Geography Class & Geography Fair

Holiday Traditions Around the World!

When: Thursdays in November: November 6, 13, 20 from 12 to 1:15, with the Geography Fair Festival being held on Saturday, November 22 (time TBA).

Where: Grace Hills Church, Rochester Hills

Who: Presented by REACH homeschool group (a diverse, all-inclusive group). ALL ARE WELCOME!

What: This program is a 3 week session of geography/cultural classes that will culminate with a Geography Fair Fun Festival for students to attend with their parents and friends. With the holiday season fast approaching, November is the perfect time to start learning about holiday celebrations in other parts of the world!

During each weekly class the students will be learning about a country from a different region of the world as well as a winter holiday tradition from that country. A country from North America, Asia, and Europe will be chosen for the theme for one of each of the three weekly sessions. Students will learn where the country is on the map as well as basic facts about the nation, then will delve into learning about that country’s cultural holiday tradition with games and/or crafts and a special snack.

The Geography Fair Festival will be held on Saturday, November 22. At the first session on November 6, each family (or child, if children from the same family prefer to research and present a country independently) will be asked to choose the country they would like to represent. Each child/family will create a display highlighting their chosen country and its holiday traditions. Each family should present a stand-up display made from poster or foam board with facts about their researched country, which can include but is not limited to a map, geological information, population, history, government, economic facts, photographs, etc… If a student or family has other objects related to the country of choice, those can be included in the display as well! Each student/family should also plan to offer some sort of brief presentation on the country’s holiday tradition to go along with their display. This can be a short dramatic presentation, recitation of a poetry or a related story (for example, a traditional holiday folk story), a game, a song, etc… Families may choose to offer a craft related to their country’s holiday tradition instead (or in addition to) their presentation. (One idea for a craft, for example, might be to allow “visiting” students the opportunity to make an ornament related to their country that they can take home to decorate their own trees.) Each family should also bring a traditional food item from their country to share potluck-style with the rest of the group. (The recipes will be compiled for distribution to everyone who attends!) If they’d like, children can even put together a traditional outfit from their chosen country and come to the fair in costume!

At the fair, families will have the opportunity to set up their displays and then to “travel the world” by exploring what other families have done. Alaina will be requesting that families let her know what type of presentation, craft, etc… they will be doing prior to the fair in order to make sure that it is scheduled in such a way that everyone has the chance to show off what they have done! International music will set the mood, food will be shared, games will be be played, what has been learned will be shared, families will get the opportunity to socialize, and hopefully a good time will be had by all as a way to start the holiday season in a festive way!

For those who are wondering, the “winter holiday tradition” does NOT have to be related to Christmas or any specific religion, but it may if it is appropriate to the country that you have chosen to study! Also, if you are knowledgable about a certain religious or cultural tradition that is not necessarily specific to any one country, you are welcome to base your presentation on that (perhaps with information about where those traditions are found). A family may want to do a presentation on a specific region as opposed to one certain country, as well. The fair is flexible! The goal of the Geography Fair Festival is to have fun, to build community with our fellow homeschoolers, and to share what we’ve learned and what we know with others! Families or individual children are being allowed the opportunity to choose their own country, that way they can decide if they’d like to learn about something completely new or share information and traditions from a country or culture with which they’re already familiar. Again, the idea is to have fun! Do what you can within your family’s abilities.

If your family would like to participate in the fair but your children are unavailable to attend the Thursday afternoon classes, that is okay, too! The more participants we have at the Fair, the more fun it will be for everyone. She will request that those who would like to participate in only the fair still let her know by October 31 for planning purposes.

The cost for the 3 week program and the fair is 12.00 per student. This fee is just to cover craft, snack and building usage costs. If your family would like to participate in the fair only, we request that you make a small at-will donation to help cover the associated costs (building fee, etc…). If donations exceed the costs, any excess will be donated to an organization that helps families in need during the holidays (TBD).

***PLEASE register by Oct. 31. Payment can be made in person at the first class on November 6. Registration and any questions can be directed to Alaina at aksunshinedaydream@gmail.com.***