I wanted to share this fun weekly activity that I've been doing with my 3-year-old. I got the idea from a sponsored ad on my Facebook newsfeed which was a monthly subscription box for preschoolers. This particular subscription box featured educational materials from around the world, highlighting a different country of interest each month. When I took a closer look at this program, I thought it was a really cute idea but found it to be overpriced because most of the materials included were things that I already had. Instead, I decided to put together my own Preschooler's Passport for my son and take him on a journey to a different country as frequently as we wanted - but I do love alliterations and "Faraway Friday" just stuck. So now, every Friday (unless we are busy) we travel to another land from our home and my son is able to drink in the colors, flavors, and traditions of other cultures and customs from all over the world.
I made his "Passport" from a manila folder that I had once used to hold SmartSource coupon inserts back in my crazy couponing days. That's why the top file tab is covered and his name is written on top. I'm THAT thrifty, lol. ;) I then created a smaller section for passport "stamps" on the front of the folder and added his picture.
The stamps that I will be using for the majority of the countries were actually free to me. I received a packet of promotional information from Highlights for Children publications and although I did not order anything, the stickers were free to keep. I am not sure if this promotion is ongoing, but it couldn't hurt to check it out!
I then wrote down each of the countries and researched the traditions, especially holidays, on Pinterest. I added each country to my lesson plan book according to a major holiday or applicable literacy link to correlate with our seasonal curriculum as well. For example, the first Faraway Friday we enjoyed was a trip to Egypt in late September, as the topic of mummies was a nice segway into Halloween. Likewise, in December we are learning about how Hanukkah is celebrated in Russia and in February we'll immerse ourselves in the traditional celebrations of Chinese New Year.
Inside the manila folder I'll then save an article or craft from each multicultural journey so that we can look back on this "Preschool Passport" as a learning portfolio - so it while this is a very fun activity it also has a rich, educational purpose as far as record keeping goes! :)
I hope that this activity will really broaden my preschooler's thoughts about the world he lives in. I also hope that it will inspire a love for global travel and exploration, just as we look forward to taking him on so many adventures as he grows!
-Sarah
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