Creative Family Fun

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Terri Thompson

10 Ways to Explore the World Without Leaving Home

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By far, the best way to learn about world cultures is to travel.

But, for many people, that is not possible.

Here are 10 fun ways to explore the world without leaving home. You may have to take a trip to your local library or grocery store, but that’s it.

Get ready to explore the world!

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1. Read a book. Your library is probably full of books to help you and your kids explore the world. Check the nonfiction section for travel guides, history books, cookbooks, and more. In the fiction section, you can find books about the folklore, history, or other novels set in a different country. Here is a list of fun books to help your kids experience Russia and No Time For Flashcards has a great list of books about Asia for kids.

2. Make a craft. One of our favorite was to learn about other cultures is to make a craft from that culture. We’ve made Rangoli designs from India and kokeshi dolls from Japan. Dilly-Dali Art made Aboriginal dot paintings and The Educator’s Spin On It painted Dala horses from Sweden. The possibilities are endless!

3. Listen to music. Your local library probably has a selection of cds with music from around the world. Check one out. Dance, sing, and enjoy a new sound. Or, you can check out YouTube. Search for international music for kids, or check out this channel from African Treehouse for African music and African versions of popular children’s songs.

4. Hear or read a first-hand account. Do you know someone who has lived in a foreign country? See if they would be willing to tell your children a bit about that country. Don’t know any one? Then read a first-hand account. Mama Smiles has an Exploring Geography Series on her blog which offers first-hand accounts from such places as Belgium, Kenya, Germany, and many more.

5. Learn about the animals. My girls are endlessly fascinated with animals. One way we’ve learned about other countries is to learn about the native animals. We learned about pandas from China. We also learned about peacocks and tigers from India. KidWorldCitizen shows you how to use favorite animals to learn about the world.

6. Explore the folklore. Read some of the traditional stories of a culture; those that have been passed down year after year after year. World of Tales has a huge collection of folk tales from around the world or check your library for all sorts of wonderful choices like this folk tale from India. Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas recently explored the literature and folk tales of Russia.

7. Experience the food. Take a trip with your taste buds! Trying new foods is a wonderful and fun way to experience another culture. We’ve made tea and scones from England as well as a traditional almond cake from Sweden. You can find a wide variety of foods to make through the Around the World in 12 Dishes challenge. This multi-blogger challenge was started by Glittering Muffins and every month we explore a different country through their food. Send your taste buds travelling!

8. Play a game. Games are universal and your kids can experience a new culture by playing a traditional game. KidWorldCitizen shows you how to play the simple game of Nim; a game that was said to have originated in ancient China. Parents.com has a great article sharing 10 fun games from around the world.

9. Make and play a traditional instrument. Every culture has music and dance associated with it. Why not learn to play some traditional music from around the world. Daria Music shows you how to make and play a Didgeridoo, a traditional instrument from Australia. You can also find instructions for making and playing a Guiro, a traditional instrument from Latin America.

10. Celebrate a new holiday or festival. Celebrations are an important part of every culture. Learn about a new culture by celebrating its holidays. NurtureStore celebrated Diwali by making salt dough candle holders. We made paper lanterns to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

**Bonus: Check Pinterest! I found so many fun global ideas that I couldn’t list them all. Check my Around the World Pinterest board for more fun.It’s time to travel the world without leaving home!

Do you have any fun ideas for exploring the world without leaving home?

Since writing this post, we’ve used it as a blueprint many times for learning about a new culture. We’ve recently started a HUGE project where we are going to do an art project inspired by each country. You can read our introduction post here, Project Around the World, or click on the graphic below to see all the projects we have done so far.

Story Time: Books About Russia

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Exploring a different country can be as easy as picking up a book. For our recent exploration of Russia, we found many fun books about the country, the culture, and the folklore. Here are a few of our favorites.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Russia (True Books: Countries) is a great book for a quick overview of the country. It touches on the culture, people, geography, and history in an easy-to-understand format. It’s a good choice for introducing a young child to a new country.

 

The Matryoshka doll is an easily recognized Russian toy. This sweet story, The Littlest Matryoshka by Corinne Demas Bliss, tells the story of a set of dolls that get separated after they end up in a toy store in America.

The Gigantic Turnip
is a Russian folktale that has been retold time and time again. The Gigantic Turnip by Aleksie Tolstoy and Niamh Sharkey is a fun retelling of this story with bright, vivid illustrations perfect for even the youngest kids.
 
 

Clay Boy by Mirra Ginsburg is another retelling of a classic Russian folktale. It’s fast-paced and fun. This one is better suited for ages 4 and up.

 

Patricia Polacco often draws on her Russian heritage when writing and illustrating her popular children’s books. In Luba and the Wren, she tells a version of The Fisherman and His Wife that would be enjoyed by kids and adults alike.

Do you have any book recommendations for learning about Russia?

Get Crafty: Shape Collages

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When I first saw this shape recognition robot from Make, Do, & Friend, I though it would be a fun craft project.

I set to work cutting out shapes from construction paper and told the girls they could make try and make robots from the shapes.

They had different ideas!

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Supplies Needed:

Construction paper cut into various shapes
Construction paper for background
Glue sticks
Scissors

I set both girls up with a glue stick and a pile of multicolored shapes.

AJ (age 3) thought a robot sounded like a perfect idea and got to work gluing. She glued and piled and glued and piled until she had an interesting layered robot.

Lizzie (age 5), as usual, had a different idea.

She started making pictures with her shapes. First she made this kite and then she made a pretty girl with very long hair.

All in all, it was a very fun and successful crafting session. The girls were able to work independently and worked hard coming up with their own masterpieces.

Art Lessons: Russian Matryoshka Dolls

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As part of our Around the World in 12 Dishes challenge, we read the book The Littlest Matryoshka by Corinne Demas Bliss.

It was a very sweet book about a set of Matryoshka dolls. The littlest doll got lost and at the end is reunited with her sisters.

After reading the book, we were inspired by the beautiful illustrations to design our own set of Matryoshka dolls.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

We used our oil pastels for this project in order to get some nice vibrant colors, but any art material would work. Try watercolors, tempura paints, markers, crayons, or even glued-on paper for a collage version.

I drew a quick outline of the dolls for each girl, then let them create and color without any further instruction.

They worked hard. Lizzie (age 5) carefully chose each color and design for the individual dolls. She continued long after AJ (age 3) was finished.

My favorite part are the faces! Big eyes, long eyelashes, and round cheeks.

We used some of the illustrations in the book for inspiration and the girls kept referring back.

You’ll notice that they added head scarves to mimic the dolls in the book.

Here are the finished products. AJ’s (age 3) is the first picture. I was pleasantly surprised to see that she added faces to her dolls. Lizzie’s (age 5) is the second. I love the colors and details in her dolls.

Around the World in 12 Dishes: Russia

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This month’s virtual trip in Around the World in 12 Dishes was to Russia.

For our food dish, we decided to make potato pancakes and eat them for a fun Russian-themed lunch.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

I needed help to find Russian food to cook, so I turned to a new blog discovery, Natasha’s Kitchen. Natasha has an entire category devoted to Russian/Ukrainian food. When I saw her recipe for Easy Potato Pancakes, I knew the girls would enjoy cooking them and eating them.

First things first, we had to mash some potatoes.

Potatoes are a very popular food choice in Russia; they’re also a very popular food choice in our household. It was the perfect choice.

So, mash, mash, mash we went. The girls took turns until the potatoes were very thoroughly mashed. I kept the mashed potatoes on the stiff side since they were going to be made into pancakes.

Next it was time for the mixing.

I followed Natasha’s recipe exactly, only omitting the onions to ensure the girls would actually try these.

We mixed, formed them into pancaked and dredged them in flour.

Finally it was time for Mom to take over. The girls watched from a safe distance while I fried them up.

We added a spoonful of sour cream on the side for dipping and paired them with some sliced apples for a light lunch. I chose the apples because I noticed they were quite prevalent in many Russian dessert recipes. All in all it was quite the yummy lunch!

We started our journey the same way Phileas Fogg did in London, UK, and then moved northeast into Stockholm, Sweden. Our third station now is Moscow, capital of the vast country that is Russia.

  • March 4 – First country was the UK
  • April 1 – The second country was Sweden
  • May 6 – The third country is Russia

How to join the fun! (Thank you Glittering Muffins for compiling all of this information.)

    • Cook a dish from Russia: The goal is to explore this country through FOOD and activities if you wish. Make a typical dish (sweet or savoury) from the country with the kids, take photos and have fun!
    • Typical dishes: Solyanka, Borscht, Shchi, Pelmeni and Pirozhki.
    • Print your passport: Click here to download, comes with space for a photo of the child with the dish. Here is a little cover for it if you wish 🙂
    • Color a placemat: Once colored/painted or whatever other way you want to do this, you can laminate it or put it between clear contact paper to use it over and over. Great conversation piece for you and your kids. Click here to download it.
    • Make a craft: you can make a country related craft with the kids [optional!]
    • Read a book: We recommend “The Littlest Matryoshka” by Corinne Demas Bliss
    • Fun fact: Every day over 9 MILLION passengers ride the Metro, Moscow’s vast underground subway system. In a single day, an average of 9915 trains operate between 5am – 1am, making the New York subway system seem like a miniature child’s toy.