Our local homeschool group had their first Festival of Nations. It was a hit with my kids and 15-20 other families. I highly recommend it for other groups, or families who like the idea of focusing on one area and really diving deep into the culture, geography and history. Our family traveled to Brazil in South America via books, videos and music. Here is just some of our favorite resources to get you started on your journey!
The Display Board
The board covered almost everything we learned about. We featured Country Facts, Geography, Resources, Sightseeing, Rainforest and Natives. Dozens of fun facts are all over the board. I think we learned the most while making the board, as the kids had to re-research the tidbits of information to add. But how did we piece it together?
I started by looking up images online of rainforest animals, Yanomami natives, Brazil maps and flag, Rio De Janeiro, Carnival, Amazon River, Amazon Proper, Amazon Rainforest, The Pantanal, Iguacu Falls, etc. Saving the images, I resized them onto MS Publisher pages and printed them out for the kids to color. I labeled the sections of the board, added basic line drawings of trees, a river, falls, parade float, etc and they filled in the rest. The Natives section is wood craft sticks and raffia. Most of it is colored pencil or marker.
Did you know that most of our oceans fresh water comes from the Amazon River?
Did you know that most of our fresh air comes from rainforests, such as the one in Brazil?
Did you know that mahogany and teak wood is taken from rainforests in Brazil [deforestation], endangering the hundreds of species of animals and insects that live there, as well as our air?
Did you know that the city Curitiba was built to be a global model for future cities? The most "livable" city.
Top Destinations
Rio de Janeiro
Rio hosts popular beaches, such as Ipanema and Copacabana, as sung by Frank Sinatra and Barry Manilow. Just about anywhere you'll bump into people dancing the Samba or Capoiera (Judo/Dance Fighting), especially at Carnival the week before Lent. Visit one of the seven wonders of the world when you see the Christ the Redeemer statue. It is also becoming popular to walk the streets of the hillside favelas which are homes to the lower class citizens.
The long panorama is a line drawing from IllustratedMaps.info of Rio de Janeiro that I stretched to a few pages. Each child plus myself colored one section.
[Photo credit to Mystery Wallpaper]
[Photo Credit RioDeJaneiro4u.com]
The Amazon Proper
Where the Negro River and Amazon River meet, the two do not mix waters for 4 miles!
Iguacu Falls
Miles of waterfalls can be found in southern Brazil.
A Taste of Brazil
We sampled a trail mix of cashews, chocolate and coconut. We also featured "guess that food" jars with fabric lids, inside was coconut, cashews, coffee and cocoa powder. Brazil is a natural resource for many fruits, nuts and beans (cacao and coffee).
Traditions
The people of Brazil cherish their time spent sunning, dancing, playing music, playing futebol (soccer), visiting wildlife, and hosting thousands of guests from all over the world. Tourism and Exports of food/wood/latex/coffee are their main sources of economy, (aside from illegal drug smuggling.) Their main religion is Catholicism, seconded by African spirituality. The natives are the most unique, left almost untouched by modern society, people of our time.
After reading 123 Suddenly in Brazil: The Ribbons of Bonfim, we did some research about the ribbons. It began as a Catholic tradition of honoring saints and Jesus by wearing these ribbons as a witness to prayers answered. Recently they've become more of a lucky charm or wish ribbon. But we had fun sharing this history and opportunity with those who stopped by! I did not order the ribbons from Brazil because I thought it up too late. So I made ours from satin ribbons from the craft store and added the words in permanent marker. Everyone got a ribbon tied on with the history and explanation on a flyer (in the resources & ideas section below entitled "Wishes for You").
Poster I made (with Patron Saints I chose reflected the desire):
Craft Ideas
http://www.squidoo.com/around-the-world-crafts-for-kids
Carnival Masks (eye masks with feathers and gems)
Beaded Necklaces (Colorful beads or macaroni on string)
Maracas (dried beans or macaroni between paper plates)
Christ the Redeemer paper statue (link to printable at website)
A few favorite coloring pages to get you started!
RESOURCES & IDEAS
Books about Brazil, the Rainforest and the Amazon River
Non-Fiction
Amazon River by Anne Fitzpatrick
Brazil ABC’s by David Seidman
Brazil: Enchantment of the world by Ann Flieinrichs
Brazil: Faces and Places by Elma Schemenauer
Countries of the world: Brazil by Leslie Jermyn
Count Your Way Through Brazil by James Jaskins
Cultures of the world: Brazil by Leslie Jermyn
The Rainforest Grew All Around
Rio De Janeiro by Deborah Kent
Fiction
1,2,3 Suddenly in Brazil: The Ribbons of Bonfim by Maldonado
Amazon Fever by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
Grk and the Pelotti Gang by Joshua Doder
Magic Tree House: Afternoon on the Amazon by Mary Pope Osborne
Terror on the Amazon: The Quest for El Dorado by Phil Gates
Great Websites for Kids
Brazil
http://www.kidscornerbrazil.org/
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/places/find/brazil/
http://www.timeforkids.com/destination/brazil
http://www.brazilintheschool.org/p/brazil-for-kids.html
Check out this Virtual Tour which features one of the seven wonders of the world - Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio!
The Rainforest
http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/kids
Teacher Resources
http://www.easyfunschool.com/article1080.html
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/rainforest/
Nossa Turne da Netflix!
Amazon & Brazil Based Movies
Go Diego Go (TV Series)
Rio (G)
Barney: Celebrating Around the World (G)
Ferngully: The Last Rainforest (G)
Three Caballeros (G)
IMAX: Amazon (NR)
IMAX: Tropical Rainforest (NR)
The Mission (R)
Anaconda (R)
The Emerald Forest (R)
Movies with scenes in Brazil
Jungle 2 Jungle (PG)
Moonraker [Bond] (PG)
The Incredible Hulk (2003) (PG-13)
Fast Five (PG-13)
Twilight: Breaking Dawn (PG-13)
