The first book I made a beeline for was “The Little Book of Hygge” to figure out why Denmark is the second happiest country in the world (they used to be the first). Denmark is also the land of Hans Christian Andersen and the Lego. To visit “Lego House” in Denmark is now on the kids’ bucket list!

Navigate this page: Missions, Booklists, Science, Cooking, Composer Study, Folk Dance/Music, Art Project, Art Study, Game, Movie, Videos

Mapping it out

Crayola.com’s Free printable of Denmark’s Flag and Map
Seterra.com’s Free printable maps of Europe
Seterra.com’s Free online geography games for Europe

Missions Spotlight

Prayercast.com/Denmark: Prayer Points, Summary, Quick Facts
**parents should preview the short prayercast.com video for sensitive topics that may not be age appropriate.

Booklists

Viking/Norse Booklist

I’ve written books reviews of our favorite books about Denmark. The ones we liked the best and would add to our home library are linked below to my Amazon affiliate account.

Introduction to Denmark (These series have been kid approved)

“Denmark,” by Derek Zobel (Exploring Countries series, grades 2-5)
“Denmark,” by Christina Leaf (Country Profiles series, grades 3-7)
“Denmark,” by R. Conrad Stein (Enchantment of the World Series, grades 5+)
“D is for Dala Horse: A Nordic Countries Alphabet,” by Kathy-Jo Wargin
“Capitals: Visit the World’s Capital Cities!” by Taraneh Ghajar Jerven (layout of Copenhagen with landmarks and short captions)

Picture Books

“Fat cat: a Danish folktale,” retold by Margaret Read MacDonald
“The talking pot: a Danish folktale,” retold by Virginia Haviland
“The Princess and the Pea,” by Xanthe Gresham, Illustrated by Miss Clara
“The yellow star: the legend of King Christian X of Denmark,” by Carmen Agra Deedy (Book Level 3.7)
“The Perfect Wizard: Hans Christian Andersen,” by Jane Yolen (biography, Book Level 5.2)
(Other fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen include: The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, The Snow Queen, The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Princess and the Pea, The Emperor and the Nightingale, and Thumbelina)
“A Viking settler,” by Giovanni Caselli (specific to Denmark)
“School Days Around the World,” by Margriet Ruurs and Alice Feagan (one layout of Copenhagen, Denmark)

Chapter Books

“From an idea to LEGO: the building bricks behind the world’s largest toy company,” by Lowey Bundy Sichol
“Honey cake,” by Joan Betty Stuchner (Book Level 4.0)
“Number the Stars,” by Lois Lowry (Book Level 4.5)
The Crow Girl by Bodil Bredsdorff (Book Level 5.2)
“Winterfrost,” Michelle Houts (Book Level 5.3)
“The Snow Queen,” by Sarah Lowes, Illustrated by Miss Clara (Book Level 5.6)
“Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen,” collected by Neil Philip
“Scandinavian folk & fairy tales: tales from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland,” edited by Claire Booss (this thick compilation includes fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen)
Shakespeare’s “Hamlet: Prince of Denmark,” adapted by Charles and Mary Lamb
“The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living,” by Meik Wiking (for adults)

Science

Wind Power
- “Energy island: How One Community Harnessed the Wind and Changed their World,” by Allan Drummond
Bogs
- “Big Belching Bog,” by Phyllis Root (elementary level picture book)
- “The Mystery of the Bog Forest,” by Lorus and Margery Milne (higher level chapter book)
Bog Mummies
- “Bodies from the bog,” by James M. Deem
  (The pictures of preserved bodies from the bog may be graphic for some kids. Most of the pictures are in black and white or sepia.)
- “Bog Mummies: Where did they come from?” by Megan Cooley Peterson
  (These pictures of bog mummies are even more shocking because they are in color.)

Cooking Danish Food with kids

The kids helped me make Danish meatballs, called Frikadeller. I was making them by myself, but as soon as one wanted to help, they all came over. Assembly line style, they started turning them out much faster than I could by myself! (There are more recipe links and pictures in Recipes by Country: Denmark.)

Frikadeller (meatballs) — Making Frikadeller

Composer Study

Just as Sibelius is Finland’s favorite composer, Denmark’s beloved composer is Carl Nielsen. I had only just read about him in the Denmark book and I am totally blown away by his music. For links to YouTube videos, visit my page: “Composers: Carl Nielsen.” For ideas of how you can incorporate Composer Study, visit my page: “Art and Music.”

Folk Dance and Music of Denmark

Danish Folk Dance, Jyllinge, Denmark
Three Danish Folk Dances on Hurdy Gurdy
Lunau and Sound is a folk Danish group: In the Bleak Midwinter

Art Project/Handicraft

Hans Christian Andersen was the first to make these woven heart decorations in 1860. We made them out of construction paper and chose to weave them in such a way that creates a little basket at the end. I was surprised that my 5 year old was able to make two with minimal help. The 3.5 year old surprised me with an improvement in his cutting ability and then he ran off to play, so I wove his basket for him.

To make it easier for younger kids, you could make as few as 3 straight fringed pieces to weave (as in the video below). An even easier way would be to just to weave the loose ends into a flat, two-dimensional heart that does not open up into a basket and use tape to secure the bottom edges. The bigger your overall stencil, the easier it will be for little fingers!

Video: Danish Heart Basket Tutorial
Free Printable of the Heart Basket Template
More neat designs (not printable, but you could recreate the lines on your template)

Cutting skills — Print and cut out the templates

Art Study: Rembrandt van Rijn

We discussed the paintings of Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn during our studies of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Netherlands. For a list of suggested artwork and links to videos, visit my page: “Artists: Rembrandt.” For ideas of how to do Art Study, visit my page: “Art and Music.”

Game

I taught the kids how to play the board game, Ticket to Ride, Europe. If you already know how to play “Ticket to Ride,” there are only a few additional rules, such as the use of train stations to use someone else’s route, tunnels, and having one super long train tickets per person at the beginning. We will probably play this game for the duration of our European countries.

Movie!

We watched “Hans Christian Andersen,” starring Danny Kaye and ballerina Zizi Jeanmaire. It is a fantastic, old-timey movie with singing and even a mini-ballet of “The Little Mermaid.” It is not biographical, however, and portrays the ballerina as a love interest that inspires Andersen to write “The Little Mermaid.” Kids may be bored by the unrequited love, but find the rest of the movie fun and engaging.