Holidays Around the World

This week, we are traveling the world. That's right, we packed our suitcases, created our passports and mapped our trip around the world! We didn't even have to leave our classroom because I transformed our puppet theater into the airport ticket counter at World Airways. Each day this week we will travel to three locations to learn about the holidays celebrated around this time of year. Our first step is to find the country on the map of the world. Then, we watch a quick video clip of the plane taking off and landing in the country. We also get to view the journey on Google Earth which is super cool to see! When we 'arrive' we add the newest stamp to our passport and begin learning about the culture and traditions. 

Plane Tickets

Flying to Mexico

Getting our Passports Stamped

When arriving in a country the first thing we learn is how to say hello in the language spoken in that country. We read about the traditions revolving around the holiday celebrated and discuss if that is similar to our own holiday traditions. We view many beautiful images of the country and decide on a souvenir to bring home with us. We created the souvenir, put it in our suitcases, and return prepare for our next step on the journey. Today's journeys took us to Mexico and then Brazil. We learned about La Posada and discovered that poinsettias are a popular winter flower that are used to decorate this time of year. We made a poinsettia as a souvenir. In Brazil, we learned about Natal and that pave is a traditional desert for holiday parties. We also took part in our own 'amigo secreto' or secret friend; which is similar to a secret Santa, by making a holiday card for a kindergartner in another class. We loved spreading holiday cheer and participating in this fun Brazilian tradition. We are so excited to see where we will fly tomorrow!

Poinsettia from Mexico

Cards for Amigo Secreto in Brazil