It was almost sad to take down the world map in Alyssa's room, but it had to go to make room for her new bed. We toured the world together this summer, and kept track of our progress on this map.
We were actually participating in a free craft event Michael's held three times each week this summer. We received our Passport to Fun guide at our first event. Each day had a different country as a theme, and they provide materials for two crafts that represented each country. There were also instructions in the passport for a third craft to complete at home. We loved the idea, and embellished it with special meals, national flags, library books, and movies for a very busy (and budget-friendly) summer.
One of the free in-store crafts was always a "hat swap" craft. I had never heard of this, but apparently it's popular in Girl Scout troops. We went to choose an inexpensive hat for Alyssa's, but she fell in love with a tote bag, instead. Why not? You need a good bag if you're going to travel! We decorated the front and added our swap items each time. The facilitator of the event loved our tote bag, and they made their own sample like ours and proceeded to sell quite a few of these to the other regular participants. Does this make her a trendsetter?
Our Itinerary:
June 21- Sweden (heart baskets, paper dolls, flag pin, movie "How to Train Your Dragon," read a Viking story at the library, went shopping at IKEA)
June 23- Germany (cowbell, nutcrackers, Loden hat, read a few "Grimm's Fairy Tales" at the library)
June 25- Egypt (mummy doll, hieroglyphics, sugar cube pyramid, mummified an apple, read story of Joseph and Moses)
June 28- Bahamas (flower lei pin, tropical can hug, flip flop decorating, beach theme story time at the library)
June 30- Canada (maple leaf, moose craft, ice skate craft, ate pancakes with maple syrup, read about animals in Canada)
July 1- USA (bead flag, log cabin, canoe craft, warrior shield, dream catcher, ate brisket dinner at family reunion, wore red, white, and blue)
July 5- Italy (pizza craft, suncatcher "stained" glass, ice cream craft, made homemade pizza)
July 7- Australia (koala craft, kangaroo purse, boomerang craft, aboriginal mask, watched "Croc Files" on TV)
July 9- India (elephant craft, peacock craft, henna hand craft, watched "Jungle Book" movie)
July 12- Russia (jeweled egg craft, nesting doll puppets, nesting doll craft boxes, bear pin, looked at nesting doll collection displayed at the library, read ballet story books)
July 14- France (impressionist style painting, beret craft, Eiffel Tower birdhouse craft, watched "Hunchback of Notre Dame"- free from library, put together a puzzle of the map of France)
July 16- United Kingdom (crown craft, shamrock craft, listened to Celtic music, ate Shepherd's pie, watched "Sword in the Stone", put together a 3D wooden castle puzzle)
July 19- Japan (origami, foam printing block, wooden dragon craft, paper lantern)
July 21- Greece (mosaic pot, Olympic torch and rings)
July 23- Mexico (sun craft, flower craft, papel cortado, practiced Spanish words, ate homemade tacos, beans, rice...)
July 26- China (tangrams, Tibetan sand painting, paper lanterns, read about pandas at the library, watched "Mulan" movie, ate homemade egg rolls and fried rice)
July 28- South Africa (lion pasta art, friendship bracelet, wore animal print accessories, read "The Lion King" story book)
July 30- Brazil (Rio Carnival mask, snake craft, butterfly craft, read several rainforest story books, watched "Go Diego, Go" on TV)
Our summer budget didn't allow us to travel very far, but that didn't keep us from visiting the world!
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