This summer, our children brought world travel to another level. They used their imaginations and creativity to “visit” countries across the globe. “Around the World” began as an idea to have a collective theme for the activities this summer. Rachel and Carys, our Child & Family Advocates, thought it would be fun to give the kids insight into different cultures. The idea also gave a lot of variety when it came to summer activities, which helps our kids to stay engaged.
Would our “Around the World” activities bring excitement? Yes! The children were thrilled when we shared our plans to make a Mexican dessert one week and then a Japanese-inspired dessert the following week. The question quickly became, “What’s happening the other weeks?”
For each country, we plan a physical activity or game, a craft, and a recipe. Here are examples:
Mexico
We played Mexican kickball, made individual piñatas filled with candy, and then made buñuelos, which are fried fritters.
Japan
We did karate, made origami, and cooked something called andagi, which is similar to a small donut. 
Upcoming: Brazil
We will play a game called Luta de Gallo, design carnival (carnaval in Portuguese) masks, and then make Brazilian lemonade.
Upcoming: Italy
We will play a game called Lupo Mangia Frutta, challenge our children to see who can make the highest “Leaning Tower of Pisa” with Jenga blocks, and make individual pizzas.
Rachel and Carys said that their favorite part of “Around the World” so far is hearing the children repeat the words for each country. They love saying, “piñata,” “buñuelos,” “origami,” and “andagi.” It has been sweet to share new activities and have so many of them waiting in our activity center each day at 1pm— ready for the activity to begin!