Country of the Month

I just read about the best idea:  a Country of the Month Club with the kids.  How great is this!?  Choose a country (at random or meaningful), and go to town.  Read books about the country, make food, look at the traditions, language, accent, where/how people live, how the lives of kids there would be similar or different than ours....

Wow. I'm excited.

I think I will let Georgia choose the first country.  I can't wait to get started!!

From thepolkadotumbrella blog:
Do you want to start your own Country of the Month Club?  Here's how:

1. Decide who to invite to your club.  Is it your entire family, just you, you and your significant other, you and your friends or extended family?

2. Get a world map.  Each month as you "visit" a country, label it using a method of your choice.  We are sticking little pins in each visited place.

The CIA Worldmap is really great.  (Image via the CIA World Factbook website.) I printed the 2011 version, but the pdf is interactive and won't load as an image here.

3. At the beginning of each month, choose a new country.  (Can be random or meaningful - it's your club, so do what you want.)

4. Decide what you want to do to learn about the country this month.  Some ideas include:

• Read a book about the country.
• Read a book by an author from the country.
• Cook a meal native to the country.
• Eat dinner at a restaurant which serves the country's food.
• Learn about the history of the country on Wikipedia.
• Memorize a few facts about the country - capital city, neighbouring countries, leader, population size, major exports, famous citizens, etc.
• Look at art from the country.
• Watch a movie set in the country or made by natives of the country.
• Listen to traditional music from the country.
• Learn a few phrases in the country's language (if it is different from yours).

5. At the end of the month, label the country as "visited" and get ready for your next trip.