I combined Argentina and Uruguay because the physical geography and the food are so similar! Truly, the gauchos are doing it right, raising that grass-fed beef… Oh, to be in a place where grass-fed beef is the NORM!
Navigate this page: Missions, Booklists, Ecosystems, Cooking, Composer Study, Folk Dance, Folk Music, Art Project, Physical Education, Movies, Videos
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Mapping it Out
- “Atlas of Animal Adventures“: Sea Lions of Argentina
- Crayola.com’s Free printable of Argentina’s Flag and map
- Crayola.com’s Free printable of Uruguay’s Flag and map
- Seterra.com’s Free printable map of South America
- Seterra.com’s Free online geography games for South America
Missions Spotlight
- Window on the World: Uruguay
- Wycliffe.org has an overview page about the Americas for kids with a word scramble on Page 7
- Prayercast.com/Argentina: This page contains Quick Facts, a Summary, Prayer Points, and a short video prayer for Argentina.
**parents should preview the prayercast.com video for sensitive topics that may not be age appropriate. - Prayercast.com/Uruguay: This page contains Quick Facts, a Summary, Prayer Points, and a short video prayer for Uruguay.
**parents should preview the prayercast.com video for sensitive topics that may not be age appropriate.
Booklists
Favorite Picture Book: On the Pampas
Introduction to Argentina and Uruguay (these series have been kid approved)
- “Argentina,” by Kari Schuetz (Exploring Countries series, grades 2-5)
- “Argentina,” by Christina Leaf (Country Profiles series, grades 3-7)
- “Argentina: a question and answer book,” by Mary Englar
- “Argentina,” by Jean Blashfield (Enchantment of the World series, grades 5+)
- “Uruguay,” by Emily Rose Oachs (Exploring Countries series, grades 2-5)
- “Uruguay,” by Marion Morrison (Enchantment of the World series, grades 5+)
Picture Books
- “Ayo’s awesome adventures in Buenos Aires: city of fair winds,” by Kim O’Connor”Abuelo,” by Arthur Dorros
- “Capitals: visit the world’s capital cities!” by Taraneh Ghajar Jerven (section about Buenos Aires)
- “On the Pampas,” by Maria Brusca
- “Tierra del Fuego: a journey to the end of the earth,” Peter Lourie
- “Jemmy Button,” by Alix Barzelay
- “The magic bean tree: a legend from Argentina,” retold by Nancy Van Laan
- “Aletín and the falling sky: a Mocovi myth,” retold by Melinda Lilly
- “How the toad got his spots,” by Marjorie E. Herrmann (folk tale)
Chapter Books
- “Fire and ice : stories of winter from around the world,” by Lari Don (folk tale “The Hag of Winter,” about Tierra del Fuego)
- “Chucaro: wild pony of the Pampa,” by Francis Kalnay
- “Who Was Che Guevara?“
Ecosystems
Patagonia in Argentina
- “The Wild Shores of Patagonia: the Valdés Peninsula & Punta Tombo” by Jasmine Rossi
- “The Tiniest Giants: Discovering Dinosaur Eggs,” by Lowell Dingus and Luis Chiappe
- Amazon Prime Video: “Wildest: Latin America,” Season 1, Episode 2, Patagonia: The Ends of the Earth
The Pampas of Argentina and Uruguay (also listed under Brazil)
- “Grassland ecosystems,” by Tammy Gagne (mentions the Pampas)
- “Grasslands inside out,” by James Bow (mentions the Pampas)
- “Who eats who in grasslands?” Moira Butterfield
- “The Frog with the Big Mouth,” retold by Teresa Bateman
Cooking Argentinian and Uruguayan Food with kids
We used grass-fed beef for authenticity to get the Argentinian Burger, which the kids helped prepare. They also helped skewer the Argentine Shrimp, which is already pinkish, sweeter than regular shrimp and kid-approved. (There are more recipe links and pictures in Recipes by Country: Argentina, and Recipes by Country: Uruguay.)
Composer Study
We listened to the music of Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera during our studies of the southern countries of South America: Bolivia, Chile, Argentina/Uruguay, and Paraguay. For links to YouTube videos of his compositions, visit my page: “Composers: Alberto Ginastera.” For ideas of how to do Composer Study, visit my page: “Art and Music.”
Folk Dance
- The cutest video about learning a basic Tango step: I Can Tango.
- How to do the Tango 8-step
- Argentinian Folk Dance: Malambo and Boleadoras
- Article “Argentine Malambo,” by Travelsur.net
Folk Music
- KAIA Kids Around the World: The Music of Argentina
- Cre8ivmind Argentina Music and Images
- KAIA Kids Around the World: The Music of Uruguay
- Cre8ivmind Uruguay Music and Images
- Putumayo world music CDs to check out:
Art Project
I like to say that “God lines up my curricula” because things just line up all the time even if I delay one subject here and there. I had just started my 5-year old on her Kindergarten curriculum, and wouldn’t you know it, the lesson this week was “S is for Sun.” Both Argentina and Uruguay’s flags have the SUN on them, so she had a blast coloring them. We did a bunch of sun activities all together: we made Sun Tea, we made a Sun Dial, we traced shadows with chalk and compared them at different times of day, and the list goes on into preschool activities after that.
Physical Education: fútbol or foosball?
The kids got to play foosball at their cousin’s house, which was fun because the movie was about foosball and fútbol. But then I saw this article, “Human foosball,” in Argentina, caused by the social distancing….laugh or cry?
Movies!
“Underdogs” was originally released as “Metegol” in Argentina. It was originally an Argentine production and based on a short story by an Argentine author. They did a nice job dubbing it into English and it was a good movie about foosball, fútbol, perseverance, and honesty.
Geography YouTube Videos
- World Nomads: The Gaucho Culture
- World Nomads: Magical Patagonia
- Tierra del Fuego: King Penguins
- Patagonia: Swimming with Sea Lions and Whale Watching
- Climbing Aconcagua: the highest mountain in the Americas
- Iguazu Falls Brazil vs Argentina
- Geography Now! Argentina (this is a fun resource geared towards adults and older kids; I recommend that parents pre-watch before showing to younger kids)