Passport to Fun

Starting Tuesday, June 21, and going through Saturday, July 30, 2011, the Michael's store in Columbia, MO is running a kid's craft program called Passport to Fun. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday the store will feature a new country, with a total of 18 destinations covered through the end of July.

With each day being a different country, if one were to try to do all the countries, that's a lot of time spent in the store! However, for those of us who homeschool over the summer, the program may be a nice introduction to countries we're covering in geography, and a supplement to add art to the learning. In addition, the program includes a small goal - making a 'hat swap' item for each country, with a different one for each country covered. The website suggests the program is for ages 3 to 8, but looking at some of the craft projects, especially those involving beads, I'd say it's 4-5 to 8+ depending on the child.

While each country is listed on the calendar above, I'm going to include the list below so you can quickly see if one or more countries is on your geography plan for the summer:

June 21 - Sweden
Paper Dolls, Swedish Heart; Hat Swap - Swedish Flag

June 23 - Germany
Nutcrackers, Loden Hat; Hat Swap - Cow Bell

June 25 - Egypt
Pyramid, Hieroglypics; Hat Swap - Mummy

June 28 - Bahamas
Flip-Flop Journal, Can Hugs; Hat Swap - Flower Lei Pin

June 30 - Canada
Inukshuk, Moose; Hat Swap - Maple Leaf

July 2 - USA
Warrior Shield, Log cabin Caddy; Hat Swap - Flag Bead Pin

July 5 - Italy
Leaning Tower of Pisa, Suncatchers; Hat Swap - Foam Pizza

July 7 - Australia
Aboriginal Art, Boomerang; Hat Swap - Koala

July 9 - India
Glow Peacock, Henna Hand; Hat Swap - Elephant

July 12 - Russia
Russian Jeweled Egg, Paper Nesting Dolls; Hat Swap - Bear Pin

July 14 - France
Impressionist Style Painting, Wood Eiffel Tower; Hat Swap - Frenchman

July 16 - UK
Celtic Tree, Crown; Hat Swap - Shamrock

July 19 - Japan
Wooden Dragon, Foam Printing Block; Hat Swap - Origami Dog

July 21 - Greece
Olive Wreath Crown, Greek Pot; Hat Swap - Olympic Torch

July 23 - Mexico
Yarn Art, Sun; Hat Swap - Flower

July 26 - China
Chinese Lantern, Tibetan Sand Painting; Hat Swap - Tangram

July 28 - South Africa
Animal Print Frame, Friendship Bracelet; Hat Swap - Lion Pin

July 30 - Brazil
Butterfly, Mask; Hat Swap - Bead Snake

Geography Program in Fulton

This summer I'd planned to include a brief introduction to each continent so that Boo can review the basics and we can then take geography to the next level in second grade - getting into more detail about the countries of each continent.

Geography is one of those things that can easily fall off the radar, and isn't usually the focus of any of the children's programs in our region. That is, until this summer!

The Callaway County Public Library, in Fulton, is doing an eight week geography series, "Around the World," where each week they'll focus on a continent, starting first with North America on Wednesday, June 15, 2011.

The website describes the series as "Every Wednesday during Summer Reading, we'll learn about different parts of the world through books. What will you see traveling through Canada, Mexico and the U.S.A.? What folktales and music will you hear? Let's explore." and notes that it's designed for children age 5 to 10.

The program runs each Wednesday, from 2:00-3:00 PM and there is no registration required to attend!

The series dates are:

June 15: North America
June 22: South America
June 29: Antactica
July 6: Africa
July 13: Europe
July 20: Asia
July 27: Australia
August 3: Around the World Finale

For more information, call the library at 573-642-7261.