Learn About USA: Fourth of July

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Independence Day, also called the Fourth of July, is a historic holiday in the United States.

It celebrates the day in the year 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was signed by the Continental Congress, declaring the independence of the American colonies from Great Britain.

It is important to remember that while the white colonists gained autonomy from the British empire, the Declaration of Independence did not grant freedom to all of the people who inhabited the land known as the United States. African slaves, who had been forcefully brought to the United States as early as 1619, were not given legal freedom until the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, almost one hundred years later.

In the decades following the Emancipation Proclamation, Black Americans have continued to struggle for equal rights and treatment, even to this day. Native Americans were also subject to genocide and displacement as the colonies expanded to form what we now know as the United States after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.


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TT Lesson 42 Learn About USA: Fourth of July

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Learn About Canada: Currency

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This week we’re taking a look at Canadian coins!

Canada’s long history means that there are a wide variety of coins used throughout the country, but for now we’re going to be looking at the most common ones: penny, nickel, dime, quarter, loonie and toonie. For the first activity you will use the different coin values to see what new coins they can add up to, then have fun coloring in three Canadian coins in the second activity.

Before you begin, you will need a pencil, eraser, and colored pencils or crayons.


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TT Lesson 40 Learn About Canada: Currency

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Learn About India: Let’s Practice Yoga!

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Namaste, Tiny Travelers! This week we’re learning about yoga.

Yoga, which means ‘union’ in Sanskrit, is a spiritual and physical practice originating thousands of years ago in ancient India. It involves breathing, exercise and meditation, which aim to improve health and happiness. During a yoga session a person will move through a sequence of postures, or, ‘asanas.’ Since its creation, yoga has become popular all over the world and developed many different schools of practice. In this week’s lesson you will learn six beginner yoga poses.

Color in the poster, then see if you can do each pose one after the other!


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TT Lesson 37 Learn About India

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Chinese Opera Mask

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Traditional Chinese Opera, or Xiqu, has existed in China for over one thousand years. This type of musical theatre, accompanied by traditional Chinese instruments, features unique exaggerated makeup and masks of different colors.

Fun fact:
The color of a character’s mask gives clues to the audience about who they are what qualities they have.

For today’s activity, you will create your own Chinese Opera mask and color a beautiful opera scene. Before you begin, grab some crayons or colored pencils, a pair of scissors to cut out your mask when you are done, and some string to tie it on your face.


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TT Lesson 36 Chinese Opera Mask

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Learn about Puerto Rico: Read Aloud with Gina Brillon!

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Journey through Puerto Rico with comedian Gina Brillon as she reads the Tiny Travelers Puerto Rico Treasure Quest book out loud. With so much to learn about Puerto Rico, from food to language, traditions, and more, you won’t want to miss out!

 

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Learn How to Make a Mola! 

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Today, let’s learn a little bit about traditional textiles and clothing in Panama.

Specifically: Mola, which comes from Panama’s San Blas Islands.
Molas are a type of woven textile made by the women of the Kuna people in Panama’s San Blas Islands. The word mola actually has two meanings: it is a Kuna word for clothing but it also refers to an important type of textile that features colorful panels sewn by the women of the native Kuna people. Traditionally, molas depicted the geometric shapes women painted on their bodies in ancient times. Molas have such importance for the Kuna and their traditional identity that even the school children have mola patterns as part of their school uniform!

As you begin today’s project, you can look online by searching the term “Kuna Molas” for images of the traditional clothing of the Kuna women to see examples of what molas look like. You will also notice other beautiful details that complete the outfits, including a patterned wrapped skirt (saburet), a red and yellow headscarf (musue), arm and leg beads (wini), a gold nose ring (olasu) and earrings, and the mola blouse (dulemor).

Today, color a pattern to make your own paper mola! You can use your mola as a piece of artwork on your wall, or give it as a gift to someone you love!

Fun fact:  Did you know? The tradition of molas as textiles go back to over 175 years!

Fun Fact: Did you know? The San Blas Islands are a group of islands in the archipelago de San Blas, located in the Northwest of Panama facing the Caribbean Sea. There are 378 islands within the San Blas archipelago. An archipelago is a group of islands surrounded by water.


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TT Lesson 32 Learn How to Make a Mola! 

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Learn About the Caribbean Islands: Write Your Own Poem

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In today’s lesson, we will introduce you to some fun poems from the Caribbean islands from Jamaican poet James Berry.

James Berry brings musical quality to his poems that celebrate what he calls “everyday” music – bird calls, tropical storms, the chatter of family and friends, and traditional songs and stories. They bring you the sounds, sights, and smells of James’ Jamaican childhood. You can listen to a poem written and read aloud by James Berry in English titled, “Childhood Tracks”. You can also hear him read aloud a poem in Creole or Patois, which is a Jamaican dialect here: Trick a Duppy.

Next, try to write your own poem in honor of Earth Day! Using “list poem” guidelines, think about the things you see and love about the Earth to create your own poem. What do you love and wish to protect about our planet?


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TT Lesson 26 Learn About the Caribbean Islands: Write Your Own Poem

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Learn About Puerto Rico: Make a Vejigante Mask

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The vejigante, pronounced ve-hee-GAN-teh is a character that represents an enemy or monster and can be seen in Puerto Rico during festivals such as Carnaval, Fiestas de Santiago Apóstol (in honor of St. James ), and other days of celebrations. The vejigante mask is known as the careta and it is usually made using papier-mâché or coconut husks and sometimes gourds. The legend of the vejigante comes from the Spanish settlers that brought over this symbol from Spain.

The Loíza vejigante masks are some of the most recognizable examples in Puerto Rican folk art. This style became popular by the late Don Castor Ayala over 60 years ago! Today, the Ayala family still makes these masks out of coconut and bamboo from their home in Loíza, in the northeast coast of Puerto Rico!

In today’s lesson, you can color your own vejigante mask also known as a careta.

Even though the masks represent a villian type of character, they are still used in playful ways and shown in bright colors throughout celebrations. Can you bring your vejigante to life using bright, fun, and playful colors?


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TT Lesson 17 Learn About Puerto Rico: Make a Vejigante Mask

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Learn about Mexico: Draw an Axolotl

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In Mexico, one of the most studied salamanders in the world are known as Axolotls.

Wild axolotls live in swampy areas of Lake Xochimilco and in the canals that flow into the southern edge of Mexico City.

Axolotls have also been known to have once lived in Lake Chalco, one of Mexico City’s five “great lakes”. This is one of the areas that the Aztecs settled. The Aztec called themselves Culhua-Mexica and they were a Nahuatl-speaking people who ruled a large empire in what we now call central and southern Mexico. The Axolotl name comes from the Nahuatl language and is pronounced Ax-oh-lot-ul. Atl means “water” and axolotl means “dog,” after the Xolotl, the canine Aztec deity.

In today’s lesson, we will learn how to draw your own Axolotl!

Before you begin, you will need a pencil, eraser, and colored pencils or crayons.

1) Did you know: Even though the Axolotl is commonly known as a “Mexican Walking Fish” it is not a fish at all. Axolotls are salamanders which is also a kind of amphibian. They are more like a cousin to a frog than they are to a fish.

2) Axolotls are carnivores known to eat worms, insect larvae, tiny shellfish known as crustaceans, and some fish.

3) Axolotls can live up to 10-15 years but are now considered to be a critically endangered species.

4) Did you know: Axolotls are neotenic salamanders, which means even as they grow older, Axolotls still look as if they are young.

5) Axolotls can regenerate (which is a fancy word to re-grow) the same limb up to 5 times!!


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TT Lesson 11 Learn about Mexico: Draw an Axolotl

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Let’s create a map of your home, Tiny Travelers!

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Before you begin you will need crayons or colored pencils, scissors, and a glue stick.

We’ll use pictures and symbols to tell a story about the people who live there and create a fun treasure hunt that you can play with other family members.

1) Start with drawing a map of your home. Check out the map examples for some inspiration!

2) Next, draw or cut out pictures and symbols to tell a story about the people who live in your home.

3) Then, add some of the “special symbols” to make your home map into a treasure map!

4) Add a map key with symbols, lines, special shapes, and colors to help readers make sense of the map.

5) You can also use some of the treasure chests or x’s provided to mark the placement of your first treasure.

6) You can make this into a game and hide objects for a treasure hunt game with family members.


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TT Lesson 8 Let’s create a map of your home, Tiny Travelers!

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Note to parents

Be sure to help children identify the locations of countries by pointing at the countries and calling out their names aloud. You can also pull out any atlases at home and check out other maps of North America online. Ask your child if there are any countries that they are just learning about and see if they can locate it on the map.


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