Egypt

{FINE ARTS}

Ancient Egyptian Art by Susie Hodge
Arts and Crafts of Ancient Egypt by Ting Morris
Egyptian Crafts from the Past by Gillian Chapman
Egyptology Code-Writing Kit by Emily Sands
Hieroglyphics by Richard Platt
Hieroglyphs by Joyce Milton
How the Sphinx Got to the Museum by Jessie Hartland
Make History: Ancient Egypt by Nancy Fister
Ralph Masiello's Ancient Egypt Drawing Book by Ralph Masiello
Touch the Art: Tickle Tut's Toes by Julie Appel

* Write with Hieroglyphics.
* Choose a craft project from one of the bold, brown titles.

{FOLK and FAIRY TALES}

Casting the Gods Adrift by Geraldine McCaughrean
Cry of the Benu Bird by C. Shana Greger
The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo
Egyptian Myths by Jacqueline Morley
Gift of the Nile by Jan M. Mike
The Golden Flower by Janet Palazzo-Craig
The Golden Slipper by Saviour Pirotta
The Shipwrecked Sailor by Tamara Bower
The Star-Bearer by Dianne Hofmeyr
Tales of Ancient Egypt by Roger Lancelyn Green
The Well of Truth by Martha Hamilton
The Winged Cat by Deborah Nourse Lattimore

* Read one of the tales to the kids and have them illustrate it before showing them the pictures from the book.
* Add Egyptian creation stories to your creation stories poster or notebook.
* Compare the Egyptian Cinderella story with the traditional story.

{HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY and CULTURES}

Ancient Egypt by George Hart
Ancient Egypt by Andrew Haslam
Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors by Marian Broida
The Cat of Bubastes by G. A. Henty
Cleopatra by Peter Vennema
Cleopatra VII by Kristiana Gregory
Curious Kids: Ancient Egypt by Philip Steele
The Curse of King Tut's Mummy by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
Day of Ahmed's Secret by Florence H. Parry
Great Ancient Egypt Projects You Can Build Yourself by Carmella Van Vleet
If I Were a Kid in Ancient Egypt by Cobbleston Publishing
Mummies and Pyramids by Mary Pope Osborne
Mummies in the Morning by Mary Pope Osborne
Mummies Made in Egypt by Aliki
The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt by Elizabeth Ann Payne
Pyramids! by Avery Hart
Secrets of the Pyramids by Graham White
Tutankhamen's Gift by Robert Sabuda
Tut's Mummy by Jude Donnelly
Who Was King Tut? by Roberta Edwards
You Wouldn't Want to Be Cleopatra! by Jim Pipe
You Wouldn't Want to Be an Egyptian Mummy! by David Stewart
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Pyramid Builder! by Jacqueline Morley

* Pick an activity or two from one of the bold, brown titles above.
* Make a chronoligical poster or notebook of the pharaoh's of Ancient Egypt.

{SCIENCE}

Ancient Egypt by Judith Crosher
Cat Mummies by Kelly Trumble
The Egyptians by Richard Platt
Pharaoh's Boat by David Weitzman
Prehistoric and Egyptian Medicine by Ian Dawson
Science in Ancient Egypt by Geraldine Woods
Technology of Ancient Egypt by Leslie C. Kaplan

* Refer to the bold, brown titles in the History portion of this unit for activities that tie into the science theme.  Look particularly for activities involving the mummification process and / or the building of the pyramids.

China

{FINE ARTS}

Ancient China by Dale Anderson
Architecture of Ancient China by Zhu Kang
Arts and Crafts of Ancient China by Ting Morris
Chinese Brush Painting by Caroline Self
Everyday Life by Tricia Morrissey
A Girl Named Faithful Plum by Richard Bernstein
Houses of China by Bonnie Shemie
The Kids' Multicultural Art Book by Alexandra M. Terzian
Kites by Demi
The Magic Horse of Han Gan by Jiang Hong Chen
Making Chinese Paper Cuts by Robert Borja
My First Book of Chinese Calligraphy by Guillaume Olive
Young Painter by Chen-Sun Cheng

* Using any of the bold red titles in this post, try a Chinese art or craft activity.
* Using recycled cardboard boxes, build a Chinese doll house in the style of a real Chinese home.
* Watch some Chinese dance on the internet
* Try your hand at Chinese brush painting and / or calligraphy.
* Make your own kite.
* For older kids, try some Chinese paper cutting.

{FOLK AND FAIRY TALES}

The Ch'i-lin Purse by Linda Fang
Chinese Children's Favorite Stories by Mingmei Ye
The Dragon King by Laurence Yep
The Empty Pot by Demi
The Greatest Power by Demi
Liang and the Magic Paintbrush by Demi
Favorite Children's Stories from China & Tibet by Lotta Carswell
The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop
Grandfather Tang's Story by Ann Tompert
Lon Po Po by Ed Young
The Magical Monkey King by Ji-Li Jiang
The Monkey King by Aaron Sheperd
The Seven Chinese Sisters by Kathy Tucker
The Silk Princess by Charles Santore
Stone Soup by Jon J. Muth
Stories from the Silk Road by Cherry Gilchrist
Tales of a Chinese Grandmother by Frances Carpenter
Throw Your Tooth on the Roof by Selby Beeler
Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
Two of Everything by Lily Toy Hong
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
Yeh Shen by Ai-Ling Louie

* Read a folk tale or two to have your children illustrate before you show them the storybook illustrations.

{HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY and CULTURES}

Any childrens' book about China with good pictures and captivating text.
Adventures of Marco Polo by Russell Freedman
Confucius by Russell Freedman
Daughter of the Mountains by Louise S. Rankin
Day of the Dragon King by Mary Pope Osborne
Dragon of the Red Dawn by Mary Pope Osborne
The Emporer's Silent Army by Jane O'Connor
Hidden Army by Jane O'Connor
A Grain of Rice by Helena Clare Pittman
Great Ancient China Projects You Can Build Yourself by Lance Kramer
The Great Wall of China by Leonard Everett Fisher
Homesick by Jean Fritz
The House of Sixty Fathers by Meindert Dejong
Lady of Ch'iao Kuo by Laurence Yep
Look What Came From China! by Miles Harvey
Marco Polo for Kids by Janis Herbert
Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats by Nina Simonds
The Mountains of Tibet by Mordicai Gerstein
Ruby's Wish by Shirin Yim
You Wouldn't Want to Work on the Great Wall of China! by Jacqueline Morley
Yung Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis

* Do a project or two from one of the titles in bold red above.
* Celebrate a Chinese holiday.
* Draw or print a large map of China and fill it with facts about the country.
* Go out for or make your own Chinese dinner.
* If it's summer, and you have access to a pool, play Marco Polo!

{PHYSICAL EDUCATION}

The Boy Who Conquered Everest by Katherine Blanc
Chinese Jump Rope by Anne Akers Johnson
Chinese Jump Rope by Sheree S. Marty
Climbing Everest by Audrey Salkeld
Kite Flying by Grace Lin
Tai Chi for Kids by Jose Figueroa
The Top of the World by Steve Jenkins
To the Top! by Sydelle Kramer
To the Top by Stephen Venables
You Wouldn't Want to Climb Mount Everest! by Ian Graham

* Buy or make a Chinese jump rope and teach your children how to use it.
* Go kite flying!
* Find a local climbing wall and go "mountain climbing" together.
* Using a book or video, do some basic tai chi with your kids.

{SCIENCE}

The Chiru of High Tibet by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
How Many Baby Pandas by Sandra Markle
Made in China by Suzanne Williams
Panda Kindegarten by Joanne Ryder
Panda Rescue by Dan Bortolotti
Panda's Earthquake Escape by Phyllis J. Perry
Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat by Amy Tan
Science and Scientists by Kang Zhu
Science in Ancient China by George Beshore
Sparrow Girl by Sara Pennypacker
The Story of Paper by Ying Chang Compestine

* Look up, on the internet, pictures and videos of any animals studied.
* Make your own paper.

{WORLD RELIGIONS}

Drawn by a China Moon by Dave Jackson
Eric Lidell by Janet Benge
Gladys Aylward by Janet Benge
Hudson Taylor by Janet Benge
Eric Lidell by Ellen W. Caughey
Eric Lidell by Renee Meloche
Gladys Aylward by Renee Meloche
Hudson Taylor by Renee Meloche
Lottie Moon by Renee Meloche
On the Clouds to China by Cyril Davey
The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient China by Leonard Everett Fisher

* Choose a famous Christian missionary to China to study.  Or assign different missionaries to different children.
* Make a poster of the different gods and goddesses of ancient China.

Canada

{FINE ARTS}

The Art Room by Susan Vande Griek
Breaking Free by May Ebbitt Cutler
A First Book of Canadian Art by Richard Rhodes
The Inuksuk Book by Mary Wallace
Mack Made Movies by Dan Brown
Stones, Bones and Stitches by Shelley Falconer

* Set up your own art room and do study the art of Emily Carr.
* Gather some large rocks and make your own Inuksuk.
* Tell a story in the Inuit art style.

{FOLK AND FAIRY TALES}

Amorak by Tim Jessell
The Flying Canoe by Roch Carrier
How Raven Freed the Moon by Anne Cameron
Orca's Song by Anne Cameron
Raven Returns the Water by Anne Cameron
Raven Goes Berrypicking by Anne Cameron
How the Loon Lost Her Voice by Anne Cameron
Lazy Boy by Anne Cameron
How the Robin Got It's Red Breast by The Sechelt Nation
James Houston's Treasury of Inuit Legends by James A. Houston
Maiden of the Mist by Veronika Martenova Charles
The Market Wedding by Cary Fagan
A Promise is a Promise by Robert N. Munsch
Salmon Boy by Donna Joe
Turtle Island by Jane Louise Curry

* Most of these books can be tied into either your geography or science portions below.
* Read one of the folk tales and have your children illustrate it before showing them the artist's illustrations.
* Add any creation story to a creation story notebook or poster and compare with others that you have read.

{HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY and CULTURES}

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky by Faith Ringgold
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
. . . If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine
The Kid's Book of Canadian History by Carlotta Hacker
The Last Safe House by Barbara Greenwood
The Kid's Book of Canada by Barbara Greenwood
Loonies and Toonies by Michael Ulmer
The Winter People by Joseph Bruchac

* Create a mini Canadian history time-line.
* Print or sketch a large blank map of Canada and fill it with facts about Canadian history and geography.
* Do a study on the Underground Railroad.
* Do an Anne of Green Gables history / literature study.

{PHYSICAL EDUCATION}

The Drop by Jeff Ross
The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier
Lacrosse by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith
The Moccasin Goalie by William Roy Brownridge
The Final Game by William Roy Brownridge

* Learn the rules of hockey and either play a game of ice or field hockey together.

{SCIENCE}

Big-Enough Anna by Pam Flowers
Born in the Breezes by Kathryn Lasky
Canadian Railroad Trilogy by Gordon Lightfoot
The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford
The Inuit Thought of It by Alootook Ipellie
Kazan by James Oliver Kurwood
A Mountain Alphabet by Margriet Ruurs
Polar Bear Alert by Debora Pearson
Rain Tonight by Steve Pitt
The Sea Wolves by Ian McAllister
Secret of the Night Ponies by Joan Hiatt Harlow

* Study the sled dogs of the Iditerod and watch some video footage of the race.
* Study the wild horses of Canada.
* Do a weather study on hurricanes.

{CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD}

Baseball Bats for Christmas by Michael Kusugak
Christmas at Wapos Bay by Jordan Wheeler
The Flying Canoe by Eric A. Kimmel
The Gift by Joseph Kertes
The Huron Carol by Saint Jean de Brebeuf
The Mummer's Song by Bud Davidge
One Christmas in Lunenburg by Amy Bennet
One Hundred Candles by Janet Lunn

* Adapt one of the native-Canadian Christmas customs to your own traditions this year.
* Eat a Canadian feast for a special pre-Christmas dinner.
* Have your children write their own special Christmas carol explaining the birth of Jesus.
* Be mummers for a night.

Brazil

{FOLK AND FAIRY TALES}

Dancing Turtle by Pleasant DeSpain
Fairy Tales from Brazil by Elsie Spicer Eells
The Great Snake by Sean Taylor
How Night Came from the Sea by Mary-Joan Gerson
Jabuti the Tortoise by Gerald McDermott
The Party in the Sky by Antonio Rocha
The Sea Serpent's Daughter by Margaret H. Lippert
Uirapuru by P. K. Page

* Many of these folk tales involve animals and can easily be tied into the Life Science portion below.
* Make a paper mache turtle using the top of a balloon for the shell mold and adding paper feet and head when dry.  Paint as desired.

{HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY AND CULTURES}

Any book about Brazil with good pictures and text.
B Is for Brazil by Maria de Fatima Campos
Cassio's Day by Maria de Fatima Campos
In the Land of the Jaguar by Gena K. Gorrell
Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
Out of Many Waters by Jacqueline Dembar Greene
Wake Up, World! by Beatrice Hollyer

* Draw or print a large map of Brazil and fill it in with facts about the country.
* Make a yummy Brazilian meal.

{LIFE SCIENCE}

Animal Poems of the Iguazu by Francisco X. Alarcon
Charlotte! The Courageous Sea Turtle of Mystic Aquarium by Kiki Latimer
Discover the Amazon by Lauri Berkenkamp
The Golden Lion Tamarin Comes Home by George Ancona
The Jeff Corwin Experience - Into Wild Brazil by Elain Pasco
So Say the Little Monkeys by Nancy Van Laan
These Animals. . . Don't Want to Wash! by J. N. Paquet
These Animals. . . Don't Want to Eat! by J. N. Paquet
The Vanishing Rainforest by Richard Platt
Which Endangered Animal Lives in Brazil by Dawn Smith

* As you study the various animals and plants of Brazil, spend some time looking up different images and videos of them on the internet with your kids.
* Use any bilingual books to make an English / Portugese poster or notebook.

{PHYSICAL EDUCATION}

Capoeira by George Ancona
For the Love of Soccer by Pele
Pele by James Buckley
Pele, King of Soccer by Monica Brown
Ronaldo by Tamara Orr
Ronaldo by Mark Paddock
Soccer by Martin Cloake
Soccer by Hugh Hornby
Toward the Goal by Jeremy V. Jones
Young Pele by Lesa Cline-Ransome

* Watch videos of capoeira on the internet.
* Play soccer.
* Watch a soccer game.

Australia

{FINE ARTS}

Aboriginal Art of Australia by Carol Finley
Aboriginal Artists in South Australia by Adele Ping
Aboriginal Artists of the Nineteenth Century by Andrew Sayers
Australia, Hawaii and the Pacific by Deborah Underwood
A Book of Pacific Lullabies by Tessa Duder
How to Draw Australia's Sights and Symbols by Melody S. Mis
Sidney Opera House by Sheelagh Matthews

* Use acrylic paints to decorate your own wooden boomerangs in the style of Aboriginal art.
* Wrap and tape a long strip of brown kraft paper around your kitchen table.  Lay an art sheet or blanket underneath to catch drips as your kids paint Aboriginal cave paintings on the inside with poster paints.

{FOLK AND FAIRY TALES}

Animal Dreaming by Paul Morin
Bangu the Flying Fox by Jillian Taylor
The Biggest Frog in Australia by Susan L. Roth
Bittangabee Tribe by Beryl Cruse
Dreamtime by Oodgeroo Noonuccal
Legend of the Seven Sisters by May O'Brien
Rainbow Bird by Eric Maddern
Stories from the Billabong by James Vance Marshall
Sun Mother Wakes the World by Diane Wolkstein
Whale's Canoe by Joanna Troughton
Why the Koala Has a Stumpy Tail by Martha Hamilton

* Since most of the Australian folk tales involve animals and plant life of Australia, you could easily tie this part of your unit into the life science part below.
* Try reading one of the stories to your children without showing them the pictures.  Then, have them narrate the tale by illustrating it on their own.
* If you are studying folk tales of different countries, make a "Creation Story" poster or notebook.  After reading a particular country's creation story, have your children re-write the story in their own words and / or draw a picture of the story and label the top with the name of the country.  After you have accumulated a good many different creation stories, compare them with each other and with your own family's belief about creation.  This could tie nicely into the life science portion, as well.

{HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY and CULTURES}

Any good book about Australia that includes good pictures.
Are We There Yet? by Alison Lester
D Is for Down Under by Devin Scillian
Look What Came from Australia by Kevin Davis
Maralinga by Christobel Mattingly
My Place by Nadia Wheatly
The Switherby Pilgrims by Eleanor Spence
Uluru by Caroline Arnold
Uluru by Jennifer Hurtig
Wake Up, World! by Beatrice Hollyer
You Wouldn't Want to Be an 18th-Century British Convict! by Meredith Costain

* Make a very simple timeline of Australian history.
* Draw or print a large, blank map of Australia.  Fill it in, using words and pictures, with events, landmarks, and famous places of Australia.
* Study some Australian lingo and spend a day using it when you talk to eachother.
* Make some Australian fare for dinner.

{LIFE SCIENCE}

An Australian ABC of Animals by Bronwyn Bancroft
W Is for Wombat by Browyn Bancroft
Destination: Australia by Jonathan Grupper
Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French
Diary of a BABY Wombat by Jackie French
Edward the Emu by Sheena Knowles
The Koala Book by Ann Sharp
Koala Country by Deborah Dennard
Koala Lou by Mem Fox
Possum Magic by Mem Fox
One Woolly Wombat by Rod Trinca
Over in Australia by Marianne Burkes
Wombat Goes Walkabout by Michael Morpurga

*  As you read your books, be sure to use the internet to look up images and videos of the Australian animals (and plant life) that you are learning about.  You and your kids can enjoy searching and discovering together.

*{CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD}*

Christmas in Kangaroo Land by Alda M. Hannon
Snowy's Christmas by Sally Murphy
Wombat Divine by Mem Fox

* Make some Christmas ornaments using the Aboriginal style of painting.
* Don your shorts and t-shirts and eat some Australian food for dinner while you play Christmas music in the background.