I was so excited do an “around the world” preschool unit with my 4 year old, Kate, to learn more about different countries around the world.
She has a globe, and is always asking questions about different countries, so this was the perfect thing for us to do together!
I searched the internet for activity ideas and book suggestions, and put together a 15 day unit where we learned about a different country every day.
Take a look!
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Around the world preschool
Here’s what our weekly plan looked like. Each day we explored a different country by finding it on a map, learning about kids from that country, reading a picture book that has to do with a tradition, a story, or a part of the culture in that country, and doing some kind of an activity- either a craft, a recipe, or some kind of guided play.
Download the plans
I created a 6 page printable plan, with links to the picture books and activity ideas that we used each day.
Our unit included 15 countries, which, of course, is just a small part of our globe. So I decided to include a blank template for you as well. That way, you can customize the plans to include any other countries that you want to study.
I also included a master supply list, and a sample schedule, going into a little more detail about what we did during each day of this preschool unit.
P.S. If you love these plans, be sure to check out my printable preschool planner as well!
Download the printable plans here, or scroll down to read more about our experience:
What we used
Here are some of the books and supplies that we loved using during this unit:
Pretend passports and tickets
On the first day of our around the world preschool unit, we created these pretend passports. It was so fun to add the stamp for each country as we learned about it.
This kid-friendly international cookbook
This is the best kid-friendly international cooking book. It even includes a little passport and stickers of each country’s flag at the end.
So far we have really enjoyed every recipe we’ve made, which is saying something for my somewhat-picky eaters!
Our favorite atlas for kids
This is the atlas we have, and it’s great. We like to look through all the maps and pictures.
The Children Just Like Me book
We loved this book! It was so fun to look at pictures of kids from each of the countries we were studying, and find out a little bit about what their lives look like, what their families are like, what their homes look like, and what they like to do.
These printable coloring pages for each country
This website has fantastic coloring pages for many of the countries that we studied in this unit. They made great quiet time activities for us.
And, of course, a stack of engaging picture books from our library!
We found so many great new books to read during this unit. Scroll down to see exactly which books we picked. (Although you could easily substitute a different book if your library doesn’t have one of them.)
Book list by country
Introduction: How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the… |
$6.85 |
Buy on Amazon |
India: Grandma and the Great Gourd
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Grandma and the Great Gourd: A Bengali… | $1.36 | Buy on Amazon |
China: Noodle Magic
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Noodle Magic | $5.99 | Buy on Amazon |
Japan: Yoko’s Paper Cranes
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Yoko’s Paper Cranes | $1.94 | Buy on Amazon |
The ultimate preschool planner
Dozens of colorful planner pages to help you stay organized as you teach preschool at home:
- 4 different planning page options
- Weekly theme planner
- Schedule planner
- Evening, morning, and preschool routine planner
- To do list, library check-out list, supply list, notes page
- 2 choices of calendar pages
England: A Walk in London
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
A Walk in London (Paperback) /anglais |
$14.34 |
Buy on Amazon |
Italy: Papa Piccolo
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Papa Piccolo | $18.97 | Buy on Amazon |
Tanzania: We All Went on Safari
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
We All Went on Safari: A Counting… |
$7.56 |
Buy on Amazon |
Greece: Aesop’s fables
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Aesop’s Fables |
$11.88 |
Buy on Amazon |
Argentina: The Magic Bean Tree
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
The Magic Bean Tree: A Legend from… | $57.11 | Buy on Amazon |
Australia: Don’t Call me Bear!
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Don’t Call Me Bear! |
$10.79 |
Buy on Amazon |
Ireland: Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato |
$8.36 |
Buy on Amazon |
Zambia: The Tortoise’s Gift
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
The Tortoise’s Gift: A Tale from Zambia… |
$6.99 |
Buy on Amazon |
Russia: Masha & the Bear
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Russian Fairy Tales: Masha & The Bear,… |
$17.99 |
Buy on Amazon |
Israel: Everybody says Shalom
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Everybody Says Shalom | $7.06 | Buy on Amazon |
Germany: This is Munich
| Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
This Is Munich: A Children’s Classic |
$17.95 |
Buy on Amazon |
Sample schedule
Here’s one sample of how your preschool time might look if you’re following this program. But feel free to rearrange things to make it work for you!
1. Introduce the daily country
Start with a simple introduction to the country that you’ll be learning about today. Here are a few ideas:
- Give your child a printed plane, train, or cruise ticket, and pretend you’re getting ready to take a trip.
- Find each country on your globe or in your atlas.
- Find each country in Children Just Like Me and talk about the pictures that your child is interested in.
- Watch a short video about each country (or a prominent landmark or city in that country.)
2. Story
Read the picture book listed, and talk about it.
3. Activity
Daily activities include arts and crafts, recipes, and opportunities to build, play, and pretend.
4. Optional coloring page
At this point, you can give your child a coloring page to work on, or save it for later. (We use these later in the day, during quiet time.)
5. Passport stamp
End by “stamping” your child’s passport. (They can glue in a small picture of the country that you learned about.)
Supply list
When you download the plans, you’ll also get the supply list below. It includes a book list, general supply list, food ingredient supply list, and a quick list of items to print ahead of time to make everything super simple for you.
I hope you love this unit as much as I enjoyed doing it with my daughter. Feel free to ask any questions you might have in the comments. Have fun!
-Laura
P.S. Here are some other posts I’ve written that I think you’ll also love:
Elephant preschool theme ideas
50+ preschool ideas to do at home
100+ weekly preschool theme ideas
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