Summer World Travel: North America

Hello everyone!  I must apologize for my absence.  A lot has happened in the last two years (wow, really?  2 years?  Crazy).  I realize that I made the rest of my posts for the 'Around the World' with Focus on the Family, but I never polished them and finished them so as to post them for all of you to be able to see!  Oh no!  So, here they are, very late.  I apologize for my tardiness.  All will be explained in a future post...

But first... ONWARD!

Hello again, and welcome here!  Are you travelling with us around the world with Focus on the Family?  If not, why not join in?  It is fun, and can be as simple as just following the itinerary they have themselves, or as complex as you wish to make it.  I decided to post the links to recipes and youtube videos that I am using with my own kids, as well as the maps and printables I made to go with the 'program' myself.  You can view those by clicking the links below.

Time for a Summer Adventure!
Summer World Travel: Ethiopia, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Summer World Travel:  Australia, New Zealand, PNG
Summer World Travel:  Asia
Summer World Travel:  Caribbean
Summer World Travel:  Eastern Europe/Central Asia
Summer World Travel:  South America
And so, our seventh week of our 'travels' took us to North America.  Unfortunately, I did not include what we did for Canada for some reason.  Likely because we stuck to the paper outlined and didn't get into too many extras.  We do live here, after all.

USA - on laptop

So, since we know the USA pretty well (hello, southern neighbors!), we looked at our map and noticed how many states there were.  We colored our flags and stamps, then we prayed.
   M- that the people would listen to you
   Bram - I couldn't hear him as baby Bella was too loud.

We went on YouTube and looked at a few videos of the Grand Canyon, Mt. Rushmore, and then we listened to the National Anthem.

Mexico - Aug 20

As usual, we colored flags, found Mexico on the map, colored our stamps and glued them into our passports.  We went through the clues on the sheet, and I decided to make a few recipes this time.  I made homemade tortillas for beef burritos, and then I made hummus, Mexican wedding cookies, and a Mexican sunrise drink.  Hopefully all the links work for you so you can try the recipes out yourselves.

Next, we played Basta as outlined on our worksheet.  L was our letter, and the categories were food, animals, fun things to do, countries, and people names.  We also prayed for Mexico.
   M - "I pray for Mexico that they will have safety."
   Bram - "I pray for safety for whatever they need safety from."
   A - "I pray Mexico, safety in the barn."  (how can you tell that I ask for my husband's safety in the barn when we pray often!)

We watched a few videos using YouTube as well.  One on the anthem, and a few about step pyramids here, here, and here. 

Summer World Travel: South America

Hello again, and welcome here!  Are you travelling with us around the world with Focus on the Family?  If not, why not join in?  It is fun, and can be as simple as just following the itinerary they have themselves, or as complex as you wish to make it.  I decided to post the links to recipes and youtube videos that I am using with my own kids, as well as the maps and printables I made to go with the 'program' myself.  You can view those by clicking the links below.

Time for a Summer Adventure!
Summer World Travel: Ethiopia, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Summer World Travel:  Australia, New Zealand, PNG
Summer World Travel:  Asia
Summer World Travel:  Caribbean
Summer World Travel:  Eastern Europe/Central Asia

And so, our sixth week of our 'travels' took us to South America: Suriname, Bolivia, and Colombia.

Suriname Aug8&9

We found it on a map, read the clues, colored flag/stamp, and listened to national anthem " God zij met ons Suriname" with the first verse in dutch, and the second in Sranan Tongo

We listened to Kaseko music, and then made drums and played to it.

We watched a tourism video.

We made up a song -

• (mom) I love the Lord with all my heart
• (M)  With all my heart and soul
• (Bram) I Believe in Jesus, Yes I do
• (A) I believe in Jesus
• (Baby) Jesus

I did my best to write down what the kids prayed for, but I couldn't get it all word for word.  I love keeping this so I can see it again later.  It is wonderful to hear our children pray.

• M - That the word would travel through the rainforests to the people
• Bram - that they would hear of God through the rainforests and that many of them would know He is the Saviour and that He made everything

The kids wrote the things they were anxious about and put them on their shoes, ran outside, and then kicked them off to come inside before our baths/supper.  These were the things they wrote.

1. A - power going out
2. Bram - school, nightmares, needles
3. M - when the power goes out, thunder, school, nightmares, spiders

For supper, I made 'pom'.  Quite interesting.

Bolivia Aug10&11

Galatians 6:9

 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Once again, we read the clues, found Bolivia on the map, colored the flag and stamp, and listened to the national anthem.

We also watched a video of a balero, and then watched a video of the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia... called the worlds largest salt flat and God's Mirror.  Beautiful.  Kids said they want to see it in real life someday.

We made Empanadas de Queso as our recipe.

They don't have 'snacks' here usually, but they have a morning tea time around 10am called merienda, and an afternoon tea time around 5 called tecito.  They like to have baked goods with their tea.  Click here for more info. 

We learned about desserts there (they use a lot of coconut and chocolate) and their fruits.  See more on that here and here.

We made up our own 'family flags'.

We prayed for Bolivia-

M - that the people would know Jesus, that they would have enough food

Bram - that they would get enough money to buy food

Colombia - Aug 12&13

We read the clues, found Colombia on the map, colored the flag and stamp, and listened to the national anthem.

We watched a footbag or hacky sack tricks video and then tried to play ourselves.  We were not successful.  Balloons made it easier, though.

Our verses:
Leviticus 19:32 'Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD.

1 Cor 4:8-9 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

We played with spinning tops, as per the activity for the day.  And we prayed.

1. M - I pray for the leaders to make decisions so that people will not be in poverty.
2. Bram - I pray for the people in Colombia to have their leaders so that they will not have poverty and will accept you. 

We invited my parents to come for supper, to serve them first, oldest to youngest.

Summer World Travel: Eastern Europe/Central Asia

Hello again, and welcome here!  Are you travelling with us around the world with Focus on the Family?  If not, why not join in?  It is fun, and can be as simple as just following the itinerary they have themselves, or as complex as you wish to make it.  I decided to post the links to recipes and youtube videos that I am using with my own kids, as well as the maps and printables I made to go with the 'program' myself.  You can view those by clicking the links below.

Time for a Summer Adventure!
Summer World Travel: Ethiopia, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Summer World Travel:  Australia, New Zealand, PNG
Summer World Travel:  Asia
Summer World Travel:  Caribbean


And so, our fifth week of our 'travels' took us to Eastern Europe and Central Asia.  Here we visit Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Russia.

August 1&2 - Armenia

We read the clues, found Armenia on the map, colored our flags and stamps, and listened to the national anthem called 'Our Fatherland'.  mɛɾ hɑjɾɛnikʰ

We did the activity where we rearranged our alphabet by making a prayer with it.

We also played egg jousting (had the eggs for supper afterwards)

We prayed - everyone basically prayed the same thing... that they'd 'stand firm'

For our 'recipe', I made armenian flatbread with cheese.

• 1 cup flour,
• salt,
• 1/2 cup water
• Mix and let sit 15 minutes.  Divide into four and roll into about 12 inch diameter circles.  Spread olive oil on it, and sprinkle on cheese, dried mint, and pepper.  Bake 400F for 7minutes.

We watched a video to see Mount Ararat

We watched a short Armenia travel guide video. 

Aug3&4 - Kazakhstan

Once again we read the clues, found Kazakhstan on our map, colored the flag/stamp, and listened to the national anthem

We named as many fruits as we could think of. 32 total - apples, oranges, peaches, plums, bananas, lemons, limes, kiwi, tomato, cantaloupe, watermelon, strawberries, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, papaya, plantain, pineapple, mango, coconut, chokecherries, mandarins, pears, starfruit, dragonfruit, durian, honeydew, apricots, grapes, cranberries, pomegranates

We made fruit salad using what we had... bananas, strawberries, canaloupe, blueberries, apples, pineapple, and lemon juice.

We played the anklebone shooting game.  With dice.

We prayed:

• M - That the people in Kazakhstan would understand your truth, love, and freedom
• Bram - that the people would have faith in you and understand you created everything, and they would come to know you.
• A - I don't know what she said.

We watched a commercial tourism video and a tourism video.

Aug 5&7 Russia

Once again we colored flags, found Russia on the map, and colored and glued our stamps.

We did the 'swapping meals' activity and ate denvers for breakfast and cereal for supper.  (I liked this one... cereal for supper means less work, haha)

We played Gorodki in the office (another of the activities).

We listened to the national anthem

Государственный гимн Российской Федерации, "Gosudarstvenny Gimn Rossiyskoy Federatsii

Bram tells me there are lots of z's in it

We watched a video or two of schools in Russia

We also looked at churches in Russia.

Sorry this has been taking so long to update.  I have sort of been doing it as I scrapbook, and I am very behind.  I will get everything up here yet.  Hopefully before the end of the year!

Summer World Travel: Caribbean

Hello again, and welcome here!  Are you travelling with us around the world with Focus on the Family?  If not, why not join in?  It is fun, and can be as simple as just following the itinerary they have themselves, or as complex as you wish to make it.  I decided to post the links to recipes and youtube videos that I am using with my own kids, as well as the maps and printables I made to go with the 'program' myself.  You can view those by clicking the links below.

Time for a Summer Adventure!
Summer World Travel: Ethiopia, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Summer World Travel:  Australia, New Zealand, PNG
Summer World Travel:  Asia

And so, our fourth week of our 'travels' took us to the Caribbean.  Here we visit Costa Rica, the Bahamas, and Colombia.

July 25 and 16 - Costa Rica

We read the clues.  Then we colored our flags and stamps.

Listened to the national anthem. 

Did the 'find and name animals/plants' activity at the splash park.  Found more than 10 things.

Lunch was Casado... a plate/dish that has fried plantain, white rice, cooked black beans (I fried mine with some sauteed onions, garlic, and in fat with salt and pepper, fried fish, and a cabbage salad (used a mixture of equal parts oil and cider vinegar with added sugar, salt, and pepper, and garlic powder.  I didn't measure).  The links I used for this are here, here, and here.

I made a version of Refrescos using field berries (instead of just blackberries) and milk.

We watched 'Cristo Me Ama' or Jesus Loves me in Spanish.  Here is one of kids, and here is an animated one

Bahamas July 27 and 28

After reading the clues, we colored stamps and flags, found country on the map.

We watched video on sloop sailing and another with kids.

We looked and listened to my conch shell

I made Caribbean Peas and Rice .

We told stories around a 'fake fire':

• A -  "I cannot tell a story."
• So, I told a story first.  I told the kids about when a friend and I found a red log.  Well... she thought it might be a good idea to walk on it, but I was scared to.  When she stepped onto the log, the red started moving, and she started screaming.  They were red ants.  My mom had to put her in the tub to get rid of them all.
• Bram -  Doing my best to quote his story... "At (a friend)'s party, there was a little boy there, and he took my sucker out of my mouth and put it in his mouth, and I needed a new sucker.  Then he gave mine back.  After it had been in his mouth!  And we had a pillow fight."
• M - Once again, the story is best straight from their mouths, but this will have to do."At (a friend)'s house we found an old laptop, so we had the idea to draw our own laptops, and that's how I got so many paper laptops.  And we made a fort.  It was fun."  And yes, she has many a paper laptop, paper phone, paper everything.
• A - This was the most imaginative!  "M is a dragon.  No.  Bram is a dragon.  Yeah, Bram is a dragon."  I love her matter of fact way of saying it, too.

I made coconut cookies.

I made a Johnny Cake for breakfast 

Listened to the national anthem - 'March on, Bahamaland' (and we noticed it sounds very similar to 'Oh Canada')

The kids made paper/cardboard fish with paperclips, fishing rods with sticks/string/magnets, and fished in the living room 'blanket pond'.  For hours.

We prayed:

• M - that the Christians will tell others about God, like missionaries.
• Bram - that they will believe in God and become Christians and believe the Bible.
• A- sounded like another language.

We made crab sandwiches for supper.

Jamaica - July 29 and 30

The kids colored maps and stamps after reading the clues and finding the country on our map.

We watched the Jamaica National Anthem, Jamaica, Land We Love.

I made Jamaican banana bread ( don't follow the baking directions of 375 for 1 hour.  Do 350 for 45 minutes to start.  Mine burned terribly at this rate)

We bought Jamaican Beef Patties but there is a recipe for them here.

We made Caribbean chicken.

We also had the Jamaican drinks we bought (pineapple soda, and ginger beer) and hubby bought a Caribbean jerk sauce for his chicken.

We played Dandy Shandy a little bit.

We read some of a book in the Library with pictures about Jamaica

We did the activity of guessing what some Patois expressions were in English.

We prayed.

We watched a tourist video with written info and pictures about 14 tourist attractions

We looked up the Giant Swallowtail Butterfly (they stay in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park).



I really hope that these links are useful to anyone looking for a little extra fun to use in this 'excursion'.  Please let me know in the comments.

Summer World Travel: Asia

Hello again, and welcome here!  Are you travelling with us around the world with Focus on the Family?  If not, why not join in?  It is fun, and can be as simple as just following the itinerary they have themselves, or as complex as you wish to make it.  I decided to post the links to recipes and youtube videos that I am using with my own kids, as well as the maps and printables I made to go with the 'program' myself.  You can view those by clicking the links below.

Time for a Summer Adventure!
Summer World Travel: Ethiopia, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Summer World Travel:  Australia, New Zealand, PNG

And so, our third week of our 'travels' took us to Asia.  I know this is super late to post, but I finally blogged about it.  I need to do this more frequently.  I hope the links to the videos we watched and the recipes we found help you in your 'travels' as well... even if you do this at another time. 

I am trying to keep up with scrapbooking these days as well.  I'm further behind on that than I am on blogging about it.  Oops. 

July 18+19 India

First, after reading the clues above, we found India on our map and colored our flags and stamps.  We also took note that our sponsored child is from India.
We made curry and rice.

We also prayed for India according to the 'tour guide' Focus on the Family provided.
M - For them to have food and water, for them to accept Jesus in their hearts

Bram - for them to have Bibles and not follow Islam but Jesus instead
A - India, OK.  Amen.

Went outside and played Seven Stones (also called Pitthu) (kids preferred knocking down the stones, not so much the stacking part) and pretended to be rickshaws.  They got bored and wanted to fly a kite instead.

We  also watched a variety of videos:

• a game of pitthu
• a video about monsoons
• a cricket video
• 2 videos about the cows.  Click here and here.
• Some of the National Geographic video for the Secrets of the Taj Mahal (long, 45 minute video.  I don't recommend making your kids watch all of it.  We skipped parts) 
• the national anthem Jana Gana Mana

Japan - July 20 and 21

After reading the clues, once again, we found the country on our map and colored our flags and stamps.  The kids love coloring the flags, even ones as simple as Japan's.

We watched national anthem Kimi Ga Yo

We practiced bowing.  To the floor.  Giggles all around.

We watched a variety of videos:

• Japanese Table manners here and here.
• Japanese vs American appliances
• Treatment of an American in rural Japan
• school lunches in Japan
• Japanese street food vendors (long video... I skipped lots as well)

We even looked at what Japanese breakfasts are like.

We watched Totoro with supper.  Got to see and talk a bit about how the Japanese people live in the country.

I made a Japanese breakfast and lunch, using this site to see some of the things they have as breakfasts.  We had a fried egg on rice and miso soup with toast for breakfast, and lunch was homemade chicken ramen with rice noodles and purchased california rolls.

We also made origami cranes, using this video to help us.

We then prayed for Japan.

July 23- China

We once again read the clues, found China on our map, colored the flag and stamp, and watched the national anthem

We prayed that more people would become Christians in China.

I then played the game '5, 10, 15, 20' with M.  Bram didn't want to play.

We all drew the symbol for righteousness

I made chicken/broccoli/bell peppers stir fry with rice and Costco's pot stickers for supper, and a coconut milk/orange jello concoction for dessert (no real recipe... I just used leftover coconut milk to replace some of the cold water and used gelatin molds for extra fun).

There were two vids I watched later with the kids (did them on the 26th).  They are about the Great Wall of China.  You can see them here and here.