose joints or rust.

Family-Friendly French Movies

There are so many great family-friendly movies set in the country of France. The hardest part is picking which option to watch! We had a few rainy days, so we picked three.

Madeline (rated PG)- is a fun lighthearted movie about a little girl who has been orphaned and lives in a school for girls in central Paris. She gets into plenty of mischief after she finds out her school is going to be sold. This is the 1998 version with real actors (not the cartoon). There is also a book.

Hunchback of Notre Dame (rated G)- a deformed bell-ringer must assert his independence from a vicious government minister in order to help his friend, a gypsy dancer. There are some intense scenes including Quasimodo being bullied and the Gypsy at the stake.

Ratatouille (Rated G)– A rat who can cook makes an unusual alliance with a young kitchen worker at a famous restaurant. The best option for toddlers and children who like lighthearted movies.

You should be able to find the movies on Amazon, Netflix or Hulu. If you’d like to buy the DVD, click the photos below.

Learn French Phrases/Words

Learn more about France by practicing a few French words. France is a language made up of letters like the English alphabet, but they have feminine and masculine words. The French language is as old as the 8th Century BC. The video below will teach you some common phrases and when to use them.

Want to learn more French? Download the Duolingo app for daily practice.

Learn more about France with Little Passports: World Edition

My 5-year-old is a huge fan of Little Passports, a monthly subscription service for kids focused on global learning. They have two versions, Early Explorers is meant for ages 3-5 years of age and it focuses on various themes such as music, oceans, and dinosaurs.

World Edition is meant for children 6-10 years of age and it focuses on a different country each month. One of the countries that is included in the series is France, which is a perfect pairing with this week’s lessons.

After the first month (when kids receive their world map and suitcase), your child will receive souvenirs, activity sheets, photos, stickers for their map and suitcase, and access to more activities online.

Field Trip: French Style

Expand your learning with a visit to an Art Exhibit to see paintings by famous artists like Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul Cézanne. Attend a French festival in your area or visit a local French restaurant to immerse yourself in the culinary delights.

Plan your trip!

If you loved learning about France and are looking to plan a trip, check out these great resources from our family travel blogger friends. They’ve got all the best insider tips and tricks.

• Not sure where to even start? Check out this post for places to visit in France with Kids or grab some recommended books about France to get you excited about your trip.
• Have your sights set on Paris? Here are our friends’ Preethi’s tips on what to do in Paris with Kids.
• Looking to visit Disneyland Paris? Don’t miss this Disneyland Paris tip sheet with fast track tips, where to stay and more.

• Looking for a bit of History? Head to Normandy with kids during the D-day celebrations or venture over to Mount Saint Michel.

I hope you’ve enjoyed taking a virtual trip to France with your kids. Learning about new countries and cultures can be a fun experience for both children and adults. I created this travel blog for families to inspire others to travel and create memories with their family.

Don’t miss our first Virtual trip to Greece, Virtual trip to Brazil, Virtual trip to Japan, Virtual trip to Switzerland, and Virtual trip to England. Click the link to head to that post.

Please share your fun activities with me on Facebook or Instagram. Looking to plan an adventure with kids, but not sure where to start? Check out my top posts on my homepage to discover more of our favorite places to travel with kids around the globe.

Like this post? Save it and help spread the word!

Disclaimer: Pack More Into Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and its partners. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

The post Global Citizens Club for Kids: Virtual Trip to France: Homeschooling France: French Crafts, Activities for Kids appeared first on Pack More Into Life.

Grab this fun passport kit as an add-on to our global adventures. The kit includes a “passport”, stamps, stickers and other items to get kids excited about their adventure. You’ll see our passport used throughout the lessons.

Save this Japan Lesson Plan for the future.

Want to travel to more countries? Check out all of my previous travel units by clicking on the name of the country.

• Japan
• England
• Greece
• France
• China
• Switzerland
• Brazil

Be sure to read through all the activities, gather or purchase any needed supplies (most are what you have around the house) and then decide which activities you’d like to cover each day. Each activity has suggestions on how to modify it for younger and older children, but feel free to get creative and share your experience with us.

If you like a schedule, here is a suggested 3-day “schedule” to complete all the activities. It makes a great schedule for a Japan homeschool unit.

Interesting Facts about Japan

• Japanese is the official language of Japan.
• Japan is part of the continent of Asia. Japan is an island nation surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the East and the Pacific Ocean to the West.
• Japan is made up of 6,852 islands.
• Ancient warriors of Japan were known as Samurai. They were very skilled fighters and swordsmen.
• Some of the most well-known companies in the world are Japanese such as Toyota, Honda, Sony, Nintendo, Canon, Panasonic, Toshiba, and Sharp.
• Sumo is recognized as the national sport of Japan, although the most popular spectator sport is baseball.

Books for Kids to Learn about Japan

We found quite a few great books for kids about Japan. We’ve included a few options that you can either purchase on Amazon via the links or you can reserve them at the library for a low-cost option. Grab a few options, even if the reading level is too high for your child, they can still look at the pictures and maps or have an adult read the book to younger children.

Do your kids enjoy watching YouTube? I know my son is always finding fun little videos. Here is a great one about Japan. We liked the neat puzzle aspect of building the map. It is narrated by the father, but two little girls help with facts about Japan and it makes a great introduction.

It also pairs perfectly with the map activity.

Japan Map Activity

Japan is a country located in Asia. The Japanese name for Japan is “Nihon” or “Nippon” which means “sun origin”. Tokyo is the capital city of Japan and also the largest city. Other major cities include Osaka, Nagoya, and Sapporo. Japan sits along the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, so it has many volcanoes and experiences many earthquakes.

If you have a globe, help your child(ren) locate Japan on the map. If you have the passport kit from Amazon, it comes with a fun colorful map that you can hang up.

• Ask your child what they know about Japan
• Write down any questions your child has about Japan

Print the map below (click on the image for a PDF) and have your child color the land GREEN and the water BLUE.

You can use watercolors (like we did), crayons, markers or colored pencils. I’ve linked to our favorites if you need more supplies.

Preschool Kids: Color the map

Elementary Ages: Talk about the various regions. Ask questions about the map:

• What is the Capital City of Japan? Highlight the capital on the map with a star and write Toyko.
• The highest point in Japan in Mount Fuji, which stands at 3,776m (12,388ft), find it’s location and highlight it on the map with a mountain shape. Add the name “Mount Fuji”.

Japan Flag Activity

The Japanese flag is a white background with a red circle in the center. The circle represents the sun. The Japanese flag is called Hinomaru in Japanese, which means “circle of the sun.” In English, it is sometimes referred to as the “rising sun” because Japan is the first country in the world to see the sunrise.

Make a flag of Japan. The flag is quite simple.

For preschoolers, practice cutting and gluing with the instructions below.

Older kids can choose to paint or hand draw and color.

For this craft, all you need are: (if you need supplies, click on the links)

• pair of scissors (kids)
• glue stick
• 1 sheet of red construction paper or cardstock
• 1 sheet of white paper (preferably cardstock)
• A flag of Japan to refer to

Step 1. Find a cup that matches the size of the circle for the center of the flag.

Step 2. Trace the shape of the cup (circle) onto the red construction paper.

Step 3. Cut out the red circle (great practice for kids)

Step 4. Glue the red circle in the center of the white paper.

Voila! Your child has created the flag for Japan. Hang it up somewhere or find a stick/dowel and attach it.

Japanese Recipes

Grab the kids and make your very own sushi! Even if the kids don’t like fish, you can make avocado rolls or add in chicken, carrots, and cucumbers, the options are endless.

Kids will love helping to make sushi. Get creative with different items to put inside the sushi.

Step 1: Place one cup of uncooked rice in 3 cups of cold water, bring to the boil and simmer until cooked (following the cooking instructions). It’s best if you use sushi rice.

Step 2: Rinse the rice thoroughly, but be careful to keep the form of the rice, I rinsed the cooked rice twice in cold water. Then put the rice into the fridge to cool before using.

Step 3: Prepare all the ingredients you’ve chosen and have them ready to use. Chop all items into small pieces and place them into bowls.

Step 4: Add 2 tbs of mirin to the cool rice; thoroughly mix with a spoon.

Step 5: Take a seaweed sheet and place it over the bamboo mat. Position the mat so that it is easy to reach.

Step 6: Take a scoop of the rice (about 1/4 of a cup) and place it closest to you on the seaweed sheet and flatten into a rectangle shape, leaving about an inch of the seaweed sheet clear of rice at the top.

Step 7: Take your filling and place it across the center of the rice. Try to line it up down the center.

Step 8: Then gently pick up the end of the bamboo mat closest to you and start rolling away from your body as tightly as possible.

Step 9: Make sure you leave about 1 inch at the far end of your roll without rice/filling. When you have finished rolling, dip your fingers into the water and wet the strip of seaweed on the end to close and seal the sushi.

Step 10: With a sharp knife (adult supervision), chop the sushi into bite-sized pieces.

Step 11: Pour a bit of soy sauce to dip in your sushi and enjoy it!

Not quite sure you are ready to tackle making your own sushi? Visit a Japanese Restaurant to try new foods (or order take out). Some of our favorite Japanese foods include:

• Ramen (soup)
• Japanese Curry
• Zaru Soba (Noodles)
• Kitsune Udon (Soup)
• Gyoza (Dumplings)

Ready to cook a delicious traditional Japanese dinner? Here are a few of our favorite recipes.

• Oyakodon (Japanese Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl) – traditional Japanese meal consisting of chicken sauteed and then cooked in a Japanese broth, and then finished with egg and served over rice.
• Sukiyaki– a Japanese dish that is prepared and served in the nabemono style. It consists of meat which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin.
• Teriyaki Chicken Bonburi– a Japanese rice bowl dish and a more exciting way to serve chicken and vegetables, especially when cooked in a delicious teriyaki sauce.
• Japanese Chicken Curry– Tender pieces of chicken, carrots, and potatoes cooked in a rich savory curry sauce.

Japanese Folktales

Japanese folktales and fairytales are influenced and inspired by their religious beliefs, Shinto and Buddhism.

The characteristics of the stories vary, but like other famous storytellers, the folktales from Japan feature themes like kindness, magic, and greed. Japanese folklore also includes supernatural stories featuring creatures, spirits, and monsters, many of which have characteristics of nature.

Here are some of our favorite stories for children that you can read online:

• The Two Frogs
• The Mirror of Matsuyama
• The Tongue-Cut Sparrow

Looking to add to your library collection? Here are some other books below.

Japanese Music

Listen to traditional Japanese music while you complete the activities. Ask Alexa to play “Traditional Japanese Music“, or check out this youtube video with scenes from Japan and an hour’s worth of music.

Japanese Animals

Japan has a wide variety of wildlife. There are many animals that are native to Japan and are not found anywhere else in the world. The red-crowned crane (Japanese Crane) is a large crane known is as a symbol of luck and longevity in some parts of the world. The Japanese crane is among the rarest East Asian cranes. During the winter months, the cranes perform a distinctive mating dance – a graceful and seemingly choreographed ritual that never fails to impress visitors.

The Ussuri brown bear is one of the largest black bears in all of Asia. The majority of their diet is vegetarian based.

Japanese Macaque Monkeys (snow monkeys) are one of Japan’s most popular animals. The monkeys of Jigokudani in Yudanaka Onsen are particularly famous for bathing in the hot spring waters to keep warm, but you can also spot macaques in most mountainous parts of Japan where human development is minimal.

Famous Landmarks

Japan has many beautiful temples, palaces, castles and UNESCO sites.

Mount Fuji is one of the most popular landmarks and it is an iconic landmark in Japan. Mount Fuji has been the inspiration for may poems, paintings and beckons climbers to reach its peak.

Himeji Castle (White Egret Castle) is a medieval landmark known for its pristine white beauty and its resemblance to the Japanese Crane. It is also the filming location for The Last Samurai starring Tom Cruise.

Tokyo Imperial Palace and Castle are home to the Emperor and Empress of Japan. It is a spectacular site to visit the Cherry Blossoms in early Spring.

Japan is located along the ring of fire, which is an area that surrounds the pacific ocean where the majority of earthquakes and volcanoes are located. Build a building and then test it for its ability to tackle an earthquake is a fun STEM activity and it can be done in multiple ways.

STEM Earthquake Building Activity

Questions to ask before starting the project.

• What are earthquakes?
• How can we build something to withstand an earthquake?
• Make predictions on what might happen to a building when an earthquake happens?

For Pre-K students, you can build a building using basic blocks or Duplo’s. Have the child build on a cookie sheet so they can shake the cookie sheet to simulate an earthquake. Ask questions as they build to help them understand the basic design and strength of the building.

• How can you strengthen the building?
• What makes one building stronger than another?
• Is the base of the building the most important part? Should it be smaller or larger?

We didn’t have basic building blocks, so we used tangrams. It was easy to demonstrate how the buildings would fall because there was nothing to hold the blocks together.

We decided to try Lego’s next. It was much harder to knock down the building because the bricks interlocked together. We decided to make a treehouse with skinny legs to show it was easy to knock down a building that didn’t have a wide base support.

For older students, you can get a bit more creative. Give each child a pile of mini marshmallows and toothpicks. They must construct a “building” that is at least 10″ high using the materials that they have.

Have the student think of a design, make a prediction, test the “building” and then write down what happened.

Place the buildings on a cookie sheet. I’ve seen teachers add jello to the bottom of the tray to add a jiggling effect, but we didn’t have jello supplies, so our tray is empty.

During this project, you can make predictions about what might happen to the various buildings. Will they withstand the earthquake or no? What are the weak points?

My son discovered that having a wide and strong base was important. What did your child discover?

Japanese Crafts & Activities

There are so many fun crafts that you can do to learn more about Japan. I’ll share some of our favorites below. If you find more activities that you love, please share them with me and I’ll add them to this list.

1.Coloring Pages – Click the link for tons of great coloring pages

2. Make a watercolor background with cherry blossoms

Supplies Needed:

• Watercolor paper
• Watercolors
• Acrylic Paint – Brown, light and dark pink
• Paint Brush
• Cotton Balls
• Clothespins

Step 1: Paint a blue background on watercolor paper with watercolors.

Step 2: Let your background dry.

Step 3: Once your background is dry, paint the shape of a tree branch.

Step 4: While your branch is drying, prepare your clothespins and cotton balls for painting. You can also prepare the pink paint (or mix white and red if you don’t have pink).

Step 5: Dip the cotton balls in the dark pink paint and stamp “cherry blossoms” next to the branches.

Step 6: Dip the cotton balls in the light pink paint and stamp “cherry blossoms” near the dark pink spots. It’s okay if you overlap a bit.

Voila.. you have a beautiful painting of cherry blossoms, perfect during the Spring season.

3. Japanese Fish Kites

Japanese koinobori or carp kites are special kites that are made in the shape of a fish called a koi. The koi is highly revered in Japan as a symbol of strength. The flags are often flown during a Japanese holiday called Children’s Day.

Supplies Needed:

• Construction Paper– Mixed Colors
• Acrylic Paint
• Crepe Paper
• Glue sticks
• Paint Brushes
• Packaging Tape

Step 1: Select a sheet of construction paper to be the background. Select your paint colors and start painting a design.

• 

• 

Step 2: While your painting is drying, choose colors of crepe paper to make the tail. Cut them into 12″ strips. Lay the streamers onto a strip of packaging tape.

• 

• 

Step 3: Draw circles on black and white paper to form the eyes. We used the bottom of the paint to make black circles and a cup to make the larger white circles. Then glue the eyes together.

• 

• 

• 

Step 4: Your painting should be dry. Attach the streamers to the bottom of the paper.

Step 5: Roll up your paper into a cylinder and tape the seam closed. Then glue on the eyes and a small strip of crepe paper to each side for their fins.

• 

• 

Step 6: Cut a piece of string to run through the inside of your fish and voila! Kids enjoy running around with their fish trailing behind them.

Japanese Karate

Karate is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom (1429 to 1879). It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts under the influence of Kung Fu. Karate is now known as a sport with punches, kicks, knee strikes, elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques.

Karate is meant to develop a well-balanced person in both mind and body by training in fighting techniques. Traditional Karate is meant to prevent any violent attach before actual fighting occurs.

Grab all the members in your family, invite some friends or if you have a small family like ours, mom and dad get to play too!

Follow this fun youtube tutorial to learn some new karate moves. You can also sign up for a free intro karate class at your local karate location.

Check out some action shots below of our Karate skills practice. The video wasn’t the best, but we still had fun.

Family-Friendly Japanese Movies

It wasn’t easy to find a Japanese film that was good for kids. Spirited Away (rated PG)is quite popular, but hard to find for rent on Netflix/Hulu/Amazon without having to purchase the movie. The movie also dives into some topics that might be difficult for children to understand, such as the spirit world and metamorphosis.

If your children are 5+, there are a few films that they might find interesting including My Neighbor Totoro (rated G). It is a whimsical story about two girls who have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live near their mother’s hospital.

The last recommended film would be Ponyo. The story is loosely based on the story of the Little Mermaid. It follows the adventures of a fish (Ponyo) who wants to be a girl.  This is the only film rated G and might work for younger children.

You should be able to find the movies on Amazon, Netflix or Hulu. If you’d like to buy the DVD, click the photos below.

Learn Japenese Phrases/Words

Learn more about Japan by practicing a few Japanese words. Japenese is a language made up of characters and is one of the oldest languages in the world. The video below will teach you 25 of the most common phrases.

Learn more about Japan with Little Passports: World Edition

My 5-year-old is a huge fan of Little Passports, a monthly subscription service for kids focused on global learning. They have two versions, Early Explorers is meant for ages 3-5 years of age and it focuses on various themes such as music, oceans, and dinosaurs.

World Edition is meant for children 6-10 years of age and it focuses on a different country each month. One of the countries that is included in the series is Japan, which is a perfect pairing with this week’s lessons.

After the first month (when kids receive their world map and suitcase), your child will receive souvenirs, activity sheets, photos, stickers for their map and suitcase, and access to more activities online.

Field Trip: Japanese Style

Expand your learning with a visit to a Japanese Garden, see the Cherry Blossoms in early spring or attend a Japanese festival in your area. Check out the top recommended Japanese festivals in the US.

Plan your trip!

If you loved learning about Japan and are looking to plan a trip, check out these great resources from our family travel blogger friends. They’ve got all the best insider tips and tricks.

• Not sure where to even start? Check out this Japan Itinerary for first-time visitors.
• Looking to visit Toyko (the capital city)? Don’t miss this 2-day trip idea and where to stay. Plus don’t miss all these wonderful day trips that you can take from Toyko to extend your time in the city.

• Check out some of the best areas in Kyoto to visit with this 7-day itinerary.

I hope you’ve enjoyed taking a virtual trip to Japan with your kids. Learning about new countries and cultures can be a fun experience for both children and adults. I created this travel blog for families to inspire others to travel and create memories with their family.

Don’t miss our first Virtual trip to Greece, Virtual Trip to France, Virtual Trip to China, Virtual trip to Switzerland, Virtual trip to Brazil and Virtual trip to England. Click the link to head to that post.

Please share your fun activities with me on Facebook or Instagram. Looking to plan an adventure with kids, but not sure where to start? Check out my top posts on my homepage to discover more of our favorite places to travel with kids around the globe.

Like this post? Save it and help spread the word!

Disclaimer: Pack More Into Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and its partners. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

The post Global Citizens Club for Kids: Virtual Trip to Japan: Japanese Crafts, Activities for Kids appeared first on Pack More Into Life.

Grab this fun passport kit as an add-on to our global adventures. The kit includes a “passport”, stamps, stickers and other items to get kids excited about their adventure. You’ll see our passport used throughout the lessons.

Want to travel to more countries? Check out all of my previous travel units by clicking on the name of the country.

• Japan
• England
• Greece
• France
• China
• Switzerland

Be sure to read through all the activities, gather or purchase any needed supplies (most are what you have around the house) and then decide which activities you’d like to cover each day. Each activity has suggestions on how to modify it for younger and older children, but feel free to get creative and share your experience with us.

If you like a schedule, here is a suggested 3-day “schedule” to complete all the activities.

Interesting Facts about England

• England has a Queen and she lives in Buckingham Palace.
• England is part of the United Kingdom. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are the other countries that make up the UK.
• There are lots of different landscapes in England, including forests and moorland. England also has a very long coastline.
• Football (or Soccer in America) is the most popular sport in England, but rugby and cricket are also popular.
• England has been home to many famous authors but William Shakespeare is perhaps the most well-known!
• The Summer Olympic Games have been held in London 3 times, in 1908, 1948 and 2012.

Books for Kids to Learn about England

We found quite a few great books for kids about England, castles, and London. We’ve included a few options that you can either purchase on Amazon via the links or you can reserve them at the library for a low-cost option. Grab a few options, even if the reading level is too high for your child, they can still look at the pictures and maps.

Map Activity

England is a country located in Northern Europe. England is part of the United Kingdom (U.K.) and includes London (the capital city) as well as Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. If you have a globe, help your child(ren) locate England on the map.

• Ask your child what they know about England
• Write down any questions your child has about England

Print the map below and have your child color the following areas:

Preschool Kids: Color the map with crayons

Elementary Ages: Talk about the various regions. Ask questions about the map:

• What is the Capital City of the United Kingdom?
• Which countries border England?
• What is North of England? What is West of England?

England Flag Activity

The England flag shows the cross of Saint George. The cross appears in red on a white background. Saint George is the patron saint of England. English knights wore his symbol into battle in hopes that he would protect them from harm.

The English flag makes up part of the Union flag, which stands for the entire United Kingdom.

Make a flag of England. There are many fun ways to complete this activity.

If it is snack time, kids would enjoy placing a thin layer of whip cream and then lining up strawberries or raspberries to represent the flag. Want to go all out? Make a delicious cake! You can choose between the English Flag or the British Flag (add blueberries).

For preschoolers, practice cutting and gluing with the instructions below.

Older kids can choose to paint or hand draw and color.

For this craft, all you need are: (if you need supplies, click on the links)

• pair of scissors (kids) or paper cutter
• glue stick
• 1 sheet of red construction paper or cardstock
• 1 sheet of white paper (preferably cardstock)
• A flag of England to refer to

Step 1. Measure and let your child cut 2 red strips of paper that are 1 inch wide and 11 inches/8.5 inches long. These will be the stripes for the flag. We chose to use a paper cutter.

Step 2. Glue down the red strips to make the cross in the center of the paper.

Voila! Your child has created the flag for England. Hang it up somewhere or find a stick/dowel and attach it.

English Recipes

Have a British tea with mini tea sandwiches for lunch. Kids will enjoy making the sandwiches and like the mini versions of their favorites.

Kids can help assemble the sandwiches. If you have a nice tiered stand or tray, you can arrange them nicely for a quaint lunch. Have a tea set? Brew some fruit tea for the kids to enjoy. Hot apple cider is also a favorite.

Visit an English pub to try new foods. Some of our favorite British foods include:

• Bangers and Mash (Sausages and mashed potatoes)
• Fish and Chips
• Shepherd’s Pie
• Yorkshire Pudding
• Scones
• Beef Wellington

Ready to cook a delicious traditional British dinner? Here are a few of our favorite recipes.

• Shepard’s Pie – Also known as cottage pie is a meat pie with a crust or topping of mashed potato.
• Beef Wellington- a pie made of fillet steak coated with pâté and duxelles, which is then wrapped in parma ham and puff pastry, then baked. 
• Scones – a baked good, usually made of wheat, or oatmeal with baking powder as a leavening agent and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often lightly sweetened and occasionally glazed with egg wash. 

English Folktales

English fairy tale tradition emerged from folklore stories that are believed to have originated in the British Isles.  England’s fairy tale and folklore tradition have strong connections to Celtic, Germanic and Christian sources.

Here are some of our favorite stories for children that you can read online:

• Jack and the Beanstalk
• Tom Thumb
• The Story of the Three Little Pigs

Looking to add to your library collection? Here are some other books below.

British Music

Listen to British music while you complete the activities. Ask Alexa to play “British Music“, or check out this youtube video with the British flag and an hour’s worth of music.

There are also many songs that are fun to sing with kids. One of our favorites is “London Bridge is Falling Down”. I’ve included the lyrics below.

“London Bridge is falling down
Falling down, falling down
London Bridge is falling down
My fair lady”

“Build it up with iron bars
Iron bars, iron bars
Build it up with iron bars
My fair lady”

“Iron bars will bend and break
Bend and break, bend and break
Iron bars will bend and break
My fair lady”

“Build it up with gold and silver
Gold and silver, gold and silver
Build it up with gold and silver
My fair lady”

“London Bridge is falling down
Falling down, falling down
London Bridge is falling down
M-y f-a-i-r l-a-d-y”

British Animals

England has a wide variety of wildlife. Deer, goats, hedgehogs, squirrels and a few kinds of wildcats call the hills and forest of northern England their home. England has strict hunting rules, so they have an abundance of rabbits, foxes, badgers, and weasels.

Bird watchers delight with watching owls, finches, geese, and cranes. The sea also borders England and the sealife is diverse with dolphins, seals, and whales.

Famous Landmarks

England has many famous landmarks including Big Ben, Tower Bridge, and Stonehenge.

Most households have play dough, if not, grab some using the link or make your own using this recipe.

Have the kids build their own model of Stonehenge. Talk about why they think Stonehenge was built and how the stones were placed upright without modern technology.

As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its pointed arches, vaulted roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires.

The tower bridge is arguably the world’s most famous bridge. It opened in 1894 by the future King Edward VII.

Building bridges is a fun STEM activity and it can be done in multiple ways.

STEM Bridge Building Activity

Questions to ask before starting the project.

• Why do we need bridges?
• Who might build them?
• What are bridges made out of?
• What shape does a bridge make? (look at photos of bridges)

For Pre-K students, they can use a wide variety of materials and let them construct a bridge for little people to cross. We decided to use plastic straws and tape. We talked about bridge design and how we could make the bridge stronger (by using straws tied together and strengthing the joints).

For older students, you can get a bit more creative. Give each child up to 200 popsicle sticks and tacky glue. Bridges must be able to span 14 inches wide and be able to hold a five-pound weight (for younger children) or a 20-pound weight (for older students).

We used two small stools and then talked about why a wooden bridge was stronger than my son’s original straw bridge.

Once your child or children are done with their bridges, span two chairs, and place weights onto the bridge or hang a bucket from the bridge (wrap string around the entire center of the bridge). If you don’t have weights, use rice/beans or other heavy (but small) objects.

British Craft Activities

There are so many fun crafts that you can do to learn more about England. I’ll share some of our favorites below. If you find more activities that you love, please share them with me and I’ll add them to this list.

1. Coloring Pages – Click the link for tons of great coloring pages
2. Make a watercolor background with castle

Supplies Needed:

• Watercolor paper
• Watercolors
• Black construction paper
• Glue sticks

Step 1: Paint a background on watercolor paper with watercolors. If you sprinkle salt into the watercolors, it makes a neat effect. Choose whichever colors you like.

Step 2: Let your background dry.

Step 3: While you wait for your background to dry, cut out castle shapes on the black paper. For younger children, you can trace shapes and let them practice cutting them out. Older children can do one large design.

Step 4: Once your background has dried, glue the shapes into a design of a castle (or glue your one large shape).

Talk about the shapes and see if your child can name them (triangle, rectangle, square).

Voila.. you have a castle that is pretty as a fairytale!

3. London Bus Craft

If you’ve ever been to London or read a book about England, you’ll see the iconic double-decker red bus.

Supplies Needed:

• Red Construction Paper
• Scissors
• Black construction paper
• Glue sticks

Step 1: Cut a bus shape out of the red paper

Step 2: Draw  1″ by 1″ squares on the black paper. You’ll want 6-8 depending on the size of your bus. You can also choose to cut strips of paper with a paper cutter (this was our method).

Step 3: Have you child cut out the squares

Step 4: Glue the squares to the bus

Step 5: Print out clip art of a bus driver

Step 6: Glue the bus driver to the front of the bus. You can add “peek-a-boo” windows for the driver if you’d like.

Step 7: Draw two circles (bus wheels)

Step 8: Have your child cut out the bus wheels

Step 9: Glue the bus wheels to the bottom of the bus

Children can decorate the bus, write on it or draw people in the windows if they’d like.

British Sports

British Football (or America Soccer) is very popular in England. International football began in 1872 when the England national team traveled to Glasgow to play the Scotland national team in the first-ever official international match. Get moving by having your own Soccer Training Session! Perfect for getting outside for some fresh air.

Grab all the members in your family, invite some friends or if you have a small family like ours, mom and dad get to play too!

Use what you have at home and pick from the list of Soccer Skills Training. Ask the kids to help come up with ideas too, that’s how we ended up doing a “see who can kick the furthest”. Some of the ideas are more traditional, while others are just fun.

Check out some action shots below of our Soccer skills practice. We didn’t have cones, so we used some gardening supplies. 🙂

Family Friendly British Movies

Looking for a family movie night option to go along with the British theme? Watch the Disney movie, Mary Poppins. When Jane and Michael, the children of the wealthy and uptight Banks family, are faced with the prospect of a new nanny, they are pleasantly surprised by the arrival of the magical Mary Poppins.

Other favorite British movies include Harry Potter, Narnia, and Black Beauty.

If you have Disney+ the Mary Poppins movie is free. Otherwise you should be able to find the other movies on Amazon, Netflix or Hulu. If you’d like to buy the DVD, click the photos below.

Learn British Phrases/Words

Learn more about England by practicing a few British words. They speak English in England, but some words are a bit different from American English.

Learn more about England with Little Passports: World Edition

My 5-year-old is a huge fan of Little Passports, a monthly subscription service for kids focused on global learning. They have two versions, Early Explorers is meant for ages 3-5 years of age and it focuses on various themes such as music, oceans, and dinosaurs.

World Edition is meant for children 6-10 years of age and it focuses on a different country each month. One of the countries that’s included in the series is England, which is a perfect pairing with this week’s lessons.

After the first month (when kids receive their world map and suitcase), your child will receive souvenirs, activity sheets, photos, stickers for their map and suitcase, and access to more activities online.

Field Trip: British Style

Expand your learning with a visit to an English Garden, a Tea House or attend a British/Irish festival in your area.

Plan your trip!

If you loved learning about England and are looking to plan a trip, check out these great resources from our friends at the Wanderlust Crew.

• Not sure where you want to visit in England? Check out this post for recommendations on where to visit with kids.

• Looking for the top historic sites? Start your visit in London with this guide.

I hope you’ve enjoyed taking a virtual trip to England with your kids. Learning about new countries and cultures can be a fun experience for both children and adults. I created this travel blog for families to inspire others to travel and create memories with their family.

Don’t miss our first Virtual trip to Greece. Click the link to head to that post. Once you are done with this trip, head to Japan on our next adventure or perhaps you’d rather tour France. We’ve also added China and Switzerland to our adventures.

Please share your fun activities with me on Facebook or Instagram. Looking to plan an adventure with kids, but not sure where to start? Check out my top posts on my homepage to discover more of our favorite places to travel with kids around the globe.

I leave you with a few photos of my childhood growing up in England with my family.

Disclaimer: Pack More Into Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and its partners. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

The post Global Citizens Club for Kids: Virtual Trip to England: England Crafts and Activities for Kids appeared first on Pack More Into Life.

Grab this fun passport kit as an add-on to our global adventures. The kit includes a “passport”, stamps, stickers and other items to get kids excited about their adventure. You’ll see our passport used throughout the lessons.

Want to travel to more countries? Check out all of my previous travel units by clicking on the name of the country.

• Japan
• England
• France
• China
• Switzerland
• Brazil

Be sure to read through all the activities, gather or purchase any needed supplies (most are what you have around the house) and then decide which activities you’d like to cover each day. Each activity has suggestions on how to modify it for younger and older children, but feel free to get creative and share your experience with us.

If you like a schedule, here is a suggested 3-day “schedule” to complete all the activities.

Interesting Facts about Greece

• Greek is the official language spoken in Greece.
• Family relationships are highly valued in Greece. Children often live with their parents in Greece, even after they’ve gotten married.
• The majority of Greeks now live in cities.
• The first Olympic games were held in Greece in 700 B.C. to honor Zeus, the king of the gods.
• There are thousands of islands that are part of Greece.
• Greece is one of the most mountainous countries in Europe.

Books for Kids to Learn about Greece

There are plenty of books about Ancient Greece, but not too many about Modern Greece. We’ve included a few options that you can either purchase on Amazon via the links or you can reserve them at the library for a low-cost option. Grab a few options, even if the reading level is too high for your child, they can still look at the pictures and maps.

Map Activity

Greece is a country located in Europe. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of Greece is Athens. Greece is bordered by Albania, Macedonia (F.Y.R.O.M.), Bulgaria, and Turkey. If you have a globe, help your child(ren) locate Greece on the map.

• Ask your child what they know about Greece
• Write down any questions your child has about Greece

Print the map below and have your child color the following areas:

Preschool Kids: Color the map with crayons

Elementary Ages: Talk about the various regions. Ask questions about the map:

• What is the Capital City?
• How many islands do you think Greece has?
• Which countries border Greece?
• What is North of Rhodes? What is West of Athens? What is South of Mt. Olympus?
• What does a dot symbolize in the key?

Greece Flag Activity

The Greek flag has nine horizontal blue and white stripes, with a white cross on a blue square field in the canton position (upper left corner by the flagpole). The white cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion of Greece.

Make a flag of Greece. There are many fun ways to complete this activity.

For preschoolers, practice cutting and gluing with the instructions below.

Older kids can choose to paint or hand draw and color.

For this craft, all you need are: (if you need supplies, click on the links)

• pair of scissors (kids) or paper cutter
• glue stick
• 1 sheet of blue construction paper or cardstock
• 1 sheet of white paper (preferably cardstock)
• A flag of Greece to refer to (to make sure you get the colors in the right order)

Step 1. Measure out 4 squares of blue construction paper that are 2 inches by 2 inches to form the cross. I marked off the measurements and let my son cut the squares.

Step 2. Measure and cut 3 blue strips of paper that are 1 inch high by 6.5 inches wide. These will be the stripes for the top half  of the flag (next to the cross.)

Step 3. Measure and cut 2 blue strips of paper that are 1 inch high by 11 inches wide.  These will be the stripes for the bottom half of the flag.

Step 4. Glue down the blue squares to make the cross on the top left corner of your white paper. Leave about a half-inch of white space between the blue squares to form the cross.

Step 5. Glue down the shorter three blue strips next to the cross, starting and ending with blue.

Step 6. Under the cross, leave 1 inch of the white paper showing. Glue 1 long blue strip, leave another inch of white paper showing and glue down the final blue strip.

Voila! Your child has created the flag for Greece. Hang it up somewhere or find a stick/dowel and attach it.

Recipes

Make koulourakia (Greek Easter cookies). This is a fun and easy recipe that’s great for kids. The cookies aren’t overly sweet and are fun to twist into shape. Click the link below for the full recipe.

My son and I really enjoyed making the cookies. It’s an easy activity for even the littlest bakers because you can split up the dough and let everyone make their own shapes.

Visit a Greek restaurant to try new foods. Some of our favorite Greek foods include:

• Greek Olives
• Feta
• Pita Bread
• Olive Oil
• Gyros
• Grape Leaves

We decided to order take-out from a local Greek restaurant for dinner, but here are a few recipes for Greek food if you’d prefer to cook.

• Greek Tzatziki  – A thick strained yogurt with cucumber, garlic, olive oil, and fresh dill.
• Moussaka – a Greek dish made of ground lamb, eggplant, and tomatoes, with cheese on top.
• Greek Salad – Greek salad is made with pieces of tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, onion, feta cheese, and olives, typically seasoned with salt and Greek mountain oregano, and dressed with olive oil.

Greek Folktales

Greece is full of wonderful myths, stories of Gods and Goddesses and fairy tales. Greece’s culture dates back thousands of years, throughout its history, the culture has given the world a diverse collection of folklore. Greece has contributed tales of epic heroism and spellbinding magic with its Greek myths.

Here are some of our favorite stories for children that you can read online:

• The Ant and the Grasshopper
• The Fox and the Grapes
• The Milkmaid and her Pail

Looking to add to your library collection? Here are some other books below.

Greek Music

Listen to Greek music while you complete the activities. Ask Alexa to play “Classical Greek Music“, or check out this youtube video with beautiful images and an hour’s worth of music.

Greek Animals

Greece has a wide variety of topography. Larger land animals include wildcats, foxes, brown bears, wolfs and otters. Birds are common around the islands, over 450 species have been identified.

So much of Greece surrounds the water. The majority of the animals include ocean animals such as starfish, sea anemones, seahorses, dolphins, whales, seals, and sea sponges.

Famous Landmarks

Greek has many famous landmarks and Greek architectural design is something to be admired. If you have a little architect in your family, check out these fun activities where they can build their very own Parthenon or greek theater.

If you have basic wooden building blocks or keva planks, they work perfectly. Even legos can be used to build a model.

Of all the architectural designs used by ancient Greeks throughout history, three major styles have withstood the test of time and are today still used. These include the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian styles.

Examples of various columned architecture styles can be seen in places such as the White House in Washington, D.C. and Federal Hall on Wall Street.

This style of building is extremely stable and strong. Check out this STEM activity that you can try with your kids to demonstrate the power of using columns.

STEM Column Activity

Give each child a set of 18 paper cups and two cookie sheets. Challenge them to build a structure strong enough that they could stand on it. They will be amazed that the tower will be able to hold their weight!

Then see if they can build a taller tower together and try stacking books (or have them carefully stand on it again). Lastly, have each child place a cookie sheet on only ONE paper cup. Have them stand on the cookie sheet. Talk about why one cup couldn’t hold their weight.

Greek Craft Activities

There are so many fun crafts that you can do to learn more about Greece. I’ll share some of our favorites below. If you find more activities that you love, please share them with me and I’ll add them to this list.

• Coloring Pages – Click the link for tons of great coloring pages

• Make a Laurel Wreath Crown – See instructions below

If an Olympic athlete won an event during the ancient Olympic Games, a wreath woven out of olive branches —symbolizing peace in ancient Greece—was placed upon his head.  Use the direction below to make your own.

1. Take a paper plate and cut out the center. Cut a wedge from the hollow circle
2. Cut leaf shapes from green card or paper and glue to the top of your paper plate. You can also use real leaves (like we did). It pairs great with a walk outside.

• Make your own Ancient Greek pottery

With Spring right around the corner, gather some small clay pots and let the kids decorate them from images in the Greek books. Then plant succulents to decorate the bathroom or small herbs for in the kitchen window.

Ancient Greek Olympics

Get moving by having your own Ancient Greek Olympics! This was one of my son’s favorite activities and great on a nice sunny day.

Grab all the members in your family, invite some friends or if you have a small family like ours, mom and dad get to play too!

Use what you have at home and pick from the list of Olympic games. Ask the kids to help come up with ideas too, that’s how we ended up doing a marshmallow stacking contest. 🙂 Some of the ideas are more traditional, while others are just fun.

Check out some action shots below of our 50-yard dash, egg and spoon race and archery (using our son’s toys).

You can get really creative with your “Greek Olympics” by having an opening ceremony with a torch, making medals for the winners and leaf crowns. Add as many or as few events as you’d like. We created a simple score sheet to track who won. As always, keep the games fair and fun!

Family Friendly Greek Movies

Looking for a family movie night option to go along with the Greek theme? Watch the Disney movie, Hercules. The hero, son of Zeus and Hera, was stolen by the evil Hades and made mortal. In order to become a god again, Hercules must prove his heroism and in the process, he discovers that becoming a true hero isn’t just about being brave and strong. Although it is not necessarily true to the original myth of Hercules, it serves as an excellent introduction to Greek gods for kids. 

If you have Disney+ the movie is free. If you’d like to buy the DVD, click the photo below.

Learn Greek

Learn more about Greece by practicing a few Greek words. Start with “please” and “thank you”. Then practice counting from 1-10 in Greek.

Learn more about Greece with Little Passports: World Edition

My 5-year-old is a huge fan of Little Passports, a monthly subscription service for kids focused on global learning. They have two versions, Early Explorers is meant for ages 3-5 years of age and it focuses on various themes such as music, oceans, and dinosaurs.

World Edition is meant for children 6-10 years of age and it focuses on a different country each month. One of the countries that’s included in the series is Greece, which is a perfect pairing with this week’s lessons.

After the first month (when kids receive their world map and suitcase), your child will receive souvenirs, activity sheets, photos, stickers for their map and suitcase, and access to more activities online.

Field Trip: Greek Style

Expand your learning with a visit to a Greek Orthodox church or attend a Greek festival in your area. Here is a link to a website with a list of all the Greek Festival based on month, city or province in Canada.

Plan your trip!

If you loved learning about Greece and are looking to plan a trip, check out these great resources from our friends at the Family Voyage.

• Not sure where you want to visit in Greece? Check out this post for recommendations on where to visit with kids.

• Looking for the top historic sites? Start your visit in Athens with this guide.

I hope you’ve enjoyed taking a virtual trip to Greece with your kids. Learning about new countries and cultures can be a fun experience for both children and adults. I created this travel blog for families to inspire others to travel and create memories with their families.

Continue the adventure with a Virtual Trip to England, a Virtual Trip to France, and then to Japan for a third adventure. We’ve also added a Virtual Trip to China, Switzerland, and Brazil.

Please share your fun activities with me on Facebook or Instagram. Looking to plan an adventure with kids, but not sure where to start? Check out my top posts on my homepage to discover more of our favorite places to travel with kids around the globe.

I leave you with a few photos of my childhood growing up in Athens, Greece with my family.

Disclaimer: Pack More Into Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and its partners. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

The post Global Citizens Club for Kids: Virtual Trip to Greece: Greek Activities for Kids appeared first on Pack More Into Life.

Check out these top 10 tips for flying with kids like a pro. Everything from how to manage all the bags, getting through security without pulling out your hair and surviving the plane ride with ease. You’ll be a pro in no time. I promise.

Hi! My name is Chelsea and I am mom and a fellow traveler. I wrote this post because I want to save you the hassle of making the mistakes that I made over the years. My son and I have flown all over the world, including overnight flights, moving cross country and flying on our own (without my husband). Flying with kids can be a challenge, so I hope this list helps ease your fears and makes sure that you are well prepared.

1. Not bringing a protective cover when gate checking or baggage checking strollers and car seats

I can’t even count how many times I’ve seen hundreds of dollars of baby gear go unprotected when parents choose to gate-check or planeside check their car seats. Even a simple red car seat bag can help protect against dust, grime and drips from getting onto the fabric that cradles your little one. Not to mention that the person carrying that car seat or stroller has no regard for its use and value. Flying with a car seat? Spend a few extra dollars to protect your car seat and stroller!

I recommend getting a padded car seat carrier. We stuff in extra blankets, diapers, and wipes into the bag and airlines don’t seem to mind. Win-win!

The following options include the most basic red car seat bag. This will last you a couple of flights since the fabric is thin and will eventually tear. The second option is our favorite. It’s a padded car seat bag with straps. You can either wear the car seat on your back for transport or attach it to a rolling suitcase.

The third option is another basic travel bag but in black. The last option is great for someone who wants a car seat with wheels that you can just pull on the ground or attach it to another rolling suitcase.

If you want to avoid checking a car seat, you’ll need to purchase a seat for your child and install the car seat on the plane and into your child’s seat. Be sure to review installation guidelines and make sure your seat is FAA approved.

Strollers should also be checked with a protective bag or a fully padded case. Check to see if your stroller has a bag that is made specifically for it. We traveled all over the globe (20+ countries) with our City Mini GT and the baby jogger padded bag. Check it out below. I’ve also included generic bags that are perfect for umbrella strollers.

Car seats and strollers can be checked or gate-checked for free, just be sure to leave extra time to drop them off.

2. Not wiping down the airplane seats and tray

Not sure if you knew, but planes are barely cleaned between flights and I don’t know about your kids, but my son touches EVERYTHING and then uses those grimy fingers to eat his snack. Throw a pack of germ-fighting wipes into your bag for a nice wipe down when you sit down. Be sure to wipe the seat buckle, tray, tray lock, armrests, and window shade.

No one wants to get sick headed on a fun trip or headed home. It only takes a minute and my son loves helping. The wipes also work great mid-flight when the line to the bathroom is too long (or during your trip for a quick cleaning). Grap some travel-sized packs below.

3. Not packing a change of clothes for everyone

Accidents happen and let me tell you from experience, they are 99% more likely to happen when you are flying with kids! From spills to sick kids and diaper blowouts. Don’t forget a change of clothes for you as well. I’ve had to change my shirt a few times due to spit up and who knows what else. Even with preschoolers, my son spilled an entire drink on my pants during one of our last flights.

As for kids in diapers, pack double what you think you’ll need. You don’t want to be that parent that runs out of diapers. We fly frequently, delays happen. Think you’ll need 6 diapers, bring 12. I also recommend putting diapers, wipes and a change of clothes into a gallon size baggie, the airplane bathrooms are tiny. You don’t want to have to bring your entire backpack. Don’t forget to wipe down the changing table too with those handy sanitizing wipes above!

If you want to be eco-friendly, grab a wet bag for clothes that get messy. It’s waterproof and washable so it can be reused over and over.

4. Forgetting snacks…

Don’t underestimate the power of snacks, they cure just about everything, seriously. Great snack choices include fresh fruit, crackers, pretzels, dried cereal, cheese, raisins, applesauce pouches, cucumbers/sliced carrots, goldfish, dried fruit, jerky/beef sticks, and hard-boiled eggs. We avoid nuts since we don’t know if passengers near us will have an allergy.

I also suggest a low sugar or sugar-free lollipop for when the plane descends. Those little ears aren’t great at equalizing and the sounds of cries will stream through the cabin just as the pilot starts the descent. Save yourself the grief and pack some sweets in addition to those snacks. For little ones under 18 months, bring a bottle/sippy cup or a pacifier. If you are traveling with an infant and nursing, moms can nurse on the descent to help little ears.

For older kids, pack their favorite snacks in snack organizers. They can munch away while playing their favorite activities and you won’t have to stress about when the snack cart is going to show up.

5. Not thinking about kids Entertainment

This all depends a bit on the age of your kids, but be sure to pack something for your little ones to occupy the time. It’s not just the flight, but also waiting to check-in, waiting for the flight and waiting for bags. Airports involve a lot of waiting and all this waiting can be a challenge when flying with kids.

Kids under 12 months don’t need anything really. They sleep most of the flights. But for older kids, bring some age-appropriate toys. As my son got older, we would swing by the dollar store or hit the dollar section in Target. I’d pick up a few new toys and wrap them in wrapping paper so they were hidden from view. He would pick one each hour (on long haul flights). We would also bring some favorites.

What do we recommend for toys on a flight? Check out our favorites below:

Flying with a baby? Here are our recommended toys for babies (under 12 months):

Traveling with Toddlers (1-3 years)? Here is our recommended toys for Toddlers:

Toys for Preschoolers (4-6 years)

We are pretty anti tablets and TV, but our son’s tablet has saved us a few times. We recently sat on the tarmac for 3.5 hours before going back to the gate on a US flight. It was past bedtime and he was exhausted….. tablet to the rescue with his favorite shows preloaded. When he was younger we used traditional headphones like these, now we use earbuds that pack small. Check those out below.

6. Not preparing kids

Flying with kids is a whole new experience and it can be scary, exciting, overwhelming and full of new rules. Prepare your kids. Read books about airports from the library, or grab these great options below. Talk about what to expect, what behavior you expect and research play areas in the terminal. It can make all the difference if kids understand the routine and save you quite a bit of grief.

7. Forgetting to use the bathroom before getting on the plane

We are those parents that have to bribe our kid to use the bathroom. He’s stubborn, but it’s important. You can spend almost an hour waiting for the seat belt sign to turn off and that’s a long time for little bladders. By the time you board, store your luggage, sit down and get settled, wait for the safety info, get in line on the runway and take off. Then the plane has to get up to cruising altitude and the seat belt sign gets turned off. Trust me, everyone needs to use the bathroom and change all diapers for the little ones.

Traveling with a newly potty trained toddler? You have a few choices, you can put them in a “travel diaper” or grab a potty pad to put under their airline seat (and pack extra clothes). We flew two months after we potty trained our son, it was harrowing, but we survived with no accidents.

8. Forgetting your patience

Take a deep breath, you’ll be ok! You’ll survive even if you are a solo parent flying with three kids under the age of 5. Give yourself plenty of time at the airport. Show up two hours early, or even earlier. Ask for help with all the gear. Be kind to all the staff and you’ll be in good hands.

If you are traveling with multiple kids, sort out the responsibilities before you go to the airport. Who is in charge of what? Try to pack as light as possible. Figure out how you’ll carry everything. Think about going through security.

Flying with a baby? I suggest babywearing all kids under the age of 2. You DO NOT have to take them out of the carrier in security. You’ll go through a regular screening detector and then get your hands wiped and have that wipe processed. Then you’ll be on your way.

For older kids, squish them between two adults. One adult goes through security and then send the kids one at a time. Kids do not have to remove their shoes. Then the last adult joins the group. Sometimes TSA has stickers for the kids. It might be a good reward for good behavior. Just ask a TSA agent once you pass through security.

You can bring liquids for kids under the age of 2. Bottled water, milk, formula, breast milk, apple sauces pouches, etc. Just separate it at security for screening. I put mine in a gallon size baggie to pull it out of my bag easily.

Be prepared to walk a while to get to your gate. Grab snacks, use the bathroom or find a play area. If you have given yourself plenty of time, you’ll make it to the gate with a bit of time to spare.

Flying with children? Families with children under the age of 2 can board early, so heads up if you want more time, especially if you are using a car seat in the airplane. You can read more about traveling with car seats and which is the best seat by clicking the button link below.

9. Being underprepared for overnight flights

I won’t lie, overnight flights are a beast. But if you are well prepared, it won’t be quite as bad. Try to book a flight that corresponds with bedtime. So if your child goes to bed around 7 pm, I’d pick a 5:30 pm flight. Enough time for dinner and then getting settled.

How should you prep for an overnight flight? Bring everything for a typical bedtime. For us, that’s pajamas, a couple of books, a little pillow, and a blanket. We also have a blow-up pillow that we use to turn the seat into a bed (see link below). Best $20 ever spent!

As bedtime approaches, we start our typical routine and have the blow-up bed ready. (Some airlines say they aren’t allowed, we just blow them up when the staff is busy and cover it with a blanket. It just looks like our backpacks.) 🤷🏼‍♀️ We also bring a thin muslin blanket to make a little tent over our son and off to dreamland he goes. It usually takes a bit longer than at home, but we prep him with the process so he knows what is expected.

10. Not sharing in the excitement when flying with kids

Flying can be fun! Sure, it can also be a hassle, but go with the flow. Before you board, stand in front of the huge glass windows and watch the planes take off and land. Play eye spy with the luggage carts, food deliveries, and transporters. Traveling with a toddler on a plane can be exciting and an adventure.

Ask the flight attendant if the kids can see the cockpit when you board. Or better yet, have the kids ask! We even buy fun shirts for our airline travels. Check out these super cute frequent flier shirts on Etsy!
Let the kids order drinks, snack boxes and if you are flying overseas, they might even get to pick a toy from the toy box that the flight attendant brings down the aisle.

Check out the safety brochures and play with the light switches and fan knobs. Just watch out for the call button! If they accidentally push it, just push it again to cancel it.

We love bringing gel clings to decorate the plane window. Also, blue painters tape and a black marker to make little roads on the tray table. The tape also works well for taping the tray closed for little ones that love to open and close it! Make flying with kids fun.

Free Downloadable Packing Lists:

Now you are ready to fly with kids! Hopefully, this list has helped to prepare you for the pitfalls of flying. I created this travel with kids blog to help other families to explore the world with their kid. I hope this helps you prepare for your first flight or your hundredth.

Leave me a comment or find me on Facebook or Instagram. Ready to plan another adventure? Head back to my homepage to discover more of our favorite places to travel with kids around the globe.

Like this post? Save it for a future read or share it with your friends.

Check out our latest blog posts about our travels around the globe:

Disclaimer: Pack More Into Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and its partners. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

The post 10 Mistakes Parents Make When Flying with Kids (and How to Avoid Them) appeared first on Pack More Into Life.

Where is the National Children’s Museum DC located?

The National Children’s Museum DC is located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest.

How do I get to the children’s museum Washington DC?

Driving to the children’s museum DC area: Park at the Ronald Reagan Building (starting price is $20 for 1-2 hours). The parking entrances require your car to pass through security, so don’t forget to stop at the guard gate for a quick inspection.

Proceed down to the public parking. If you can’t find a spot, free valet is provided, so feel free to use it.
Locate the elevators and then head to the Concourse level (there are helpful tickets located at the elevator so you don’t forget where you’ve parked).

Once at the concourse level, follow the signs to the metro. You’ll see the entrance to the left just as you pass a security checkpoint. This is their current entrance location as of March 2020. Eventually, the entrance will be on the top floor and kids can enter directly into the Dream Machine.

Taking the Metro: The entrance is steps away from Federal Triangle metro station and three blocks from Metro Center. Nearby bus routes include 30N, 30S, 32, 33, 34, 36, D6, and P6.

What is the current National Children’s Museum ticket price?

Tickets cost $10.95 for all children (age 1 and older) and adults. Click HERE to purchase yours from the National Children’s Museum website.

All tickets are timed entry and it is highly suggested that you purchase your ticket ahead of time because there are limited tickets available for same-day purchase.

There are currently no discounts for military, teachers or seniors.  

What is the current National Children’s Museum membership price?

Membership packages range from $130 for a one-year admission for two adults and all the children in the household and up to $1,000 for exclusive access and VIP events.

At the cost of $11 per person, if you have more than 5 people in your family, you’ll recoup your cost in only two visits.

When is the Children’s Museum DC open?

They are open from 9:30 AM till 4:30 PM, the last entry is 3:30 PM. They are closed on all major holidays.

What should I expect from a visit to the kid’s museum DC?

As soon as you enter, you’ll pass through a bag check, so be ready. Then your tickets will be scanned (for advanced purchase) or you can purchase tickets at the desk. A waiver is required to enter and you are not able to complete a waiver online, at this time. Once that is complete, kids are off to explore.

Note: There aren’t any bands, stamps or tickets unlike other museums where adults and children are checked before exiting. There is security montioring the play areas and staff.

There are multiple areas to visit. Currently, all of the open exhibits are on one floor, minus the two-story climbing structure. Each exhibit is individually reviewed to give visitors an idea of what to expect during their visit and to determine if the children’s museum in DC would meet their family’s needs. So without further ado, let’s check out the new children’s museum, Washington DC.

Re-entry: You are able to exit and re-enter, just let a staff member know.

Dream Machine:

A three-level climbing structure with fiberglass spheres, white net climbing tunnels and metal slides that whisk children down to the bottom. It is the National Children’s Museum DC crown jewel.

The large climbing structure is for ages 5 and up. Please remove your shoes at the entrance (cubbies are provided for storage).

If you have smaller children, there is a smaller climbing structure with a slide for their enjoyment so that everyone can enjoy their visit to the new kid’s museum DC.

Also located near the Dream Machine is a bubble maker where children can pull a chain and put themselves inside a bubble. There are also bubbles on the ground floor with various interactive displays inside.

Innovation Sandbox Green Screen: (Sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association)

Located close to the Dream Machine, children will delight with donning capes and masks to venture into a world of superpowers. Children can toss leaves at the flick of their arms, bounce rainbows between their hands, create clouds, shoot lightning bolts and toss snowballs as they move around the stage. The images change on the screen as the children interact with the immersive digital experience. Don’t miss the Winter mode, if you stay still, you’ll turn into a little frozen ice cube that you can break out of.

Climate Action Heroes:

Next to the green screen is a fun diagram printed on the group where children can answer different questions to find out which superpower they would fall into, “arbor avengers” to “mighty meteorologists.”

Paw Patrol:

It’s time to build, fly and put some fire out with the paw patrol friends Rubble, Skye and Marshall. Push the button by Rubble and he will ask you to build a tower or construct a bridge. Skye delights little learners with her air-powered machine where scarves can fly high. Lastly, Marshall needs help to put out the fire with the air cannons. Paw Patrol is on a roll!

Sponge Bob:

Interested in being an anchor for your own TV show? Adjust the camera and hit record! Make your own clip with Sponge Bob and his friends, then add some stickers and email it to your friend.

Slime Zone:

Squish, stomp, and venture into the world of slime. Don’t worry parents, it’s all safely stored in the floors, walls, and displays.

Little Dreamers Toddler/Baby Zone:

Located next to the Paw Patrol zone, parents with younger children will enjoy a dedicated area where the littlest explorers can discover, read, crawl and search for hidden coves. The lights are soft and the materials are inviting. There are many sensory opportunities and a small dress-up area.

There is a nursing room located in the toddler/baby zone. It features small soft toys for siblings, a comfortable chair and peaceful décor.

Data Science Alley:

Children delight with pom-poms flying through tubes and popping out over their heads. Change the wind pattern by closing and opening vents throughout the display. See if you can figure out where the pom-pom will pop out next!

Continue your data collection at the Washington children’s museum by using magnets to measure your friends and see who is the tallest or the shortest. Then jump to measure the distance between your height and how high you can jump.

Little Movers:

This is the second area for the littlest visitors. Build those fine motor skills in a safe soft play area.

Sports Zones:

Learn how to throw the perfect curveball, hit a waffle ball off the t-ball mount into a screen (digital baseball field) or score some points in basketball. Little sports fans will enjoy the science and tech versions of the activities.

Miniature Car Race:

Little inventors can build a wooden car with a variety of materials and then race it down the track. Scientists can adjust the track in order to decrease or increase speed as well as redesign their car to see what happens.

Tinkerers Studio:

This open studio with glass walls is part arts/crafts studio and part innovators classroom. The workspace is dual purpose with craft materials as well as laptops for coding projects. It is mostly utilized by field trips and workshops, but there are also unguided opportunities to create. The national children’s museum, Washington DC also offers free field trips for Title I public and charter schools in the DC area, funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Current Visiting Hall Exhibition: Nickelodeon’s Dora and Diego: Let’s Explore!

Children will delight with their favorite tv show friends to explore fun interactive exhibits. Climb aboard a boat to help the pirate piggies share their treasure, dress up as an animal rescuer and help to save the jungle animals or climb around rock walls and along hidden trails.

Learning about space by adding constellations to the night sky, zoom down a space slide or help to drive a rocket ship.

Love STEM toys? Check out our favorites.

Weekly Events:

STEAM + storytime: Read along, sing, and play! We invite our smallest dreamers (ages 1-3) to investigate colors, numbers, and more every Wednesday from 10:00-10:30 am.

Birthday Parties:

Looking for a unique birthday party location with fun for everyone? A maximum of 30 guests can enjoy a visit to the children’s museum with a dedicated private space for food/fun and birthday celebrations. Birthday parties are only available on Saturday mornings at 9:30 am or in the afternoon at 1:30 pm. Email the museum to enquire about their three package options ranging from $425-$600. https://nationalchildrensmuseum.org/birthday-parties/

Overall Thoughts:

With so many wonderful children’s museums throughout the United States, it can be hard not to compare them. Check out the table below comparing the National Children’s Museum in DC, the Port Discovery Children’s Museum in Baltimore the Children’s Museum of Richmond, VA.

FAQ:

Can I bring in my own food to the new National Children’s Museum DC? Yes, there are tables available in the center of the museum with trash cans.

Are there nursing facilities at the Washington children’s museum? Yes, there is a nursing room located in the baby/toddler zone with a plush chair, space for siblings and privacy.

Is food available for purchase? There will be, but the café is currently closed. There is a large food court located in the Ronald Reagan Building that you are able to use. You will have to pass through security to enter the food court.

Can I access the exhibits in a wheelchair? Yes! All of the exhibits are wheelchair friendly, meaning access for everyone. There is an elevator to access the two floors.

Is there stroller parking? Yes, there is stroller parking located just beyond the concourse level entrance. It is located inside the museum.

What is offered for children with Autism? There are two rooms with low levels of light, sensory experiences and calming colors. You can also ask for a sensory backpack with noise-reduction headphones and fidget toys at no cost.

Looking for a quieter, less crowded experience? On select Saturdays, the Museum opens its doors early for children with sensory sensitivities or developmental disabilities and their families.

My child is hearing impaired, is there anything I should know about visiting the national children’s museum Washington DC? All audio devices feature closed captioning.

I want to book a field trip, where can I get more information? Click here to learn more about field trips.

Where can I find more photos of the National Children’s museum in DC? Check out the gallery below!

I created this travel blog to help other families to explore the world with their kid. I hope this review inspires you to visit the new National Children’s Museum DC. Feel free to reach out with any questions about this review or updates as the museum expands.

Leave me a comment or find me on Facebook or Instagram. Ready to plan another adventure? Head back to my homepage to discover more of our favorite places to travel with kids around the globe.

Check out more posts about traveling in the United States.

Disclaimer: Pack More Into Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and its partners. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

The post National Children’s Museum DC: A Real Mom Review appeared first on Pack More Into Life.