After visiting the great barrier reef on our trip around the world, we explored the tundra of Russia. I wasn’t feeling well the week before, so I didn’t have much in the way of extras for this week. But, it didn’t matter anyway. Farm Kid1 felt crummy all this week so we only did the basics for this unit.

Google defines a tundra as:

a vast, flat, treeless Arctic region of Europe, Asia, and North America in which the subsoil is permanently frozen

School Room

As I said, we didn’t do much on this unit – including in the display. I added two books, that’s it.

Biome chart with tundra information

Left: We measured that it was 6600 miles from the Great Barrier Reef to the Russian Tundra.

Right: For the postcard, Farm Kid1 chose to draw a herd of musk ox.

We looked through our box on Asia. But, it had nothing related to Russia or Siberia which is where the tundra is located.

Hopefully we have a better virtual visit next week when we explore deciduous forests.

Links to our Continents & Biomes:
North America – Temperate Rainforest
South America – Tropical Rainforest
Antarctica – Ice Cap
Africa – Sahara Desert
Australia – Coral Reef
Asia – Tundra
Europe – Deciduous Forest

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Here’s a peek into the goodies in Asia’s box.

Flag wheels from Enchanted Learning.
Same as in the other boxes – envelopes with landmarks, animals, money & art.

Photos & a postcard from family & friends.

The Chinese counting book is from Enchanted Learning. I found the Japanese numbers & characters through a web search.

Papers and activities printed from:
Education.com  •  Making Friends  •  Practical Pages  •  Paper Toys

Inside the box

Our Continent Boxes:
Africa
Antarctica
Asia
Australia
Europe
North America
South America

To learn more about our continent boxes click here.

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Unfortunately, the Christmas hub-bub is catching up with me now. These last few countries didn’t get near the exploration as the first ones we studied.

England
Merry Christmas

It seems many of the traditions in the U.S are quite similar to those in England. Since they also send Christmas cards to friends & family I had Farm Kid1 make cards for 3 different people. They also do advent calendars, so we talked about those & the various ones we have in our house. I have one I made for me, one I made for the kids to do each day & my mom got them each a chocolate advent calendar this year. We also watched the episode of 19 Kids & Counting when they traveled to England. Farm Kid1 says he really wants to go to London so he can ride a red double decker bus. I hope he gets to do that some day.

LONDON CANVAS COLLAGE
I was able to pull in real life experiences for Great Britain. Years ago, the hubby & I spent a week in England. So we talked about this collage I made. And, Farm Kid1 has a friend who was born in Wales & his mom speaks with a British accent. They made it into our conversation that day.

Italy
Buon Natale

Italy is a place on my really-gonna-go-to-someday list. We talked about why I would like to go there – which is that I’m a huge fan of the Renaissance time period. I’ve just gotta see those masterpieces in person. And the rolling hills, the Venetian canals & real Italian pasta are calling my name. And, Rome. I want to walk the streets of Rome. Many of the countries we studied were primarily Catholic, so we also talked about the Vatican. It actually was a great way to pull all the countries together. Farm Kid1 learned to play the Italian song, Carol of the Bagpipes, on the piano. Something I didn’t know is that bagpipes are a big part of Christmas in Italy.

Israel
Mo’adim Lesimkha

We ended this unit with the Holy Land. We talked about Bethlehem & Jerusalem & how many people attend the Christmas service right at the spot where Jesus was born. We also watched the episode of 19 Kids & Counting when the Duggar family traveled to Israel. Farm Kid1 loved the camels, of course. He practiced playing Little Town of Bethlehem on the piano. I would like to study this country again & explore Hanukkah.

This was such a fun unit of study. I feel like I learned just as much as Farm Kid1. Now how do I pick which countries to study next year? We already discussed the ones that have meaning to our family in some way. I will have to pick a country in South America & Africa since we didn’t visit those continents this year. And, wouldn’t it be fun if I could come up with a whole unit study on Christmas Around the World incorporating math, spelling, reading & grammar. I’ve got a whole year, maybe I can come up with something.

Our Christmas Around the World Links:
Week 1 – Finland, France & Australia
Week 2 – Mexico, Philippines & Switzerland
Week 3 – England, Italy & Israel

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Farm Kid1 & I are both enjoying this unit. It has been a great way to discuss other countries, even if it hasn’t been in great detail. I like learning about so many countries, but next year I think we will only do 1 or 2 countries per week so we can study each country more in depth. I would like to learn a song, do a craft & cook something from each country. We just don’t have the time to do that with this set up.

Mexico
Feliz Navidad

I chose Mexico as a country to study because when Farm Kid1 was 3 years old & Farm Kid2 was 1 we had the opportunity to go on a Mexican cruise with some friends of ours. This was a nice way to throw in real life conversation along with learning something new. (Although, I don’t recommend going on a cruise with such young children.)

TAMALES
This couldn’t have worked out more perfectly. My hubby wanted to make tamales, so I asked him if Farm Kid1 could help. And, voila our Mexican themed activity was complete. Although, Farm Kid1 didn’t really care for the taste of the finished tamale.

Philippines
Maligayang Pasko

This year, through our church, our family put together 2 gift boxes for Samaritan’s Purse. I received an email saying our gifts were sent to the Philippines, which is why I chose to study this country.

PAROL
The parol is a common Christmas decoration in the Philippines. This one Farm Kid1 made is not lighted or near as fancy as the ones seen in the Philippines, but for some reason it makes me happy. It just seems cheery.

Switzerland
Schoni Faschttag

I didn’t have a real reason to study Switzerland, I just simply chose it. The Switzerland activity was creating a natural bell. The instructions are on Homeschool share. It turned out so-so.

Our Christmas Around the World Links:
Week 1 – Finland, France & Australia
Week 2 – Mexico, Philippines & Switzerland
Week 3 – England, Italy & Israel

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