Drinking Tea from a Gourd...Argentina!

Included in our Argentina package was a drinking gourd (called Mate), tea, and a special straw for drinking the tea.  The girls were VERY excited about drinking the tea from the gourd with the special straw.

Watching the tea steep.




They didn't love the taste, but they each tried it a couple of times.  I was proud of them for being so willing and excited to try something new!

Cultural Exchange Package #1...Argentina!

I gave the girls their first cultural exchange package on Monday, and they LOVE it!  We are studying Argentina during the month of January, so if you have any fun and simple activities to supplement our studies, I'd love to hear about them.

On our first day, we read the letter from the package and explored everything included in the package.  Here are pics of a few of the included things...

A pin which O(5) has claimed for herself...actually, E(2) gave it to her and said it was for her.  E was busy claiming the whale sponge for herself.  She called it a "srubber" (scrubber) and said she was going to "srub" with it in the shower.  This is pretty funny since it's a tiny little whale sponge that is meant for stamping :)





We LOVE all of the natural items!  E(2) picked up the black object (I'm not sure what it is) and said "It yooks (looks) just yike (like) a yiver (liver)!"  She's right!  It looks a lot like the liver on our human body parts puzzle (that has been very popular with the girls lately.





This a favorite item!  A gourd, tea, and a special straw to drink the tea.





The girls love the flag, and I've had O tell me how the Argentinian flag is different from the American flag.










We read this story, and I put the puzzle together for the girls.  (I'm enjoying this as much as they are!)





Tiny playing cards.  O says they are the perfect size for her American Girl doll, Kaya.





We've really enjoyed looking at the money, and O was THRILLED with the tiny flags!  She said "they must have known that we have mini American girl dolls because they sent flags just for them!"





The girls were excited to color their Argentinian coloring sheets.  I'd love to print more Argentinian coloring sheets, so if anyone knows of a good website, please let me know!





Pictures and descriptions of Argentinan food.  I'm hoping to cook at least one Argentinian food each week that we study this country...any recommendations???





The girls favorite part of the package was the candy!!!





There were lots of other things that I haven't taken pics of yet.  I'll be writing several more posts throughout the month about our Argentinian activities.

Thank you SO much to Maria Elena and her kids for putting together this fantastic Argentinian package!

Finally!!!

We've just mailed ALL of our cultural exchange packages!!! I feel like we need to go out and celebrate! A weight has been lifted off of my shoulders! While this was a fun process, it has also been time-consuming and a little stressful. I hope that everyone will enjoy our packages. We've planned and thought and bought and added and taken out and added back in and finally finalized the contents of the packages. Thanks for all who participated in this exchange! I'll definitely be doing this again within the next year! Also, I'll post as we open each package (with the sender's permission)!

Cultural Exchange Packages

Our cultural exchange packages are rolling in (I had them all shipped to my mom's address, and she brought them to me today)...so far we have packages from New Zealand, Singapore, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. I've only opened the one from NZ, and it is AMAZING! Ours does not measure up, so I have some work to do! (Yes, I am super slack, and we have not sent ours yet!)

Passports for the Cultural Exchange

When I was ordering items from the Oriental Trading Company for our cultural exchange packages, I came across these "My Passport" sticker books. I ordered a pack of them (less than 7 dollars for a pack of 12 passports!)to give the girls when I give them their "subscription" to monthly cultural packages.





These little sticker books will make the cultural exchange even more exciting! We've started compiling our packages, and I can't wait to finish them and send them out! What fun!

Cultural Exchange Package from Julie (Ohio)

Julie from Ohio was kind enough to send a package to the O(5) and E(1) (as a bonus since we aren't a part of her group). It is a wonderful package, and we are very thankful to Julie for her kindness!

Here's a picture of all of the loot! I love how Julie put the things in individual bags and labeled everything.








The girls are going to LOVE the glow sticks, and O will adore the postcard of the Amish children.


Julie included a craft which is a great idea!




Here is an excerpt from the letter. It's full of great information and pictures.




Julie included a map and coloring sheets (with permission from Erica).






I'm saving the cultural exchange packages to start giving the girls one a month after Christmas. They'll receive a map for Christmas along with a "subscription" to a monthly cultural exchange package. I think this package will be perfect for July when we celebrate July 4th!

Receiving this package from Ohio has gotten me excited about doing a USA exchange in the future! It will be so much fun to receive packages from the different states when we are studying USA geography!