12/31/2019 0 Comments DIY Little Passports: IsraelOur last stop on the World Explorer Club this year is a place I definitely wanted to learn about, especially at Christmastime. Welcome to Israel! I was super emotional reading and writing about Israel just because the area is so full of rich and heartbreaking history for the three biggest religions in the world.
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12/2/2019 0 Comments DIY Little Passports: El SalvadorHola from our latest stop on the World Explorers Club! We’re towards the end of the year on our journey, and have come to the “Land of Volcanoes” in El Salvador! Sadly it wasn’t even labeled on our illustrated wall map! My husband actually spent two years there on a mission, so it was really cool for him to sit down with our Explorer and get her excited about this tiny bit mighty country in Central America when she opened her package.
10/30/2019 0 Comments DIY Little Passports: KenyaI cried—a lot—while reading the materials before approving them for this package. Stories about kindness, giving, gratitude, making a difference, following your dreams, unexpected friendships, and what it truly means to mourn with those that mourn... I hope my Little Explorer is as touched by discovering the beautiful culture and people of Kenya with our homemade World Explorer’s Club! My Little Explorer wears her souvenir everyday to school (it helps that it’s her favorite color and matches most of her current clothing). It’s been a busy month so we haven’t gotten around to the activity yet. More details below!
9/29/2019 0 Comments DIY Little Passports: EnglandCheerio, g’uvner! Honestly I was super excited to properly introduce my World Explorer to England solely for the Beatles! It’s been awesome being able to listen to Beatles songs every day and even rent the movie “Yesterday” (it was so enjoyable!) to watch with my sweetheart near their 50th anniversary. Since we live in America and have some Welsh heritage, our little Explorer has tons of western and specifically English influences so the only difficult part was choosing a handful to focus on this month!
8/31/2019 0 Comments DIY Little Passports: FranceBonjour! It’s a fun (and delicious) adventure this month from France in our home-made kits for the World Explorers Club project. Our daughter (now 8 years old) has learned about several different cultures and wonders of our world, and we’ve now come to one of those most visited places in the world!
7/12/2019 0 Comments DIY Little Passports: Madagascar
Manoa ahoana! That’s Malagasy for “hello” at our next stop on our World Explorer tour, the island of Madagascar. Madagascar is famous for its plant and wildlife, most which are only found on this island! The Malagasy people are also very unique, especially with their customs for honoring their ancestors. Check out what we got for this month’s package to learn about this amazing island!
7/5/2019 0 Comments DIY Little Passports: JamaicaTo learn and grow from places around the world, we started a homemade project, the World Explorers Club. This month takes us to Jamaica in June! Not gonna lie, putting this package together was a serious challenge—I almost gave up, furiously working on it until the very last day of the month. L kept asking if her package came every day the last couple of weeks... so sad it took so long to finish. Although I had already bought the souvenir it didn’t seem like enough and I wanted to include something meaningful. Also, how to navigate many of the “non-kid-appropriate” stuff Jamaica is known for (aka a long history of slavery, piracy and prostitution, rum and weed, the economic divide...)? We concentrated on kid-friendly spots like Luminous Lagoon and Dolphin Cove, the concept of “out of many, one people”, Jamaican world-famous food, and of course Bob Marley.
6/19/2019 0 Comments DIY Little Passports: ItalyBongiorno! Our homemade World Explorers Club is all about appreciating the many places around the world, and our latest stop is Italy! It’s May with the end of school and an upcoming trip to Hawaii and California, so I’m freaking out on timing and the lack thereof. I didn’t do any extra activities besides what I could find in the science books on Galileo’s experiments. With Italy’s rich history and culture, I had plenty of engaging resources from the library to include in addition to our most expensive souvenir, so I didn’t feel like I had to do more. Our little Explorer was able to open it with time enough before our trip, and here’s what she found!
4/30/2019 0 Comments DIY Little Passports: AustraliaG’day, Mate! We’re heading to the Land Down Under in Australia this month with our homemade World Explorer’s Club! L was super excited when she received her package in the mail after school. This was one of her favorite souvenir activities! Check out more details below.
4/1/2019 0 Comments DIY Little Passports: IrelandWe’re visiting the “Emerald Isle” of Ireland in March for the World Explorer Club. I have a personal interest in all the places we discover, and Ireland is one of my favorites! Since my daughter loves science, there’s a glass prism included so we can study light/rainbows as we also check out stories about leprechauns and rainbows in Irish folklore!
2/16/2019 0 Comments DIY Little Passports: BrazilIt’s almost time for Carnival, a fun festival filled with color and excitement! Our world explorer is ready to learn about the rainforest and more with her package for her latest destination in our series this year—Brazil! Check it out.
It’s our second year around the world here at the World Explorers Club! We ended up naming it that last year when I did a surprise DIY Little Passports project for my daughter every month for 6 months. Now we’re ready to upgrade to a full year (12 months). She still doesn’t know who sends her the packages (me), only that she gets to open them every month. Keeping everything a secret is a big part of the fun for me, besides getting to put together playful and learning activities for my daughter. Read on to see how I pre-planned the 12 destinations!
1/21/2019 0 Comments DIY Little Passports: EgyptWe’re starting our global adventure this year in the fabulous land of Egypt! Ancient Egypt, mostly... Our kiddo is ready to explore the culture and wonder of Egypt with books, crafts, souvenirs, interactive surprises, and even a movie. Check it out!
11/29/2018 0 Comments DIY Little Passports: RussiaIn September, a special package came and my Little Explorer was thrilled. The “World Explorers Club” had finally sent her latest adventure from Russia! It was a struggle for me this month because I had so many great plans for craft activities (like a Snowflake ballerina) that I didn’t have time to go to the copy store and do, so I put it off. I actually ended up running out of renewals for the library materials, and had to re-check them out.
5/17/2018 0 Comments DIY Little Passports: Mexico¡Hola! Our Little Explorer has made her way to Mexico this month in our DIY Little Passports project. We hope this project empowers our kids with a love and appreciation for the people and places all over the world. Mexico this month works out great since we’ve celebrated Cinco de Mayo and have been eating Mexican food regularly. Everyone in our home loves tacos. Ever since the movie Coco came out, I’ve been looking forward to learning more about this beautiful and colorful country. My husband (and therefore children) have some heritage in Mexico, so it’s even more special hearing about what it’s like there. This is also one of the rare places we’ve studied that I can actually tell her about because I’ve been there. Check out what came in her package!
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AuthorI'm Kat - designer, code monkey, teacher's wife, and maker of home. This blog is my personal and creative outlet chronicling the special moments of our family. Archives
January 2020
CategoriesAll Adventures Decorating Kids Little Passports Party Personal Projects Teachers Why I Believe |