Navigate this page: Missions, Booklists, Ecosystems, Cooking, Composer Study, Folk Dance/Music, Art Project, Movie, Videos
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Our most fun memory of studying Colombia was that two of the kids each lost a tooth right when we found out that the tooth fairy is a tooth mouse that leaves gifts in most Spanish-speaking countries! I never thought I’d be impersonating a mouse to collect those baby teeth!
Mapping it Out
- “Reader’s Digest” Atlas: display map of the northern part of South America
- “Usborne Geography Encyclopedia”: Overview pages about South America
- Crayola.com’s Free printable of Colombia’s flag and map
- Seterra.com’s Free printable maps of South America
- Seterra.com’s Free online geography games for South America
Missions Spotlight
- “Window on the World“: Colombia
- Compassion International has information and games for kids:
- Mission to the World, article: A Campus Ministry Disciples Colombian Christian Leaders
- Prayercast.com/Colombia: Prayer Points, Country Summary, Quick Facts
**parents should preview the prayercast.com video for sensitive topics that may not be age appropriate.
Booklists
Introduction to Colombia (these series have been kid approved)
- “Colombia” by Walter Simmons (Exploring Countries series, grades 2-5)
- “Colombia,” by Gloria Golkar (Country Profiles series, grades 3-7)
- “Colombia,” by Nel Yomtov (Enchantment of the World Series, grades 5+)
Picture Books
- “My Name is Gabito: The Life of Gabriel Garcia Marquez,” by Monica Brown (Jr Biography)
- “Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia,” by Jeanette Winter
- Video of the actual Biblioburro: The Donkey Library
- “Juana and Lucas,” by Juana Medina
- “The Tooth Fairy Meets El Ratón Pérez,” by René Laínez
- “Colombian Folktale: Pastorcita,” by Rafael Pombo (in English and Spanish)
Ecosystems of Colombia
- The “Liquid Rainbow,” Caño Cristales, is a river that has bright hues due to seasonal algal blooms.
- “Orinoco River,” by Carol Rawlins (shared with Venezuela)
- Amazon Prime Video: “Wildest: Latin America,” Season 1, Episode 3, (the Orinoco is the rumored route to El Dorado, city of gold)
- “Seven natural wonders of Central and South America,” by Michael Woods and Mary B. Woods (sections about the Amazon River and the Andes Mountains)
- “Animals in danger in South America,” by Louise and Richard Spilsbury (sections about the Amazon River and the Andes Mountains)
Andes Mountain Range (also listed under Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela)
- “The Land of the Andes,” by Barbara A. Somervill
- “Mountains of the World,” by Dieter Braun (section on the Andes)
- “Llama or alpaca?” by Christina Leaf
- “What on Earth is a Guanaco?” by Edward Ricciuti
- “On the Wing,” by David Elliott (poetry, one poem about the Andean condor)
- Amazon Prime Video: “Wildest: Latin America,” Season 1, Episode 5, The Andes: World in the Clouds
- On Amazon Prime: “Wildest: Latin America,” Season 1, Episode 1, One Jungle, Many Worlds
Cooking Colombian Food with Kids
They eat big, leaf-cutter ants in Colombia! We didn’t do that. The kids loved the Mango Popsicles and helped me make the Sweet Colombian Bread. (There are more recipe links and pictures in Recipes by Country: Colombia.) What we will never forget is how Colombians have their Hot Chocolate…..with cheese!
This sweet girl has a video to show you how: Colombian Hot Chocolate with Cheese
Composer Study
We listened to the music of the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos during our studies of the northern countries of South America: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. For links to YouTube videos of compositions, visit my page: “Composers: Heitor Villa-Lobos.” For ideas of how to do Composer Study, visit my page: “Art and Music.”
Folk Dance and Music of Colombia
- Lucky kids, I found a video tutorial on how to dance the Cumbia, the national folk dance of Colombia.
- Colombia Music and Images
- Putumayo Folk Music CDs to check out:
- Putumayo Presents: Colombia
- Putumayo Kids Presents: Latin Playground
- Putumayo Kids Presents: Latin Dreamland
- Putumayo Presents: Vintage Latino
- Putumayo Presents: Café Latino
- Putumayo Presents: ¡Salsa!
Art Project
The kids made Amazon Rainforest animals out of Perler beads! The fine motor coordination was especially good for the preschooler and Kindergartener. They were inspired by animals on the container.
Movie!
We watched “The Road to El Dorado.” The Orinoco River was supposedly the path to El Dorado. The movie was entertaining, although I think there were some Mayan or Aztec representations in it (so it would probably go better with a study about Mexico).
Geography YouTube Videos
- Mouk cartoon, Orinoco River Mouk: Above the Trees
- Mouk cartoon, Orinoco River Mouk: The Great Crossing
- Mouk cartoon, Amazon River Mouk: Pink Dolphin
- Geography Now: Colombia (this is a fun resource geared towards adults and older kids; I recommend that parents pre-watch before showing to younger kids)