Welcome! I write about heritage, bilingualism, multicultural children's book, travel and global culture education with lots of hands-on activities and language learning ideas for kids.
During this month little one, and I have been discovering Peru. We learned about the ocarina musical instrument, played with hand-made finger puppets, and even cooked a tasty pollo a la brasa, and lomo saltado.
Today, we're sharing with you an easy Peruvian Bird Gourd Craft for kids!
Some time ago, I saw a picture that someone posted on Facebook with a bunch of books. Among the stack of book there was one that caught my attention: Diego y Frida Te Invitan a Jugar en Su Casa. Ah! A children's book with Diego and Frida as kids! I searched high, and low for this book on-line but with no luck.
However, I did come across Frida y Diego en el País de las Calaveras. (Affiliate link) I was thrilled when I received this book, and excited to share it with our son.
Welcome to the Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop! The Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop is a place where bloggers can share multicultural activities, crafts, recipes, and musings for our creative kids. We can't wait to see what you share this time!
I love participating in Multicultural Kid Blogs Global Learning for Kids Series. It gives us as an opportunity as a familia to research, and learn about another country.
This month's country is Peru.
We're thrilled to learn about Peru. A beautiful country in South America, surrounded by Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, and Chile.
Official name is Republic of Peru with a Constitutional republic government. The capital is Lima, and it has a population of 30,147,935. The official languages are Spanish, and Quechua. Currency is Nuevo Sol, and the country is well known for it's Andes mountain range.
The people of Peru are a mix of many different cultures, including Indians, Spaniards and other Europeans, descendants of African slaves, and Asians.
As an introduction to the music we listened to Daria's Cancioncitas De Los Andes / Little Songs of the Andes. Music in as excellent way to expose children to another culture. Luckily for me, during last year's visit to the International Festival I purchased a Peruvian ocarina, and a gourd ornament. Little one enjoyed playing the Peruvian ocarina an ancient musical instrument.
Multicultural toys are hard to come by but are a wonderful resource to introduce your child to a country's culture. I totally scored big time when I was able to purchase these adorable animal finger puppets from Daria's Little Village Store. These are finger puppets hand crocheted by women artisans in Peru. Little one played with them for hours on end, and it gave us an opportunity to learn about the animals in Peru.
Now the most exciting part on learning about Peru was making Pollo a la Brasa! It's a Peruvian-style roast chicken. So yummy, and delish! I used the recipe found here, but instead of roasting a whole chicken marinated pieces of chicken breast, thighs, and legs. We let the chicken sit in the marinade for 24 hours, and popped it in the oven the following day. I must say the aroma was heavenly, and delicious!
After dinner, we watched this short video "Introduction to Peru."
For more interesting facts on Peru check these resources out:
As the "official" celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month comes to an end that doesn't mean that we won't continue to celebrate our beautiful Hispanic Heritage beyond this month-long recognition.
Shake It, Morena! and other Folklore from Puerto Rico by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand is a book I highly recommend. The illustrations from Lulu Delacre are beautiful and look like taken out of a painting!
Growing up in Puerto Rico in a Catholic home, we never really celebrated Day of the Dead as it's known in the United States, Mexico, and other countries. We commemorated the saints on All Saints Day on November 1st, and remembered the dead during All Souls' Day the following day on November 2nd. I didn't know about Día de Muertos until I moved to the United States.
On All Saints Day we celebrate the holy men and women, and ask for their prayers and intercessions. Being raised Catholic we commemorated the saints known, and unknown with a Mass. The church also has a procession with a special participation of the children dressed as saints.
The following day the Mass for Los Fieles Difuntos (All Souls' Day) was often held and celebrated at the cemetery. This celebration also coincides with the popular Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead).
Both Day of the Dead, and All Souls' Day remembers the dead. However, they celebrate very differently.
While All Souls' Day dates back to the early centuries it is a Catholic celebration. Praying and remembering all the souls' who departed. Especially those who departed, and are in the process of getting to heaven, through Christ. Catholics believed that some souls are waiting in purgatory, and with our prayers they will be able to go into heaven.
Day of the Dead on the other hand celebrates the departed, and prepares for their return with a grand celebration with food, drink, music, fireworks, and an altar decorated with flowers, photos of the deceased, and a variety of food offerings for the dead.
As Catholics we will continue to celebrate, and commemorate the saints' and the souls. We will as a family also learn about this new and beautiful tradition of celebrating Día de Muertos.
I am delighted to take part in Multicultural Kid Blogs first annual Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) Series. Throughout this month bloggers will be sharing their post on the following dates. Make sure you stop by, and check them out!
I love Hispanic Heritage Month! We celebrate the contributions of Hispanics and Latino Americans in the United States, the music, the food, and the culture.
Speaking of music I am thrilled to share with you a post I wrote for Multicultural Kid Blogs on Spanish songs for kids to celebrate throughout this month.