On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 22 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, the children visit the Wallace Monument and hear stories about the Battle of Stirling Bridge, and the Battle of Bannockburn.

The post #39 Scotland Part 22 – Robert the Bruce and William Wallace appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 21 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, the children explore Blair Castle, the Royal Yacht Britannia and ride on a boat to see the Falkirk wheel in operation.

The post #38 Scotland Part 21 – Blair Castle and the Falkirk Wheel appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 20 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, the children find out about the fascinating secret Jacobite symbols at Culloden Battlefield.

The post #37 Scotland Part 20 – Secret Jacobite Symbols at Culloden Battlefield appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 19 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, the children get to watch massed pipe bands and dancers performing the Scottish sword dance!

The post #36 Scotland Part 19 – Pipe Bands & Scottish Dancers appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 18 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, the children visit Loch Ness and learn that the Loch Ness Monster “Nessie” could indeed be real!

The post #35 Scotland Part 18 – Loch Ness and its Monster appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 17 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, the children spend the night on the tiny island of Iona, learning some of its fascinating history.

The post #34 Scotland Part 17 – The Tiny Island of Iona appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 16 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, the children explore the Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond on their way to the Isle of Iona.

The post #33 Scotland Part 16 – Yon Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 15 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, the children are closer to solving the clues to trace the missing dirk from the honours of Scotland!

The post #32 Scotland Part 15 – The Clues Solved appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 13 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, the children embark on a tour of Scotland and get to try the famous dish of haggis, neeps and tatties

The post #30 Scotland Part 13 – Haggis on Tour appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 12 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, the children are thrilled about the special surprise that Iain and Janet have left for them.

The post #29 Scotland Part 12 – A Special Surprise in an Envelope appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 11 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, Iain and Janet get married and the children have fun watching all the unusual Scottish wedding traditions.

The post #28 Scotland Part 11 – Iain and Janet get married at Wemyss Castle appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 10 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, the Gray family attend the wedding rehearsal and then the wedding of the soon-to-be Earl of Weymss!

The post #27 Scotland Part 10 – Searching for Clues at the Wedding at Wemyss Castle appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 9 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, the Gray family boards a Red Tour Bus to explore the intruiging city of Edinburgh!

The post #26 Scotland Part 9 – Exploring Edinburgh on a Red Tour Bus! appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 8 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, the children return to Edinburgh Castle to discover what secrets lie deep under the castle, in the ruins of David’s Tower.

The post #25 Scotland Part 8 – Hidden Secrets in David’s Tower appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 7 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, the children get to explore St. Andrews Castle, including the ominous mine and counter-mine tunnels from a long-ago battle under the castle!

The post #24 Scotland Part 7 – Exploring St. Andrews Castle appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 6 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, the children meet the elderly, but fiesty, Earl, sir Angus, who shows them the clue in the diary page.

The post #23 Scotland Part 6 – Sir Angus and the Diary Page appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 5 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, Iain Wemyss, the future earl, tells the children about the mysterious disappearance of the dirk from the Honours of Scotland!

The post #22 Scotland Part 5 – The Missing Dirk from the Honours of Scotland appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 4 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, they travel to Wemyss Castle in Fife and meet Iain and Janet the bride and groom!

The post #21 Scotland Part 4 – Meeting Iain and Janet at Wemyss Castle appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 3 of the MEGA story, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special ifriends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, they meet Uncle Alistair with his booming voice, get to try out his huge antique sword and set off to explore Edinburgh Castle.

The post #20 Scotland Part 3 – Breakfast at the Guest House and Edinburgh Castle appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 2 of the MEGA story, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special ifriends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, the Gray children find all kinds of treasures in the Case of Adventure, including Granddad’s sgian dubh!

The post #19 Scotland Part 2 – The Sgian Dubh and travelling to Edinburgh appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 1 of the MEGA story, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special ifriends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, the Gray family prepare to fly to Scotland for the wedding of Mom’s friend from college. She is marrying the soon to be Earl of Wemyss.

The post #18 Scotland Part 1 – The Case of Adventure and Exciting Plans appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 13 of the story, “Cuckoo Clock Secrets in Switzerland” – part of Switzerland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, they get to go on a boat cruise and receive something special from Herr Gutmann.

The post #13 Switzerland Part 13 – Excitement on the Lake! appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 12 of the story, “Cuckoo Clock Secrets in Switzerland” – part of Switzerland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, they help Frau Helga to discover something amazing inside her fireplace!

The post #12 Switzerland Part 12 – Finding the Treasure! appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 11 of the story, “Cuckoo Clock Secrets in Switzerland” – part of Switzerland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, they experience more of the delightful culture of Gimmelwald and then travel to Bern, the Capital city of Switzerland to see the Bears frolicking in their enclosure. They discover a new clue on the Bible page!

The post #11 Switzerland Part 11 – Yodelling, the Capital City of Bern and its Bears appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 10 of the story, “Cuckoo Clock Secrets in Switzerland” – part of Switzerland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, they travel up in a cable car to the tiny town of Gimmelwald, where no actual cars are allowed. They have great fun learning about the people of Gimmelwald, cheesemaking, and the hidden cannons of Switzerland.

The post #10 Switzerland Part 10 – The Quaint Town of Gimmelwald appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 9 of the story, “Cuckoo Clock Secrets in Switzerland” – part of Switzerland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, they travel from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen and then up the Jungfrau Mountain together. They meet a St. Bernard dog, play in the snow, explore a world made of ice and end up right at the very top of Europe!

The post #9 Switzerland Part 9 – Up the Jungfrau Mountain appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 8 of the story, “Cuckoo Clock Secrets in Switzerland” – part of Switzerland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, they travel with Herr Gutmann to meet Frau Helga, who owns an identical cuckoo clock to Granddad’s clock – where the children found the Post Tenebras Lux coin.

The post #8 Switzerland Part 8 – Frau Helga and the other Cuckoo Clock appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 7 of the story, “Cuckoo Clock Secrets in Switzerland” – part of Switzerland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, they meet Herr Gutmann, whose family makes the Gutmann Cuckoo Clocks and Rome acquires a Swiss army knife.

The post #7 Switzerland Part 7 – Meeting Herr Gutmann, the Clockmaker appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 6 of the story, “Cuckoo Clock Secrets in Switzerland” – part of Switzerland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, they explore Geneva, Switzerland, see the Jet d’eau water fountain, and visit the Refromation museum.

The post #6 Switzerland Part 6 – Post Tenebras Lux and the City of Geneva appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 5 of the story, “Cuckoo Clock Secrets in Switzerland” – part of Switzerland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, they travel to Zermatt, ride on a horse cart, learn about the Matterhorn and have fun with electronic bugs!

The post #5 Switzerland Part 5 – Snowballs and Bugs in Zermatt appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn, the author of the Case of Adventure books and stories, will be reading part 4 of the story, “Cuckoo Clock Secrets in Switzerland” – part of Switzerland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, while in their hotel in the quaint mountain village of Crans Montana, they figure out how to find the Swiss Clockmaker whose name was on the plaque under the Cuckoo Clock.

 

The post #4 Switzerland Part 4 – Finding the Clockmaker appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn,  will be reading from Cuckoo Clock Secrets in Switzerland – part of the Switzerland Adventure book. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, they fly to the beautiful land of Switzerland!

England Adventure will be coming out soon!

The post #3 Switzerland Part 3 – Zurich to Crans Montana appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn, the author of the Case of Adventure books and stories, will be reading from Cuckoo Clock Secrets in Switzerland – part of the Switzerland Adventure book. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode they find the phrase “Post Tenebras Lux” on an ancient gold coin, learn its meaning and search for the words on the monument.

 

The post #2 Switzerland Part 2 – Post Tenebras Lux appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn, the author of the Case of Adventure books and stories, will be reading from the Cuckoo Clock Secrets in Switzerland Novel. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

Ren Gray is 11 years old, and loves to read. She knows all kinds of interesting facts about unusual things. Her grey cockatiel, Milkshake, likes to sit on her shoulder as she goes about her day.

Rome Gray is 9 years old. He loves Italian food, playing cricket and is learning computer coding.

Jake Gray is 6 years old. He enjoys soccer, and tumbling. He’d like to be a stunt man someday.

Libby Gray is 5 years old. She is very fond of dogs, and learning magic tricks.

Tiffany Gray is one and a half years old, is feisty and full of giggles. She loves finger painting, and watching her pet goldfish swim around his bowl.

The children’s grandfather owns the CASE OF ADVENTURE! Let’s read about it..

 

The post # 1 Switzerland Part 1 – The Case of Adventure and the Cuckoo Clock! appeared first on Case of Adventure.

Ten Fun Geography Facts

1. The study of the Earth, its features its inhabitants and its phenomena…

2. The making of maps..

3. The only continent situated in all the four hemispheres…

4. Both the westernmost and the easternmost State…

5. Over 31000 lakes and the world’s longest coastline…

6. The entire world’s population could fit into the state of…

7. A heart-shaped coral reef.

8. They are getting half an inch higher every year!

…

LISTEN TO the Countries for Kids Podcast Episode 006 with your kids!

 

Countries for Kids from CASE OF ADVENTURE!

 

COUNTRY-THEMED UNITS FOR HOMESCHOOLERS – ages 7 to 11 Unique and exciting COUNTRY Studies!
EACH UNIT CONSISTS OF: A Travel Mystery Novel to read And a Beautiful Adventure Book filled with pages of learning, and tons of activities to work through
The Novel and Adventure Book work together to teach your kids about each country. https://caseofadventure.com/united-states-for-kids/https://caseofadventure.com/switzerland-for-kids/https://caseofadventure.com/scotland-for-kids/https://caseofadventure.com/england-for-kids/https://caseofadventure.com/italy-for-kids/ https://caseofadventure.com/france-for-kids/https://caseofadventure.com/romania-for-kids/https://caseofadventure.com/product/singapore-adventure-kids-activity-book/https://caseofadventure.com/product/new-zealand-adventure-kids-activity-book/

 

In the novel, your kids will experience the country through the eyes of the Grey family as they go exploring, see the sights,  sample the cuisine, learn about the culture, and solve a mystery along the way, while completing the Discovery Agent missions at the end of each chapter!

 

In the Adventure Book your Kids will learn about the landmarks, the flag and national anthem, the capital city, languages, currency and weather of the country. They’ll study maps, learn some local expressions and jokes. They’ll solve clue cards using secret codes and complete many fun activities.

 

The instructions pages at the back of each Adventure book take you through what to do each day of the Unit. READ THE STORY  –   COMPLETE THE MISSIONS  –   EXPERIENCE THE CULTURE STUDY THE COUNTRY  –  CREATE THE MINIBOOKS  –  DO THE ACTIVITIES  –  SOLVE THE CLUES

 

Your kids will embark on a thrilling adventure in a foreign land, and have a ton of fun learning about another country in a way they’ll never forget!

 

 

The post Ten Fun Geography Facts appeared first on Case of Adventure.

Welcome to Croatia For Kids with Karyn from CASE OF ADVENTURE!

Read or listen to Croatia for Kids, look at the photos, watch the videos and download the Croatia printable pack. Click the play button in the player above (or listen in on iTunes or your favorite podcast app).

 

Countries for Kids from CASE OF ADVENTURE!

 

COUNTRY-THEMED UNITS FOR HOMESCHOOLERS – ages 7 to 11 Unique and exciting COUNTRY Studies!
EACH UNIT CONSISTS OF: A Travel Mystery Novel to read And a Beautiful Adventure Book filled with pages of learning, and tons of activities to work through
The Novel and Adventure Book work together to teach your kids about each country. https://caseofadventure.com/united-states-for-kids/https://caseofadventure.com/switzerland-for-kids/https://caseofadventure.com/scotland-for-kids/https://caseofadventure.com/england-for-kids/https://caseofadventure.com/italy-for-kids/ https://caseofadventure.com/france-for-kids/https://caseofadventure.com/romania-for-kids/https://caseofadventure.com/product/singapore-adventure-kids-activity-book/https://caseofadventure.com/product/new-zealand-adventure-kids-activity-book/

 

In the novel, your kids will experience the country through the eyes of the Grey family as they go exploring, see the sights,  sample the cuisine, learn about the culture, and solve a mystery along the way, while completing the Discovery Agent missions at the end of each chapter!

 

In the Adventure Book your Kids will learn about the landmarks, the flag and national anthem, the capital city, languages, currency and weather of the country. They’ll study maps, learn some local expressions and jokes. They’ll solve clue cards using secret codes and complete many fun activities.

 

The instructions pages at the back of each Adventure book take you through what to do each day of the Unit. READ THE STORY  –   COMPLETE THE MISSIONS  –   EXPERIENCE THE CULTURE STUDY THE COUNTRY  –  CREATE THE MINIBOOKS  –  DO THE ACTIVITIES  –  SOLVE THE CLUES

 

Your kids will embark on a thrilling adventure in a foreign land, and have a ton of fun learning about another country in a way they’ll never forget!

 

 

 

Rovinj is a city in Croatia situated on the north Adriatic Sea Located on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, it is a popular tourist resort and an active fishing port. Croatia for Kids

Today we are going to be talking about Croatia – the country with stunning beaches and spectacular waterfalls, where the historical beauty of the past is reflected in the modern lives of its present day citizens.

Remember to download your Croatia printable pack with some fun activities for you to do.

 

Croatia is..

located in Central and Southeast Europe, bordering Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the southeast, Montenegro to the southeast, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest and Slovenia to the northwest.

About 4 million people live in Croatia and its capital city is Zagreb.

Croatia in Croatian is called Hrvatska.

Zagreb has a charm all its own and has more museums than any other city in the world, causing it to be named, “The city of museums”.

The city is bursting at the seams with fabulous cafes – all of which serve the fabulous Croatian coffee. Croatians take their coffee drinking very seriously indeed!

Croatia is hot, the hottest summer months being July and August, its on of Europe’s sunniest spots.

There are picturesque pebbled beaches, lapped by crystal clear water and  incredible national parks.

Croatia has eight national parks, including the Plitvice (plitveetza) Lakes and Krka, both of which are famous for their stunning lakes and waterfalls. As you stroll along the wooden boardwalks among the  Plitvice lakes and see the many beautiful waterfalls, huge leafy green trees shade you from the sparkling sun, be careful as you can easily step off the boardwalk into the water!

Its really cool how some of the mountains are very near beaches! The Biokovo mountain range contains one of the highest peaks in Croatia, but also lies just a few miles from the sea. It’s a stunning area, scattered with wildflowers and butterflies, sweet-smelling pine trees and limestone boulders. And after a slow climb up the mountain, you can head back down for a refreshing dip in the sea and some delicious gelato ice cream.

 

THE CAPITAL CITY

The biggest cities in Croatia are Zagreb, Split, and Rijeka.

Zagreb is 900 years old.

Before we move on, lets talk some more about the capital city of Zagreb. There lively street markets and lots of green open spaces, blue street trams zooming down the streets and beautiful architecture. The market in the main square sells cheeses, sausages, delicious pastries and just about everything else.

Zagreb cathedral is built in gothic style and dominates the city skyline.

St Marks Church has the most colorful roof ever. The tiles are designed in the pattern of a medieval coats of arms and the emblem of Zagreb.

There are lots of places where you can sample the delicious truffle dishes.

Croatia’s largest exporter of Istrian truffles is Zigante Tartufi. In 1999 the company’s owner Giancarlo Zigante, along with his dog Diana, found the world’s largest truffle in Istria, weighing 1.31kg and making it into the Guinness Book of World Records.

 

 

You can go up Zagreb 360 for amazing views of the city. You take the elevator to the 16th floor of the really tall building to get amazing views of the old town. Lots of red brown roofs, tall spires, blue sky and sunlight reflecting off the roofs, mountains in the distance – its beautiful.

One of the most famous and popular sights in Croatia is in a city called Split.

The remains of the Roman Emperor Diocletian’s Palace, is now the buzzing heart of the city. Among the ancient columns, temples, walls and underground cellars that once made up the Roman emperor’s home, you’ll find dozens of hidden bars, restaurants and shops.

There is a sphinx in Split. It was brought from Egypt for emperor Diocletian and it is more than 4,000 years old!

 

Granite Egyptian sphinx next to the Prothyron at the Diocletian Palace Peristyle in Split, Croatia

 

The Island of Hvar and its surrounds  – You can take a ferry from Hvar to Split

 

THE PULA ARENA

The Pula Arena is the name of the amphitheatre located in Pula, the port city of Pula is  in Istria Croatia. The Arena is the only remaining Roman amphitheatre to have four side towers and with all three Roman architectural orders entirely preserved.

 

 

The Croatian capital’s Museum of Contemporary Art is also among the best in the world.

Croatia hosts numerous open-air cultural festivals during the summer, the best known being the Dubrovnik Summer Festival

 

Zadar, in North Dalmatia, which contains a lovely old town and is home to several Romanesque churches, plus the quirky Sea Organ, which produces music powered by the waves; and Varazdin, with its 18th-century Baroque architecture and an annual Baroque music festival.

On its surface, the organ looks like large marble steps leading into the Adriatic Sea. … Each set of steps holds five organ pipes each and is tuned to a different musical chord. As waves and wind push air through the channels, a song pours through theorgan pipes and out onto the steps above

 

 

THE LANGUAGE

The official language of Croatia is Croatian, but Serbian, Italian, and Hungarian are also spoken.

Croatian is an official language in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and parts of Austria, Italy, Serbia, and Romania.

Counting to ten in Croatian: Jedan (1), dva (2), tri (3), cetiri (4), pet (5), sest (6), sedam (7), osam(8), devet (9), deset (10).

 

THE CURRENCY AND FLAG

The currency of Croatia is the Kuna. One Kuna equals 6.28 dollars. Croatia has been a member of the EU since 2013 but kept its currency, the Kuna.

The national anthem of Croatia is Lijepa nasa domovino (Our beautiful homeland).

The Croatian flag combines the colors of the flags of the Kingdom of Croatia (red and white), the Kingdom of Slavonia (white and blue) and the Kingdom of Dalmatia (red and blue).

 

 

WORLD WAR II  AND THE CROATIAN WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE

Croatia used to be part of Yugoslavia. In 1941, in World War II, German forces invaded Yugoslavia. The resistance fighters were led by Josip Broz Tito, a Croatian. Eventually, in 1944, the resistance fighters, helped by the Soviets, broke through the German lines and forced them to retreat across the border of Yugoslavia. Sadly, there are still some undiscovered buried land mines in Croatia from WWII.

Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. But the Communist Serbian president, Slobodan Milosevic, wanted Croatia to still be controlled by Serbia. Then, from 1991 to 1995, the devastating Croatian war for independence was fought. Eventually, Croatia won. Today, there is still damage to be seen from the war but the people are rebuilding.

 

 

Independence Day in Croatia is the 8th of October.

A German Second World War ship can be spotted below the surface of the water in Zavratnica Bay, near the Croatian port of Jablanac.

 

INTERESTING AND UNUSUAL FACTS

• The first torpedo was constructed by Ivan Lupis Vukic from Rijeka, Croatia.
• Football is the most popular sport in Croatia.
• Croatia has 1246 islands!
• Two places on the moon are named after Croatians. They were scientists J. R. Boskovic and Mohorovicic.
• In 1906, a Croatian man named Slavoljub Penkala Invented a mechanical pencil. Today we call them ‘pens’.
• The columns of the White House in Washington D. C. are made from White stone mined on the Isle of Brac in Croatia.
• Croatians can vote at the age of sixteen if they are employed. If not, they must wait
• until they are eighteen.
• If you spread out a map of the world the town of Ludbreg in Croatia would be right
• in the centre.
• The island of Biševo in Croatia has only 13 residents.
• The biggest necktie in the world was 808 metres long, and was displayed in Croatia in 2003. It took five days to complete and was tied around the Pula Arena.
• Croatia is home to the world’s smallest town, called “Hum”.

 

THE ANIMALS

Keep your eyes peeled off the west coast of Istria and you might just see a pod of dolphins.

Many rare animals can be found in Croatia – for example, the Mediterranean Monk Seal.

The national animal of Croatia is the pine marten.

The main predators in Croatia are wolves, lynxes, and brown bears.

Dalmatians were named after Dalmatia, a region of Croatia.

 

TRADITIONAL DRESS

There isn’t just one traditional dress in croatia: each region has its own. One common one is white dresses for the women, with colorful fringed shawls, long striped socks and flowers in their hair. The dresses have blue embroidered lace on the skirts. For the men,  baggy white pants, long untucked white shirts and black vests and hats, as well as red, blue and white bands around their waists and hats.

 

CROATIAN CUISINE

Croatian food is influenced by Turkey, Hungary, and Italy. Pasta is one of the most popular food items. Istarski fuzi is a type of pasta usually served with stew.

Rozata is a Croatian custard pudding similar to Crème Caramel.

Zagorski Štrukli is a traditional Croatian dish consisting of dough and various fillings that can be either cooked or baked.

Pizza is found almost everywhere in Croatia. Some pizzas are as good as the ones you will find in Naples.

In Croatia, breakfast is light and people usually eat bread and jam and drink tea or coffee. Lunch is the main meal of the day. It usually has soup, meat with vegetables, and a salad. Dinner is usually leftovers from lunch.

Dalmatian food, found along Dalmatian coast, and on the islands, is based heavily on fish, greens, olive oil, and seasonings like garlic, rosemary, parsley, etc. Dalmatian cuisine is typical Mediterranean cuisine.

Zagreb food, on the other hand, has many similarity with central European countries. Typical Zagreb food includes meat dishes, while side dishes usually comprise of potatoes, other root veggies, and cabbage.

 

Cevapcici with ajvar in a grilled roll

 

Slavonians love their pork, and many dishes in Slavonia are simply based on pork meat. Red paprika is the main condiment in Slavonia.

Croatians have always believed in three meals a day, with lunch being the main daily meal. This, unfortunately, has changed in last years, as many people work 9-5, and simply aren’t home for lunchtime. However, lunches are still big family affair on weekends.

Croatian Meze Lunch, consisting of Local Feta Cheese, Humus, Tuna Salad, Pickled Mackerel, Parma Ham, Marinated Eggplant and Onion Relish

 

Tomato Salami is definitely a speciality – there are many different versions for you to try

Also, you are very likely to see many a pig roasting on a spit along the side of the road or outside a restaurant.

 

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

The dangubica (or Bisernica) is a small Croatian stringed instrument, having two single or double strings and a pear-shaped body.

 

 

The frula is a Serbian musical instrument similar to a medium-sized flute.

A gaida is a bagpipe from southeastern europe. It has a single drone and the bag is usually made of sheep- or goat-skin.

The lijerica is a croatian musical instrument which has three strings, and is played with a bow.

One of the most famous Croatian composers was Franz von Suppé.

 

Croatia is the birthplace of Marco Polo, or so locals claim.

The Ancient City Walls or Dubrovnik are amazing! You can walk on them all the way around the old city

 

 

 

A MISSIONARY IN CROATIA

To end off, I am going to quote from an article called out-of-the-rubble-in-croatia from advancingnativemissions.com

At 31, Damir Spoljaric could hardly wait to marry. He had spent most of his 20s contemplating celibacy, as he was fully engrossed in the work of the Lord. But the Lord gave him peace about marrying, and soon afterwards he excitedly proposed to his longtime friend Melita under a bridge in Croatia on June 18, 1995.

The wedding date was set for just a few weeks later, on August 5. His country was still in the midst of a war of independence (from Yugoslavia). But even in wartime, people still have to work, eat, steep…and marry. Or so he thought.

In the wee hours of the morning on his wedding day, Damir was rudely awakened by a huge explosion. A thousand kilograms of TNT had just exploded a few miles from his home. What was going on? After a short while, another huge explosion—this time, even closer. Lord, what’s happening? Only later would Damir learn that the Croatian army had just launched “Operation Storm,” a large-scale military operation to recapture areas held by enemy Serbian forces.

With his thin bedroom walls rattling like crazy, Damir realized that any moment could be his last. Lord, maybe it’s not Your will for me to get married after all, Damir mused wryly. His relatives and friends began calling in to inform him that they were fleeing the city and could not attend his wedding. “I understand,” he joked nervously, “that you’re supposed to attend a wedding, not a funeral!”

But even though most of the guests had fled and the city had turned into a ghost town, Damir and Melita decided to brave the bomb attacks and get married anyway. Understandably, the minister performed a quick ceremony. The young couple then drove off hurriedly for their honeymoon, dodging air raids and artillery shelling, and all the while praying fervently behind the wheel!

For Damir was determined that nothing—not even bombs falling from the sky—would ever stop him from praying and believing that out of the rubble, God would still bring forth a miracle of love and deliverance.

And God proved him right! Not only did they manage to enjoy their wedding and honeymoon admidst the warfare, but they were able to minister to many war refugees who were suffering and share with them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. ”

 

The post Croatia for Kids appeared first on Case of Adventure.

Read or listen to Italy for Kids, and download the Italy printable pack with some fun activities for you to do. Click the play button in the player above to listen now (or listen in on iTunes or your favorite podcast app).

 

 

Information about Italy for Kids (goes along with podcast episode)

Welcome to Italy for Kids. Today we are going to be talking about the land of pizza and ice cream.

When you think of Italy, what do you think of?

• Pizza?
• Eating Gelato Ice cream at a small street café?
• Gondolas on the water in Venice, with the gondoliers singing soulful songs
• The leaning tower of Pisa
• Rome and the Colosseum

There are so many things that remind us of Italy, aren’t there?

The name Italy comes from the word Italia, meaning “calf land” Some say it was because the bull was a symbol of the Southern Italian tribes.

If you look on a map, you will see that the country of Italy is shaped like a boot and has two islands – Sicily near the toe of the boot is home to 5 million people and the biggest island in the Mediterranean.  Sardinia is smaller with stunning beaches and mountains.

France, Switzerland Austria and Slovenia border on Italy.

 

CITIES AND LANDMARKS IN ITALY

Milan is known for its fashion designers and the second-largest cathedral in the whole world, Duomo di Milano. Also the opera house – La Scala is there.

Genoa on the west coast is where Christopher Columbus was born and shipbuilding continues there today.

Venice is a city built on a whole lot of islands. There are canals instead of roads, and boats instead of cars. You can see the sights in Venice by floating through its canals on a gondola. Gondoliers, men in striped shirts sing romantic songs as they propel you along with a long rowing oar.

In the central part of Italy, olives and grapes are grown to make olive oil and wine, which are some of Italy’s major exports.

In Florence, beautiful architecture and works of art are everywhere.

The capital of Italy is ROME.

Rome, has influenced the whole world. They built roads to and conquered many lands from England to Africa and their ideas about engineering and culture spread to those lands.

Vatican city is the smallest country in the world. It’s inside Rome and it’s where the Pope – the leader of the Roman Catholic Church resides. The country is about an eight of the size of Central Pack in New York. It operates as an independent country, generating revenue from tourism, printing its own money, stamps and passports.

Read more interesting things about it here

http://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-vatican

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a third of the height of the Washington Monument. It leans because the soil underneath is very waterlogged, which makes it soft. These days it has been stabilized by the removal of soil from underneath the high side of the base and by the adding of 800 tons of lead weights secured with cables..

Italy is the fifth most populated country in Europe, with about 60 million people who call it home.

Italy has a president and a prime minister – The president of Italy is Sergio Mattarella.

 

THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE

Italians like to show on the outside what they are feeling on the inside. They talk with their hands a lot. They use loud, expressive voices and lots of emotion and animated movement to add to their speech.

They even have specific hand gestures which mean certain things – like their own sign language!

Italians like to take their time doing things. They always have time to stop and talk and are not often in a rush.

The passeggiata is a pre dinner evening stroll that most Italians partake of. Neighborhoods are very friendly as families live in one place for many generations. Italians dress smartly for this evening walk, wanting to look their best at all times. They walk or or sit at favorite cafes sampling gelato, or

specialty coffees like espresso, latte, or cappuccino. They eat and sip at outdoor cafes along city avenues.

Supper is eaten much later around 9 or 10pm

The official language in Italy is, of course, Italian! There are so many words that you and I say that are actually Italian.

Have a look at the video  this fun video on how to pronounce common Italian words:

For example pistakkio, and marscapony and brewsketta

 

 

Lets try counting in Italian – Uno, Due, Tre, Quattro, Cinque, Sei, Sette, Otto, Nove, Dieci

 

 

Hello is Ciao (chow)

Goodbye is Addio (ad-dio’)

Buongiorno! (= Good day!)

Please= Per favore

Thank you = Grazie

 

THE FLAG AND THE CURRENCY, NATIONAL ANTHEM

The Italian national anthem is Il Canto Degli Italiani (The song of the Italians).

 

Italy is part of the European Union, and they use the Euro as their currency.

Right now, in October 2017, with one Euro, you can buy $1.19 US dollars, 90p British cents (that’s just less than one British Pound), and R15 South African Rand.

The Italian flag has three vertical stripes, green, white, and red. The green represents the country’s plains and hills, white represents the snow-capped Alps, and red, blood spilt in the Wars of Italian Independence.

The colours of the flag also represent, Faith, hope and charity

THE UNIFICATION OF ITALY

The Kingdom of Sardinia defeated the foreign countries that controlled parts of Italy and unified Italy as one country. In 1848, the Milanese soldiers defeated the Austrians, who controlled much of Northern Italy. Finally, about 150 years ago, in 1870, Rome was captured and the Kingdom of Italy was formed.

 

WHAT IS THE WEATHER LIKE?

In Northern Italy, the summers are very hot and humid and the winters cold. In the South, the winters are mild and the summers hot and dry.

 

WHAT ARE THE HOMES LIKE?

The typical Italian house is two-level, made of bricks or stone. The roof is often tiled and the house usually includes an enclosed yard. Semi-detaches

Some families live in apartments in buildings with grocery stores or bookshops facing the streets and the apartments on the inside of the buildings facing a pretty garden courtyards where neighbors sit and visit.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ITALY

There are three active volcanoes in Italy (they are not extinct). That means that they could still erupt, though they haven’t for many years. Mount Vesuvius, Mount Etna and Stromboli. Mount Vesuvius and Mount Etna are very dangerous as they are near big cities.

Mount Vesuvius is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, and it’s very near Naples! If you look at your map of Italy, you will see that Naples is on the west coast halfway between the toe of the boot and the city of Rome.

The city of Pompeii is where an ancient Roman city was buried by a volcano. After the famous Pompeii volcano erupted all those years ago, it has erupted again a few times. The last time was in 1944, when 26 people were killed, nearby villages were destroyed and US airplanes based at the Pompeii airfield nearby were coated with a thick layer of ash. Imagine living at the foot of a volcano after that!

Have you heard of truffles? They are like the diamond of the kitchen. Truffles are very rare and expensive and they taste and smell amazing! You could say that truffles are the fruit of a fungus. The fungus grows around tree roots and the fruity body is formed. They are highly sought after by chefs. Hunting for truffles is a rewarding pastime in Italy. Most of the world’s truffles come from Northern Italy. Dogs are used to go truffle hunting. They sniff around until they find one and then it is dug up and sold for huge amounts of money! In 2007, a dog named Rocco discovered a truffle in Tuscany that weighed 3.3 pounds. It was sold for $333,000, a world record for a truffle.

About 3000 euros is thrown into the Trevi fountain in Rome every day by tourists – that’s around 1.5 million each year! Legend has it that if you throw one coin into the fountain you will someday return to Rome and if you throw two then you will find romance there. The fountain fills up so fast with coins that the workers sweep it every day to collect the coins. The collected coins are cleaned, weighed, counted, and delivered to Catholic charity. The organization has used the money for many things, including building a grocery store for the poor and supporting a shelter for AIDS patients.

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-is-thrown-into-romes-trevi-fountain-and-where-it-goes-2017-6

UNUSUAL LAWS

In the city of Turin, dog owners must walk their dog at least three times a day or risk being fined!

On the beaches of Eraclea on the Venetian Lido, it’s illegal to make sandcastles or any other kind of sand structure.

By law gondolas in Venice must be painted black. Pity, they might look nice with a flower design or  hearts?

It is also rumored that citizens of Milan are required to smile in public places at all times, except during funerals and hospital visits. I’m not sure if that’s true.

A publicized law was passed back in 2012 in the town of Falciano del Massico in Campania. (pronounce) Because the town’s cemetery is full, the mayor, Giulio Fava, passed a law making it illegal for the town’s residents to die. The mayor told the press that his town’s residents were happy with the new law, but unfortunately two elderly citizens had disobeyed it.

I’m sure the law forbidding dying is more tongue-in-cheek than strictly administered,

I do wonder who in Turin is counting the dog walkers, while the thought of a warden in uniform handing out non-smiling fines in Milan makes me smile.

 

OTHER FUN FACTS

In 2011 an Italian cat inherited over €10 million after its 94-year old owner passed away, making it the third richest animal in the world (there are richer animals than that). The owner Maria Assunta left her “entire estate” to the cat under the care of a trusted nurse (you may not be surprised that Italian law does not allow animals to inherit directly).

The city of Venice  – remember the city with the gondoliers – that  is built on water – is made up of 119 islands. Venice is sinking! The mean level of the land has lowered while the sea levels have risen. Flooding regularly occurs between November and March. In order to stop this flooding, a system of 79 flood barriers fixed to the lagoon bed. At normal times the barriers will be full of water and lie flat but when there is a flood warning they will be pumped full of air and raised, therefore creating a dam and saving Venice from being flooded.

Football is the most popular sport in Italy. Italy has won the football world cup four times. That makes them the second most successful football team in World Cup history.

Most people in Italy don’t drive.  Italy is built in the old Roman style, so every city is walkable. The roads are narrow. Italian bus drivers drive through intense traffic and narrow roads at high speeds. Very good drivers – I guess you could say. Italians travel by trains a lot, especially for long distance. In the cities, they will use the bus or travel by bicycle or scooters (vespers)

Perhaps the narrow roads are why all those small sports cars like Ferraris and Lamborghinis are made in Italy. Have you heard of an Italian car called a Ferrari. Well, Ferrari is one of most common Italian surnames. It’s as common as Smith in England. Ferrari comes from Smith – meaning iron like a blacksmith.

There is a special Polizia Lamborghini which was specially modified for police duty – perhaps so the policeman can drive as fast as the crooks they are chasing!

It Italy there is a statue of Jesus Christ that is submerged underwater, it is 8 feet or 2.5m tall. Christ of the Abyss off the Italian Riviera in Portofino

Italian diver Dario Gonzatti lost his life, scuba diving in 1947, there now stands a 2.5m bronze Christ statue, created by Italian sculptor Guido Galletti. It’s 10m under the surface, popular among free-divers and scuba divers wishing to pay their respects to those who have taken their last breaths in the sea.

Gallileo was a very famous an Italian scientist, mathematician  and astronomer born in 1564. Strangely enough, three of his fingers and a tooth are  on display at a museum in Florence!

https://www.biography.com/people/galileo-9305220

 

THINGS INVENTED IN ITALY

The Radio, piano and thermometer were invented in Italy.

Also pizza, pretzels,

The Violin

The Pistol

Typewriter

Parachute

Espresso machine

Desktop computer

Eyeglasses

Opera

 

 

WILDLIFE

The rural parts of Italy are a paradise for nature lovers and animals.

From wild boar mud baths, to hovering birds of prey, groups of roe deer, a porcupine crossing the road, hermit crabs scurrying under the sand, jellyfish and dolphins. And the occasional shark!

The Italian Wolf is the national animal of Italy.

http://www.maremmaguide.com/animals-in-italy.html

Italy is the only place in the world where the Marsican brown bear is found.

There are only nineteen species of snakes in Italy – that’s my kind of town!

 

FESTIVALS AND CULTURE

Each September in even-numbered years, is a medieval town named Marostica. Each year the town remembers a chess game played between two noblemen in 1454, who competed to win the hand of a lady. Now, the town remembers the match by setting up a life-size chess board in the main piazza. People dressed as chess pieces stand on the board. The knights even ride horses, and the castles are on wheels for the chess match.

The Battle of the Oranges is a festival in the Northern Italian city of Ivrea, which includes a tradition of throwing of oranges. It is the largest food fight in Italy. Unlike La Tomatina, the tomato festival in Spain, the ammunition at Italy’s orange battle doesn’t get squished before it is hurled in the streets. It may, however, become smushed after colliding with the helmets that keep faces from getting injured.

In Venice they celebrate Carnivale di Venezia, a two-week party in early spring. It is marked by parades, live performances of music and, most famously, masquerade balls. People wear masks are worn throughout the Carnival.

 

TRADITIONAL DRESS

Italian women typically don colorful skirts with embroidered images of flowers and fruit, light shirts and decorated hats. Men’s clothing is simpler, pants often have elaborate embroidery or metal buttons. The clothes are all vibrant colors and made out of fine material such as silk and velvet.

However, these outfits would have been extravagant for Italian peasants. The working class had much more sensible clothes. Women wore plain skirts and bodices with square hats. The flat top of the hat helped the women carry baskets to market. This style eventually evolved into hats with artificial flowers or fruits worn by upper class ladies, mimicking a peasant carrying a basket on her head.

Typically, all peasants’ clothing came in gray, brown, or black. After all, dye was expensive back then.

For special occasions, peasants had a few colorful and embroidered outfits that resembled those of the wealthy. Poor women would pass down dresses from generation to generation. This helped save money, as well as preserve family history.

 

TRADITIONAL FOOD

Some say that the Italians cook with the colors of the Italian flag. They love to use use basil, (green) mozzarella, (white) and tomatoes (red)

Pizza was invented in Naples, Italy

https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/who-invented-pizza

I am quoting in part from this website.

A pizza without toppings – like a flat bread dates back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. They both ate baked flat breads that were topped with olive oil and local spices.

The pizza we’re all familiar with — the kind with tomato sauce, cheese, and toppings —originated in Italy.

S­ometime around 1889, Italy’s royal couple, Queen Margherita and King Umberto I, toured their kingdom. The Queen took note of the large, flat bread being consumed by the workers. She tried it and loved it. She called Chef Rafaelle Esposito to her palace, where he created a variety of pizzas for her. In honor of her name, he designed a pizza with toppings in the colors of the Italian flag (red tomatoes, white mozzarella and green basil). This pizza became her favorite and is known to this day as the Margherita. Her love for pizza made her incredibly popular among her subjects — most royals would never have dined on peasant food, much less encouraged its spread.

Pizza sauce is usually tomato-based. However, the list of unconventional pizza sauces includes pesto, alfredo, ketchup and barbecue. “White pizza” recipes often eliminate the sauce entirely, replacing it with garlic butter.

Pizza made its way to Spain, France, England, and the United States via Italian immigrants. It didn’t gain popularity until after World War II, when returning soldiers sought out the food they had grown to love while fighting overseas.

The first United States pizzeria — G. Lombardi’s — was opened in 1905 and is still open today using its original oven.

If you ask for a pizza in Italy you get the whole thing, not share slices.

Risotto and polenta are more common in the north, pasta in the centre of Italy

Arabs brought dried pasta to Italy in the 1200s and there are now where are now over 140 types of pasta.

Pasta wasn’t eaten with tomato sauce until the 1600’s in Italy. Until then, it was eaten with honey and sugar.

The ald fashioned way of eating pasta was with the fingers,  arm held high, and head tilted back. What do you think your Mom would say about that?

Italians serve cannelloni, risotto, and minestrone, as well.

Spaghetti Bolognese, one of the most popular Italian dishes in America, does not exist in Italy. The real thing is Tagliatelle al Ragu, which has at least two types of meat – usually pork and beef.

It is often cooked for eighteen hours – the longer you cook it the better it tastes.

There is no Alfredo sauce in Italy, No meatballs in spaghetti

Gnocchi is a type of pasta usually made from potatoes.

Many cheeses originate in Italy, the most well-known are mozzarella and parmesan.

Ciabatta was invented in 1982 by Francesco Favaron, because French baguettes were becoming too popular.

Because the climate is perfect for growing grapes, Italy is famous for its wine. Italy and France are the leading wine-producing nations in the world. Like Italian food, Italian wines vary by region, and they are known for going perfectly with Italian meals.

 

MUSIC, INSTRUMENTS AND THE ARTS

The violin was invented in Cremona, Italy, by Andrea Amati.

Opera originated in Italy in the late 16th century.  Skilled dramatic singing

Giuseppe Verdi was one of the most famous Italian opera composers. Monteverdi is considered by many to be the father of modern opera. Rossini and Verdi each composed operas still loved today.

Rossini’s The Barber of Seville and Verdi’s Aida have been performed again and again.

Puccini produced La Boheme and Madame Butterfly, while Scarlatti wrote almost one hundred operas.

Musical notation or the way we write music comes from Italy

Leonardo da Vinci produced the Mona Lisa. Da Vinci was an incredible man, creating sculptures as well as paintings, and inventing all sorts of gadgets and fanciful items. He even created sketches for flying machines, hundreds of years before man created the airplane.

When Leonardo da Vinci was a boy… his father was in a village and he met a peasant who said that he had carved a round piece of wood. He asked his friend to take it to get it painted in the village. The gave it to his son, Leonardo who liked to paint, who painted a cave with a fierce dragon on it.

His father was so impressed with it. .It was so good that he sold it to an art dealer who sold it to a duke for a large sum of money. and he bought a cheap shield of the same shape with a simple design on it to pass on to the peasant

Other artists from Italy include Michelangelo and Donatello, whose sculptures seem as though they could spring to life.

In Florence, you’ll find expert silkweavers who work on a loom designed by Leonardo da Vinci, weaving strands into a beautiful designs.

CHRISTIANITY IN ITALY

Italy is Catholic country, but many people have lost faith in the Catholic Church – and sadly, in God altogether.

The Catholic Church has a powerful strong identity because the Pope resides in Rome in the Vatican city.

Paul in the Bible wrote a letter to the Romans – and his missionary journey ended in Rome.

There was a church that was established there that was a genuine gospel church.

It was later in history when Constantine made Christianity the official religion that it got mixed up with Roman practices and became the Roman Catholic State Church. As a result, believers who disagreed with the Catholic Church’s doctrines, were forced literally underground to meet in the catacombs.

Watch this video about catacombs in Rome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIHGlj_MoxY

Largely untouched by the Protestant Reformation, Italy has never seen widespread Biblical revival. Italians are cynical about the church even though eighty-two percent of Italians profess to be Christians. Only three percent practice their faith.

The challenges for missionaries in Italy are great. They need missionaries who are happy to go, who won’t give up, who are mature in their faith and who are willing to share the gospel with the people who may not be that interested at first, but who need the Lord.

Excerpt read from Drina Dances in Italy by Jean Estoril

 

Italy for Kids – An Adventure Book and Novel An Italy-Themed Unit for Homeschoolers – ages 7 to 11

A unique and exciting study of Italy!

The Adventure Book and Novel work together to teach your kids about the country of Italy.

Your kids will embark on a thrilling adventure in Italy, and have a ton of fun learning about it in a way they’ll never forget!

THIS UNIT CONSISTS OF:

Italy Adventure Book (learning pages, and tons of activities to work through)

and

and Olive Oil Operation in Italy (a novel to read)

Available in Print and Digital Format

https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Sights-Pages-italy-11.pnghttps://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ITALIAN-food-cuisine-page-02-1.png

https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Sights-Pages-italy-01-1.png

 

 

Details about the Italy Adventure Book

‘Are you ready to have the time of your life? We’re going to go adventuring in the mind-blowingly awesome country of Italy. This is the country of Leonardo DaVinci and Julius Caesar, and the place with the Gondolas, Gelato, Colosseum and the statue of David. It’s full of history and intrigue.’ Grab your passport and let’s go! 

Your children will learn about the capital and the large cities of Italy, with beautiful landmark pages showing photos and details about each notable feature. There’s a project page where your kids stick their minibooks that they’ll make during this adventure e.g. the Italian food minibook, and Design Your Own Pizza.

They’ll learn about Vatican City, Milan, and its cathedrals, volcanoes, festivals, the wildlife, famous and the local weather.

They’ll discover how Venice is built on the water and learn about the famous David statue. They’ll color in their own flag, learn about traditional dress and discover some Italian history.

There are jokes and conversation starters to enjoy, Italian expressions to learn, fun puzzles to do and fun facts to read.

There’s a journal page to fill in, as well as secret agent clue cards to solve using secret codes from the Discovery Agent Fun Pack. There’s a page with items to cut out like map markers that you stick on the map, and passport stamps to paste in passports; plus many crafts and activities to complete.

Italian fine cuisine is covered, and at the end of your adventure you’ll plan a fun Italian meal where you cook recipes from the book. Your children will tell all about what they’ve learned during their study of Italy.

At the back of Italy Adventure, you’ll find the instructions pages, which tell you how to work through the book.

Italy Adventure is designed for your kids to read and work through over 5 days (consecutive or otherwise – your choice). 1-2 hours per day.

You’ll also receive FREE DIGITAL COPIES OF the ACTIVITY PAGES to print for other children in your family; and the Discovery Agent Fun pack with your secret codes for solving clues, passport and more.

Discover the Wonder of Italy!

 

https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Italy-Main-Page-Fun-Facts-02-1.png https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/DSC_0109.jpg https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Sights-Pages-italy-01-1.png

 

Clue Cards and Crafts! https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/To-cut-out-map-markers-ITALY-01.png https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG_8886.jpg

https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG_8888.jpg

 

Fun and Food! https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Ilaria-Flag-New.png

“Ciao! Hello to my friends from around the world! I am Ilario and I live in Venice, Italy. My father is a gondolier and I too am learning the skill. I love to float on the Venice canals, see all the historic places and think about all that has happened here in the past! Welcome to my country! I will enjoy showing you around our beautiful city.”

If you look on a map, you will see that my country is shaped like a boot. There are also two islands that are part of Italy – Sicily near the toe of the boot is the biggest island in the Mediterranean. Sardinia is smaller with amazing beaches and mountains. I love to travel there on vacation!

 

And Tons More! https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ITALIAN-food-cuisine-page-01-1.png https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/IMG_6893-scaled.jpg https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ITALY-Main-Page-02a-general-info-01-1.png

 

Details about the Olive Oil Operation in Italy Novel Book 4 in the CASE OF ADVENTURE Travel Series

What do Ren and Rome discover about the strange olive oil bottles in a restaurant in Milan? Where does Ilario, the son of a Venetian Gondolier take them to, to solve the mystery? What cheese do you eat with maggots in it? What happens in the catacombs in Rome? What kind of unusual vending machine do they discover? What is hidden in the painting of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci? What is the Trevi fountain in Milan filled with?​ Find out the answers to all these questions in this exciting children’s novel.

The carriage was rather full and I was standing near the doors as they closed. I nearly jumped through the roof as the girl standing next to me screamed! I glanced up in time to see a lady jump off the train just as the doors were closing. She threw a wallet back into the compartment. The wallet belonged to the screamer and she snatched it up, dismayed to find that her Euros were gone. I was happy that she still had her credit cards and passport!

I cast her a sympathetic glance and decided to be very aware of what was going on around me. I patted my money belt under my shirt. The train station in Milan is awesome! It’s really old and historic with a beautiful curved glass roof above stone walls. Dad told us that for every church in Rome, there is a bank in Milan. That seemed to be true as we passed a bank on every block! There were tons of restaurants too. I was looking forward to trying some Milanese cuisine.

After a few minutes of feverish searching, watched by Antonio and the policeman, Ren cried, “Look at this.” It was a part of a metal storage shelf that was closed off. There was no handle. I reached behind and ran my fingers over the cold metal. There was a lever! I pulled it and the drawer opened, revealing a piece of sackcloth. I slowly pulled the sackcloth aside and to the amazement of Antonio and the policemen, revealed..

Join Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany in Olive Oil Operation in Italy as they attempt to discover why all the olive oil bottles are empty in the restaurants of Italy! With the help of Ilario, the son of a Venetian gondolier, they uncover a smuggling operation that takes them all the way to the glass blowers of Murano.

Olive Oil Operation in Italy takes place over five cities in Italy.

 

 

https://caseofadventure.com/product/italy-adventure/

 

The post Italy for Kids appeared first on Case of Adventure.

Welcome to Romania for Kids, with Karyn from CASE OF ADVENTURE.

Romania for Kids

Romania is a country in Europe and is actually halfway between the North Pole and the equator.

The name, ‘Romania’ comes from the Latin word, ‘Romanus’, which means “citizen of Rome”. Long ago, Romans conquered and colonized the area which is modern day Romania.

There is even a city called Roman in inside Romania. So a person could live in Roman, Romania!

It is a very green and beautiful landscape with mountains, hills and plains, forests, waterfalls and rivers. There are many farms and old cities with fancy old-fashioned buildings and stunning architecture.

Sihastria Monastery Putnei

The capital city is called Bucharest. Nearly 2 million people live in Bucharest which is the 7th largest city in the European Union, after Vienna and Paris.

Romania is a fascinating country because it was one of the last countries in the world to move away from communism. Communism is when the government controls everything and takes away many of the people’s freedoms and possessions! There are still a few communist countries left in the world, but thankfully not many.

In the 1800s, a prince from Germany, became Romania’s first King – King Carol I. He declared Romania an independent and sovereign state.

Romania went through many changes in the early 1900s and then after the second world war, It’s 23 million citizens lived under the rule of one of the 20th century’s most controlling dictators. His name was Nicolae Ceauşescu.

Learning about Romania is very sad because there has been so much suffering there. But then that is true in so many countries. We should always be grateful to those who have gone before us to fight for freedom from oppression. Things in Romania are much better these days than they used to be and Romanians are working hard to recover from Communism, with the help of other countries in Europe.

Besides the large forests which cover a quarter of the country, there are many areas with flat plains for farming and rich soil for crops. There are stunning mountain slopes with ski resorts and in some places, Glaciers have formed beautiful lakes and caves. There are also salt mines, coal mines and iron mines.

Transfagarasan, Romania

In Romania you can explore bat-caves with torch lights, go for a swim in a volcano crater lake or drive out into the hills on a horse-drawn cart. You can follow the tracks of wild animals in the winter snow – the bear, the wolf, lynx, the boar or you can help milk cows in the village and even help the blacksmith in his forge! You may find that the blacksmith is also the dentist and doctor for that village!

Transylvania is a region the middle of Romania, with Bukovina in the north, Moldavia in the northeast, Dobrogea in the southeast near the Black Sea, Walachia along the southern border, and Banat in the southwest.

Transylvania includes the Carpathia Mountains and the Transylvanian Alps. Have you heard of the story of Dracula, which is set in Transylvania?

Romanian Athenaeum is a concert hall in the center of Bucharest, Romania THE LANGUAGE

The Romanian language is 1,700 years old. It continues to change and as all languages do, it borrows many words from other languages, especially French. For example, the Romanians, say Mersi (for thank you, just like the French). They just spell it with a S instead of a C.

Romanians are also greatly influenced now by American English via the Internet and television.

Hello – Bună

Good afternoon – Bună ziua

Yes – Da (just like in Russian)

No – nu

Please – Vă rog (formal)

Bon appetit or Have a nice meal – Poftă bună!

THE FLAG, CURRENCY AND NATIONAL ANTHEM

You can listen to the Romanian national anthem here on this video from youtube and see the English words as you listen to it sung in Romanian.

The Romanian flag is divided into three equal vertical stripes – dark blue, yellow and red.
It is modeled after the flag of France. The colors are those of Walachia (red and yellow) and Moldavia (red and blue), which united to form Romania united in 1862.

Romanian money is called the Leu. Even though they are an EU country, they don’t use the Euro at all. The currency symbol for the leu is RON. For 1 US dollar you could buy almost 4 Romanian Leu or 4 RON.

An interesting fact is that in 2005, the leu, which is the Romanian currency, dropped four zeros. What used to be 10,000 lei (the old name) was now only 1 leu. So, before 2005, you could get 4000 Romanian Lei for 1 dollar, now it’s only 4 leu! This is because Romania’s economy was so affected by communism and international debt and poverty that their money dropped so much in value.

Peles castle, Sinaia, Romania FROM COMMUNISM TO CAPITALISM

In the 1960’s. Romania was ruled by the USSR. Romanians did not like their lives under Soviet rule, and they wanted to be independent.

One of the leaders fighting for Romania’s own interests was a man named Nicolae Ceaușescu. When he began to rule Romania as head of the communist party, he was admired by many as a leader who they thought wanted what was best for his country.
But after a brief period of ruling fairly, Ceaușescu became increasingly brutal and started to oppress the people and take away their freedoms. He controlled what people were allowed to speak of, and publish in newspapers.

Anyone who disagreed with him was not tolerated. His secret police, the Securitate, was one of the most brutal secret police forces in the world. If anyone got in the governments way, they would be put in prison or killed.

In 1982, Ceaușescu ordered that most of the country’s farm crops as well as goods made in factories should be exported. This meant they were sold to other countries. He did this because he wanted to pay off the debt that Romania owed to other countries but the problem with doing it in this way, meant that there were extreme shortages of food for the Romanian people as well as fuel, medicine and other basic necessities.

Living standards were very low and the people were unhappy. But Ceaușescu and his wife Elena lived a lavish lifestyle. They spent lots of the countries money on themselves. This was resented by the Romanians, who did not have enough to live on and were very very poor.

Ceaușescu also destroyed many people’s homes and made them move to apartment blocks without running water, or even glass in the windows sometimes. Historic buildings and churches were bulldozed to make way for new government buildings.

Then in 1989, the uprising began. Romanians would not follow Ceausescu any longer.

The trouble started when a Reformed church pastor refused to leave his church in Timisoara. Crowds grew as more people protested with the pastor against Ceausescu and against communism in Romania. Ceausescu ordered his troops to kill the protesters, which they did. He then warned that any other protesters would be shot.

He organized a great rally, to force citizens to show their support for his leadership. But the citizens were angry, and their feelings were caught on television. All over the country, people started demonstrating. Ceausescu and his wife tried to flee from Romania, but they were caught, convicted of crimes against their country, and executed.

This was a new beginning for Romania. Today, Romania has a democratic form of government and is trying to make progress in recovering from Ceausescu’s terrible control over them.

The communist rulers did not manage Romania’s economy well, and many citizens are still very poor, even today.

The largest of Ceaușescu’s government buildings is called the People’s Palace or the Palace of Parliament. It is gigantic! Huge vaulted rooms, marble staircases big enough for giants, and chandeliers the size of small cars.

Romania Palace of Parliament

There are a lot of very sad and dark things about Romania’s past. One of the saddest was the state of the orphanages where many of the children had lived during Caucescu’s rule. These orphanages had been kept very secret and even the Romanian people were shocked to discover how awful the conditions were for the children.

When the revolution was over, the newspapers published photos of the awful conditions that the children lived in and the world was shocked. The new government ordered that these terrible places were closed. The problem was that many of the children had nowhere to go.

Many children who were once part of the awful orphanages of Romania’s past now had nowhere to live except the hot and damp smelly sewer tunnels underneath the streets of Romania. Today, you can find many people living down there.

MISSIONARIES IN ROMANIA

A man named Pastor Wurmbrand and his wife grew up in Romania and became missionaries there druing the time of the communist government. He was imprisoned for 14 years for his faith and his wife for many years as well. They underwent terrible suffering for Christ

After Pastor Wurmbrand was freed, he started an organization called Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) to support missionaries in persecuted countries.

I’m going to tell you a story which is written about his son trying to visit his parents while they were in prison.

This story is taken from Voice of the Martyrs, Kids of Courage – Bold Believers, in Romania. Voice of the Martyrs has many excellent resources to learn about believers in many countries of the world.

Thirteen-year-old Mihai boarded the train in the middle of the night. He was on his way to visit his mother at a Romanian prison.

At 6 a.m. after a long, cold, five-hour ride, he and the family members of other prisoners came to a train station. They got off the train and walked for an hour in the snow to the prison. Then they stood in the snow for a very long time. Nothing happened.

Finally they saw a long line of prisoners trudge by. A guard yelled, “Go home! No visit today! The prisoners did not obey orders well enough to have visitors.” Sadly Mihai and the others got back on the train and went home.

Another time, Mihai visited his father in prison. This time, the guards let him inside the huge wooden doors of the prison. He was taken past more doors to a room with a long table in it. Policemen sat on both sides of the table. Mihai saw a door with a small window in it about 15 feet away. A sliding door over the window could be opened or shut. Then Mihai saw his father’s face in the window!

Mihai trembled. Pastor Wurmbrand had been in prison for so long and visits were so rare. “He looks older,” thought Mihai. “Mihai has grown so much,” thought his father. Pastor Wurmbrand knew prison visits could be very short. He would have time to ask only the most important questions and say the most important things.
“How’s your mother?” Mihai’s father called out to him.
“You must not ask about family!” yelled a policeman before Mihai could answer.
“How is my court case going?” asked Pastor Wurmbrand.
“You are not allowed to talk about your case!” said a police officer.
“Remember, Mihai,” called his father quickly, “there is a God, Jesus is our Savior, and
love is the best way…”
The door over the window slammed shut. The visit was over.

Mihai’s mother Sabina was released from a Romanian prison a year later when he was 14. She had been in prison for teaching people about Jesus. Pastor Wurmbrand, Mihai’s father, was still in prison for the same reason.
After Sabina was freed, many visitors came to their small home. They came to talk and to
pray, and they came for advice. “
Sometimes spies came to visit. They wanted to find out which visitors were Christians so
they could turn the names over to secret police. At that time, Romania was still a
communist nation, and believers were often arrested.
“My mother welcomed those enemies, too,” said Mihai. “She hugged them like she
did everyone else. Sometimes she preached to them.”
Often the Christians knew which visitors were enemies. Mihai did not like the spies.
If it weren’t for them, maybe his mother and father would not have gone to prison.
One day, after Sabina greeted a spy with a hug, Mihai complained. “Don’t you know
who that is?” he asked his mother.
“Yes,” his mother answered. “Mihai, NOW is the time. Now, when hate starts in
your heart, you must love your enemy. You don’t go on a trip someday and look for
enemies to love. You can’t decide to plan a party and invite your enemy. You must
love your enemy now.”

FAMOUS PEOPLE AND CUSTOMS

Romania has had many extraordinary inventors, such as Nicolae Constantin Paulescu, who discovered insulin, and Petrache Poenaru, who invented the fountain pen in 1827. He also designed the current flag of Romania.

The only gold museum in Europe is in Romania. It has over 2,000 pieces of gold, gathered from around the world. There is a tiny lizard-shaped piece of gold which is worth 3 million euros because it’s so unique.

Strada Sforii, which means rope street is said to be the narrowest street in Europe.

In Romania, the 1st March is celebrated as the first day of spring. They call it Martisor and celebrate it with traditional gifts and dinners. It is a bustling, but very special time of the year when every city, town and village is brought to life by heaps of colorful stalls selling the so-called “Martisoare”.
Men and children scour the markets and shops in order to find the most beautiful martisoare for the ladies in their lives. The, ladies look forward to wearing these charms pinned to their fanciest clothes.
In the old days, the “martisor” was an important custom, the peasants offered loved ones lucky charms or twisted wool threads to protect them from disease and bad luck. Nowadays they are just a fun tradition.

Folk festival organized by the City Hall Timisoara.

Have you heard of Nadia Comăneci? She is a well-known gymnast who grew up and trained in Romania and when she was only 14 years old, she went to the Olympic games in Montreal and received the first perfect ten score ever. She was so good that she got seven perfect tens during her events and won gold medals for Romania.
Later she defected to the United States and now lives there with her husband and son.

‘When we went to Canada, it was like going to the moon,’ Nadia says. ‘Things you only dream about – blue, pink, white socks, sparkly hair bands and clips, leotards in different colors.

Nadia remembers every moment of that first perfect performance. ‘You have butterflies, thinking, “I want to be the best.” It doesn’t matter how well prepared you are, you can always make a mistake. I thought, “I’m going to get a 9.9.” Then I heard a big noise in the arena. When I turned round I saw 1.00.’ The scoreboard couldn’t show a ten because its maker had been told the score wasn’t possible.

‘In my mind I thought, “That’s weird.” One of my teammates said, “It’s a ten!” I don’t think I understood what it meant. I knew ten was the highest score but I didn’t know I’d made history that day. I thought, “I’ll think about it later.” I was on the beam next and had to think about that.

For Nadia, life changed very little after that Olympic games, even though she was now a star.
She continued to train eight hours a day, she was now under constant surveillance from communist guards. Romanian dictator, Nicolas Ceauşescu’s harsh government prevented any Romanians from leaving the country.

When Nadia was 18 years old, she won two more gold medals and two silver at the olympics. But any liberation she’d felt abroad was taken from her the moment she returned to Romania because her coach Bella Carolje? had defected to the United States.
Now permanently guarded, she was even followed when doing her laundry or visiting the shops in case she tried to escape from Romania.

She did eventually escape. In 1989, she decided she’d had enough, and joined a group of Romanians being smuggled into Hungary. Fleeing the country in the middle of the night, she was forced to trudge through snow for six hours and wade through an icy lake to escape the brutal regime.

 

WHAT ARE THE HOMES LIKE?

They have pretty wood carvings everywhere, scroll-shapes, flowers, diamonds and circles are carved along roof borders, walls and fences.
The houses are cheerfully painted with bright colors like yellow or orange or pale green or blue.

Romanian houses

Pretty outdoor areas, gates and gardens invite you inside. Even though its people have a history of poverty, they always work hard to make their homes inviting, as hospitality is important to them. Living in a cheerful place makes all the difference.

THE ANIMALS

The golden jackal is the only type of jackal that does not live in Africa, but in Europe. They are very vocal and use a wide variety of sounds to communicate. like growls, howls, and even hooting like an owl.

The white-tailed Eagle has the largest wingspan of any eagle and can fly up to of 70km per hour. Some live as long as 25 years.

White tailed Eagle

There are at least two breeds of Romanian buffalo, the Carpathian buffalo, and the Danubian buffalo. River buffaloes like deep water, but swamp buffaloes prefer to wallow in mudholes.

Many cheeses are made from the milk of these buffaloes – have you ever heard of buffalo mozzarella? It’s a real thing! Male Romanian buffalo horns can reach up to 5 feet in length, that’s almost as tall as a man.

Romania has the largest population of brown bears in Europe, around 6000. These bears eat 10 kilograms of food every single day! Campers are advised to hide their food up in trees or in other places to protect it from hungry bears! These bears grow very large – the biggest brown bear ever was found in Romania and weighed 480 kg – that’s as much as a small car.

WHAT IS THE WEATHER LIKE?

In Romania, summers are hot, and Winters are very cold. Temperatures can get as low as -20°C which is -4F.

MUSIC AND INSTRUMENTS

In Romania, the music is intense and emotional and tells about life’s ups and downs, about Romanian habits or about nature. Each region of Romania has its own unique music.
You can hear traditional music at music festivals, weddings or in the countryside. Of course, traditional Romanian musicians use instruments like drums, guitars and violins. Then there are the more unusual ones.

I’m sure you’ve heard of wind instruments? Those are instruments that you blow air into and sound comes out the other end. These kind of instruments are often used in traditional Romanian Music.

The taragot is one of them. Picture a long tube with holes in it which is wider at the bottom than at the top.

The “ţilinca” is a wind instrument shaped like a really long narrow tube with holes only at the top and bottom. This instrument sounds similar to the flute.

Another popular wind instrument is the panpipe. The pan pipes were used in the story of the Pied Piper.
Did you know that the bagpipe is played in Romania?
The Cimpoi (pronounced shimpoy) is the Romanian bagpipe! It’s different to the Scottish bagpipe in that it has a single drone instead of three. It is used mainly in dance music. There are about ten traditional melodies, each paired with a different rhythm.

A traditional Romanian bagpipe. TRADITIONAL FOOD

When I read about Romanian food, I notice how so many of the traditional foods seem to have come from the time when there was not much to eat. They focus on dishes made from every part of the animal and often in soup form to stretch the food and make it feed as many people as possible.

Romania holds the record for the worlds’ longest sausage. It was 39 miles (which is 62km) long.

Romania is also the 9th largest producer of wine in the world.

Romanian speciality dishes include grilled meatballs, meat wrapped in cabbage leaves, pork stew with garlic and onions and doughnuts made with cream and cheese.

Above all, home-cooked peasant food is the norm.
Sour soup usually acts as the starter, mămăligă (like polenta) with sarmale (cabbage rolls) is a typical main course. Romanians love smoked bacon, known as slănina afumată.

Iorba de Burta (tripe soup) is one of the most popular soups in Romania. That is made with the stomach of a cow, lots of garlic, sour cream and vinegar and is served with hot chilli peppers. Sounds spicy – I’m sure it helps to keep you warm in those cold winters!

You will sometimes come across chicken, beef and fish in Romanian food, normally it will be Pork. The Romanians love to eat pork. Don’t be surprised to see all parts of the pig on the menu – the tongue, the liver, feet, ears, stomach and brain.

Papanasi is a cottage cheese dessert where the cheese is rolled into a donut-like shape, filled with sweet cream and topped with jam or berries.

Romanians also love to barbecue at their celebrations!

Pizza is also very common in Romania – in some towns your only restaurant choices will be Romanian and a pizza joint.

Romania has mastered the art of lemonade. Every restaurant offers it freshly squeezed with very interesting flavors from basic mint to mixed berries.

FUN FACTS

The city of Caracal has a few amusing things that have happened to it.
The fire lookout tower burnt down,
The front door of the police station was stolen,
Their cemetery is on Resurrection Street and their prison is on Freedom Street.
They have only one school, and that school is called School Number 2.

You may remember hearing about Ceauşescu ordering that the land be cleared and people’s houses bulldozed to make space for the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest. Well, that is the second biggest government building in the world, after the Pentagon in the United States of America. It is the largest, heaviest, and most expensive administration building on earth! Inside you’ll find 3,500 tons of crystal, 480 chandeliers and 1,409 lights.

We couldn’t think of any jokes about Romania, but whenever I ask my daughter where she’d like to live when she’s grown up, she always says she’s going to Romania… remain here!

Romanian people have gone through so much and are greatly in need of the good news of the gospel. There is much we can learn from all they have been through. It’s a beautiful country to visit.

Now that the country is no longer closed, Nadia Comaneci has been able to return and she does so, many times a year to train young gymnasts and to help the new generation to have hope for the future.

We hope you enjoyed this Romania for Kids podcast!

 

Have you seen our product ROMANIA ADVENTURE and the NOVEL, “ROYAL RENDEZVOUS IN ROMANIA”.

 

Romania for Kids – An Adventure Book and Novel

 

A Romania-Themed Unit for Homeschoolers – ages 7 to 11

A unique and exciting study of Romania!

The Adventure Book and Novel work together to teach your kids about the country of Romania.

Your kids will embark on a thrilling adventure in Romania, and have a ton of fun learning about it in a way they’ll never forget!

THIS UNIT CONSISTS OF: Romania Adventure Book (learning pages, and tons of activities to work through) and Royal Rendezvous in Romania (a novel to read)

Available in Print and Digital Format

 

https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Romania-Main-Page-01-Welcome-Intro-03.pnghttps://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Sights-Pages-Romania-01.png

https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Romania-Main-Page-01-Welcome-Intro-04.png

 

 

https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG_3908.jpg

Details about the Romania Adventure Book

HEY THERE TRAVELER! Are you ready to have the time of your life?
We’re gonna go adventuring in the country of Romania. Romania is a country in Europe and is actually half way between the North Pole and the Equator. It is full of color, flowers and traditions. There are small farming commnities and exciting places to explore like Dracula’s Castle. In Romania, you can explore bat caves by torchlight or go for a swim in a volcano crater lake. Grab your Passport and let’s hit the road!

You can use this book as a springboard for your students to delve into a study of Romania and its unique history. Romania Adventure contains a variety of fun activities, as well as lots of information about the country. Your children will learn about the culture of Romania, their festivals, traditional dress, landmarks, music and language. They’ll read about the currency, the cuisine, the animals, and the people. There are jokes and conversation starters, as well as fun facts (Romania holds the record for the world’s longest sausage – 39 miles long!)

Your kids will enjoy learning about how Romanian pottery is made, Romanian folk dancing and Embroidery, how to make Sarmale, and about the spectacular palace of the Parliament. They’ll test out phrases in Romanian and design the own embroidery patterns.

You’ll find a fun detailed map of Romania, as well as a page with map markers, passport stamps and airplane tickets. You’ll decipher hidden messages that tell you more about the country using the secret codes from the Discovery Agent Fun Pack. 

You’ll end your study of Romania with a celebratory meal where your kids will use the recipes from the book and talk about all they’ve learned. There are cute food flags that you can make for decorating your Romanian meal!  

At the back of Romania Adventure, you’ll find the instructions pages, which tell you how to work through the book.

Romania Adventure is designed for your kids to read and work through over 5 days (consecutive or otherwise – your choice).

plus you’ll receive FREE DIGITAL COPIES OF the ACTIVITY PAGES to print for other children in your family; and the Discovery Agent Fun pack with your secret codes for solving clues, passport and more.

Discover the Wonders of Romania!

 

https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Nadia-Comaneci-minibook-smaller-01.png https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Romania-map-New4-01.png https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Romania-Main-Page-01-Welcome-Intro-05.png

 

Jokes and Cut-Outs! https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Romania-Fun-page-01.png https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG_8899.jpg

https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG_8900.jpg

 

A Tour of Romania! https://caseofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG_1477.jpg

Welcome to my beautiful country – Romania. Our land is full of color, flowers and traditions. My name is Rozalia (Row-zah-lih-a) and I’m delighted you have come for a visit!I love making new friends and I can’t wait to show you around!

Romania is a country in Europe that is exactly halfway between the North Pole and the equator. It’s full of color, flowers and traditions. There are small farming communities and exciting places to explore like Dracula’s castle, underground tunnels and bat caves by torch light. You can go for a swim in a volcano crater lake and meet country folk who weave their own cloth!

I hope you have so much fun exploring!

 

 

 

Details about the Royal Rendezvous in Romania Novel. Book 6 in the CASE OF ADVENTURE Travel Series

Dad smiled at us, “We’re going on an adventure tonight. It seems that Rozalia is in some danger. Alexandru was concerned that his phone might be bugged, so he didn’t say the name of the place, but he said to meet where you first met Rozalia, at 9pm. I knew my detective kids would be up for it!”

“The market!” I exclaimed. We chatted about the implications of our night adventure.

Join Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany as they help their new friend, Rozalia, solve the mystery of the missing rare books. They have the time of their lives experiencing Romanian culture, tasting the food, and solving puzzling clues together … and there’s something intriguing about Rozalia that they just can’t quite figure out!

Join the Gray family as they solve puzzling mysteries in many exciting countries of the world.

 

 

https://caseofadventure.com/product/romania-adventure-book-including-story-and-activities/

The post Romania for Kids PODCAST episode plus FREE Printable PACK appeared first on Case of Adventure.

Welcome to Madagascar For Kids with Karyn from CASE OF ADVENTURE!

Madagascar for Kids

Today we are going to be talking about Madagascar.

Madagascar is a BIG island off the coast of Africa – it’s the fourth largest island in the world. It’s even bigger than Great Britain and almost as big as the state of Texas.

It’s home to thousands of animal species, such as the well-known lemur. Many species are not found anywhere else in the world like the fossa, the tomato frog, the sifaka (pronounced shifark) and the indri which are also part of the lemur family.

In Madagascar you will find lush rainforests, beaches and coral reefs, mountainous areas, irrigated rice fields and extinct volcanoes. The “Avenue of the Baobabs,” is a dirt road lined with massive old, old trees called baobab trees. Some of the trees are 800 years old!

It was the famous explorer, Marco Polo who first called the island Madagascar – by accident actually. He thought he had visited the Somali port of Mogadishu and got the name wrong – he wrote Madageiscar in his memoirs – and so the Island became Madagascar.

Madagascar has gone by many names. When it became a free country in 1958 it became the Malagasy Republic, then in 1975, its people renamed it the Democratic Republic of Madagascar and then in 1993, it changed its name to the Republic of Madagascar.

The busy capital of Madagascar is Antananarivo.  Some people use its French colonial name Tana but Antananarivo is it’s real name.

The president of Madagascar has the longest surname of any president anywhere in the world. His name is Hery Rajaonarimampianina, (AIR-ee rah-zhow-nah-ree-mahm-pee-AHN)

THE LANGUAGE

Madagascar has two official languages, Malagasy and French.

The Malagasy Language doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world. There are lots of different versions of the language – or what we call dialects so it can be a bit confusing if you are trying to learn the language.

hello is  Manao ahoana (manna horna)

goodbye is veloma (filorma)

yes is eny (yeny)

no – tsia

My name is Karyn.            No anarako dia (nuw anara ku dia) Karyn.

Now you try with your name in there!

THE FLAG AND THE CURRENCY

The flag of Madagascar has two stripes going across – red on top and green below. Then there is a white stripe which goes down the left of the flag.

The flag used to be just red and white. Soon after WWII, Madagascan people fought a war to try to become independent from France but they were defeated. It was only about ten years later that France allowed them to start to become independent and their flag was chosen.

The white is said to stand for purity and the red for sovereignty; the green represents the coastal regions and symbolizes hope.

Madagascar has its own independence day to celebrate when they officially became independent from France’s rule over them. Their independence day is the 26th June. They celebrate with music and dancing and fireworks! There are no laws against fireworks in Madagascar – so they go wild. It’s a little scary!

You can listen to the Madagascan national anthem on Wikipedia here.

The currency that the people of Madagascar use is called the ariary (uh-ri-harry). For 1 US dollar you could buy almost 3000 madagascan ariary , for 1 British pound you could get about 4000 ariary and for 1 South African rand about 220 ariary.

Now I’m going to tell you about a queen  from long ago in Madagascar.

During the 1800s, Queen Ranavalona wanted to preserve Madagascar’s traditional beliefs and she decided to send lots of missionaries who had come to share the gospel, back home to their own countries. Many Christians were persecuted, and some were even put to death.

When this queen died, Queen Ranavalona II said that Madagascar would be a Christian country. These days there are catholic church and protestant ones and many missionaries have been able to return to Madagascar to tell people about Jesus because calling it a Christian country doesn’t mean all its people know about Him.

There is a link to a video by a missionary to Madagascar below.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT MADAGASCAR

There is a beautiful and valuable blue gemstone that I’m sure you’ve hear of that you find a lot of in Madagascar. That is the sapphire. Blue is the most common color, but you actually also get pink, yellow, green, white and a very funny color called padparadscha which is a creamy pink. Wouldn’t you love to dig and find some of those gems in your garden!

Now, much of the vanilla used all over the world comes from Madagascar. The Coca-Cola Company was a major buyer of vanilla from Madagascar. In 1985 Coca-Cola introduced the New Coke formula which involved using a synthetic flavor, instead of real vanilla and suddenly Madagascar were selling a lot less of their vanilla and they became even poorer. So it turned out to be a good thing, that many people who liked to drink coca-cola, didn’t like the new flavor and so Coca-Cola switched back to using real vanilla and Madagascar’s started to make more money again and their economy grew again.

ANIMALS OF MADAGASCAR

There are a huge amount of animals found in Madagascar and most of them you won’t find anywhere else on Earth.

There are no poisonous snakes at all in Madagascar – Isn’t that wonderful!

I’m sure you’ve heard of the ring-tailed lemur. There are so many different kinds of lemurs in Madagascar.

Quite a few of the animals are on the endangered list. The silky Sifaka, a lemur, which is one of the rarest mammals on earth. Its name means angel of the forest” and refers to its white fur.

The rare Ploughshare tortoise is also endangered.

Then there is the Aye-aye which has the ears of a bat and the teeth of a rat. It also has really long middle fingers which it uses to dig out bugs from underneath the bark of trees – because it like to eat bugs!

The flat-tailed gecko looks just like a dried brown leaf and can easily camouflage itself in a tree. There are tenrecs, chameleons and pochards.

Fossas can climb down trees backwards. Their main food is lemurs! They are very agile climbers and efficient hunters – they are ambush predators.

Download the printable pack including the Madagascar animal cards to learn more about these wonderful creatures.

THE MARKETS AND CULTURE

In Madagascar there are many open air markets where people sell all the goods they have made. People spread out blankets and then spread all their wares on it. Sometimes wares are displayed up and down winding staircases and in alleyways in every available space! To buy something at one of these markets you need to learn how to bargain! This might feel awkward at first, but it is perfectly normal to act unhappy and disgusted when someone offers you a price for something. This is the signal to the seller that the bargaining can begin. Don’t accept that first deal! When most Malagasy realize you’re a foreigner, they’ll assume you are wealthy and give you a price that is three times what it needs to be. Always negotiate.

The Malagasy people sell many handmade things including wallets made from alligator skin and wooden musical instruments. Binding books is also very cheap- they can be bound in alligator skin.

Men like to wear the Vongu vongu which is a traditional silver bracelet which is often given to them by their ancestors and passed down from generation to generation.

Would you like to try the Malagasy handshake? Hold out your hand to shake, but before you shake, grab your forearm with your other hand and bow slightly while you shake.

In rural areas, the people wear traditional dress. For men, this would be a large shirt and shorts or long pants, while women may wear dresses with gathered skirts or wrapped skirts with a top and a rectangular shawl, known as alamba. People of the middle class wear Western clothes like you and me, with blue jeans being a favorite among the young.

An unusual thing that they do, is once every few years, they go to their ancestors grave, remove the bones and have a party with them before returning the bones to the grave. the festivities of famadihana are a way to shower love and affection upon their ancestors.

WHAT FOOD DO THEY EAT?

Rice is their main food. They eat lots of rice,

They eat it in giant portions – it’s the base of all almost their dishes.

In fact, the word “to eat” in Malagasy is “mihinam-bary”, which means “to eat rice.”

So they would start with a BIG bowl of rice and then add a bit of meat like chicken or beans and a bowl of broth. When eating rice, you would use a spoon to lift the rice to your mouth and a fork to help scoop the rice onto your spoon.

Some Malagasy claim they don’t sleep properly if they haven’t had rice in the day.

Madagascar has one of the highest rates of stunted growth in children. That means that the children don’t grow properly because their meals rely too much on rice and they don’t have enough meat or vegetables, so they don’t have the nutrients they need to grow properly.

While poor people eat mostly rice, richer people have a bit more variety

In Madagascar, a traditional meal is typically eaten on the floor.  Food items are generally served on a single plate and eaten with a spoon. Meals are served when they are steaming hot.  No drinks accompany the meal, nor do any type of starters or appetizers.  The traditional meal is made up of three of four dishes, followed by a dessert of some kind, usually made from local fruits and vanilla.
If you eat out at a Madagascan person’s house, you should make sure to finish your food, but don’t eat too fast. The people have a saying “ Wise will pretend to be full but the foolish will just stuff their faces”. You should eat same speed as host and when they are done, you are done. If you eat too quickly and guzzle your food,  they will bring you more but it might be their food from the next day.

Fruits like jackfruit, longan, avocado, custard apple, breadfruit, and baobab all grow in Madagascar. Madagascar has a yummy snack called Koba. This is made of rice, peanut and banana, mixed and turned into a pâté.

Malagasy Romazava is the national dish of Madagascar.  It is a meat stew filled with a combination of green leafy vegetables.  It is served over rice.

Street food is mostly deep fried. They enjoy fried potato cakes like potato mash with ground beef or deep fried bananas or bell peppers. The street vendors also sell cold potato or pasta salad.

If you are going to eat cold salad with mayonnaise in it from a street vendor, you should do so early in the morning because their mayonnaise is egg based and the food you buy is not refrigerated,  So it can go off quickly.

WHAT INTERESTING PLACES COULD I VISIT?

Madagascar has the third largest coral reef in the world, the Toliara coral reef.

There is also an entire forest made of stones. Madagascar’s Stone Forest, Tsingy, has big, tall stones naturally lined up with trees.

The Ranomafana National Park has many beautiful streams splashing through densely forested hills. The park is home to the endangered golden bamboo lemur, an animal whose diet includes bamboo shoots that contain doses of cyanide, a poison that would be lethal to other animals, yet the charming golden lemur feeds on the bamboo with no problem at all.

The Royal Hill of Ambohimanga is a historical and sacred village that was once home to Madagascan royalty – so there are palaces and filled with King’s possesions, drums and weapons.

At the Ile Sainte Marie, an island off the east coast of Madagascar, the protected bays and inlets drew pirates there during the 17th and 18th centuries, and the wrecks of several pirate ships can still be viewed in the shallow waters.

Deep sea diving is a fun thing to do in Madagascar and you are able to see humpback whales in many places throughout the year.

WHAT ARE THE HOMES LIKE?

Most people live in very poor conditions without running water. Richer people live in houses made of stone and cement but there are still no carpets and the houses are not very big, but they do have running water.

Often people travel  in what they call a taxi-brousse – use 25 person minibus where they cram 50 people in it- some times the tires will blow out because its too heavy.

Carts pulled by oxen are used to transport things to market and the pousse- pousse (“POOSS-POOSS,” meaning “push-push”), a cart for passengers or goods, pulled by one man. Sometimes on a ten hour hour bus ride out to a province, travelers will go by pousse pousse . 2 people and their luggage!

Many people ride bicycles or walk to get around. There is a traffic law that you have to have a buzzer on it or your will get into trouble

A man passed a police check point on his bicycle and when he didn’t have his papers on him, he had to give the guard all his money so that they wouldn’t put him in jail.

WHAT IS THE WEATHER LIKE?

Madagascar has only two seasons, a hot wet season and a cold dry season.

There are extreme storms and occasional cyclones.

Its either dry cool and windy or warm and thundery. In the summer, you always need to have rainwear available.

A LITTLE STORY FROM A HEALTH WORKER IN MADAGASCAR

The sun was directly overhead when I reached my neighbor Vola’s home.

She stepped out of her kitchen, wiping her hands with a towel. “You are just in time — the rice is cooked!”

I unbuckled my bicycle helmet and perched it on the handlebars. Before I could accept a plate and”mihinam-bary”— literally “to eat rice” in Malagasy, to have a meal — Vola held up a pitcher of water. “Don’t you want to wash your hands first?” I snuck a glimpse at my palms. To be sure, they were sweaty and covered in dust after biking from the health clinic. I gratefully accepted the water and a bar of soap.

Parents and children alike in my village wash their hands regularly. When I led cooking classes, everyone would wash their hands before touching the food and again before they ate. Gardening lessons were the same: we finished every afternoon of digging in the dirt with soap and a bucket of clean water.  I reminded my friends and neighbors to wash their hands regularly, especially before touching their children or after using the latrine. By incorporating handwashing with soap into other activities, we made it a part of our routines. We made it a habit. Many children die worldwide from diarrhea related illnesses which are often transmitted because hands are not properly washed or not washed at all.

Let’s make handwashing a habit — and remember to keep it that way.

LET’S WRAP UP, THEN

Madagascar is the fourth poorest country in the world but also one of the safest countries to live in in Africa thanks to the unique Malagasy culture.

I have to say that while most cultures from around the world are unique, the Malagasy people take it to a whole new level.  You can see the diversity on their faces and they are some of the nicest and welcoming people you will meet.  Always extremely curious and willing to talk to you – that is if you speak Malagasy or French.

Don’t forget to download the Madagascar printable pack.

And of course, watch the wonderful Madagascar movie with your family!

We hope you enjoyed this Madagascar for Kids podcast! We’ll be back soon with the next episode of Countries for kids from CASE OF ADVENTURE.

Bye, for now!

 

Countries for Kids from CASE OF ADVENTURE!

 

COUNTRY-THEMED UNITS FOR HOMESCHOOLERS – ages 7 to 11 Unique and exciting COUNTRY Studies!
EACH UNIT CONSISTS OF: A Travel Mystery Novel to read And a Beautiful Adventure Book filled with pages of learning, and tons of activities to work through
The Novel and Adventure Book work together to teach your kids about each country. https://caseofadventure.com/united-states-for-kids/https://caseofadventure.com/switzerland-for-kids/https://caseofadventure.com/scotland-for-kids/https://caseofadventure.com/england-for-kids/https://caseofadventure.com/italy-for-kids/ https://caseofadventure.com/france-for-kids/https://caseofadventure.com/romania-for-kids/https://caseofadventure.com/product/singapore-adventure-kids-activity-book/https://caseofadventure.com/product/new-zealand-adventure-kids-activity-book/

 

In the novel, your kids will experience the country through the eyes of the Grey family as they go exploring, see the sights,  sample the cuisine, learn about the culture, and solve a mystery along the way, while completing the Discovery Agent missions at the end of each chapter!

 

In the Adventure Book your Kids will learn about the landmarks, the flag and national anthem, the capital city, languages, currency and weather of the country. They’ll study maps, learn some local expressions and jokes. They’ll solve clue cards using secret codes and complete many fun activities.

 

The instructions pages at the back of each Adventure book take you through what to do each day of the Unit. READ THE STORY  –   COMPLETE THE MISSIONS  –   EXPERIENCE THE CULTURE STUDY THE COUNTRY  –  CREATE THE MINIBOOKS  –  DO THE ACTIVITIES  –  SOLVE THE CLUES

 

Your kids will embark on a thrilling adventure in a foreign land, and have a ton of fun learning about another country in a way they’ll never forget!

 

 

 

The post Madagascar for Kids appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, you get to hear many Scotland fun facts and funnies from our book, Scotland Adventure.

Saundra, a bonnie wee lass from Scotland is your tour guide!

“Welcome to my country of Scotland. My name is SAUNDRA and I am Scottish. My Mum and Dad are Scottish as well. Dad plays the bagpipes in a pipe band and they own a smal shop that sells tartan kilts, berets, sashes and covers for bagpipe bags. Mum creates all our merchandise on her sewing machine as she’s a very talented seam-stress.

I love Highland dancing and have danced in many local competitions, wearing my kilt while I dance. The tartan on my kilt has a history that goes back many generations in our family. I love listening to my grandmother tell stories about life back then – battles between clans on the rugged moors, brave men and women – and how we won our freedom as a nation. Have you heard of heroes like Robert the Bruce and William Wallace?

 

A comprehensive study of Scotland presented in the most fun way ever! You’ll feel as if you’ve really been there! A kid’s mystery story in an Adventure Book – filled with tons of activities, learning and fun stuff to do.

HEY THERE TRAVELER!! Are you ready for your adventure in Scotland? Aye, we’re gonna have a great time because, as you’ll soon see, this country is filled with mystery! There are the misty moors, the ancient castles,  Scottish Clan Chiefs, Jacobite symbols, and even more exciting, the Loch Ness Monster as well as tales of swords stashed away in secret places. Along the way, you’ll join in the hunt for the missing honours of Scotland! Grab your Passport and let’s roll!

Visit Scotland from the comfort of your living room with Scotland Adventure.

You will learn all kinds of Scotland fun facts, mark your Scotland map using Scottish map markers, collect passport stamps in your passport, get your Scotland Rail passes, use Google Earth to find landmarks, explore Wemyss Caves and St. Andrews Castle mine tunnels, learn songs about Scotland and cook up some delicious Scottish cuisine.

Saundra from Scotland is your tour guide. She will show you her country as you read.

The post #43 Scotland Fun Facts and Funnies! appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn reads the last part of the story, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, the Grey family are guests at the amazing Edinburgh Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle. Rome has to defend the newly discovered dirk with a sword of his own!

The post #42 Scotland Part 25 – Edinburgh Tattoo and a Villain appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 24 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, Iain becomes Clan Chief and soldiers from Edinburgh Castle come to fetch the prized dirk that was discovered.

The post #41 Scotland Part 24 – Iain Becomes Clan Chief appeared first on Case of Adventure.

On the Countries for Kids Podcast from Case of Adventure, Karyn will be reading part 23 of the novel, “A Clash of Swords in Scotland” – part of Scotland Adventure. Every Monday and Thursday, listen to another installment of this exciting mystery story with Ren, Rome, Jake, Libby and Tiffany Gray.

The Gray family loves traveling the world together, exploring, meeting the local people, sampling the food and solving mysteries! They make many special friends and visit places they’ve dreamed of seeing.

In this episode, the children search the cellars and Wemyss Castle for the White Rose Jacobite symbol.

The post #40 Scotland Part 23 – Searching for the White Rose Symbol appeared first on Case of Adventure.

Two new story episodes each week on the Countries for Kids PODCAST from CASE OF ADVENTURE!

Join Libby as she explores a new landmark in a faraway place. Listen to the short story and discover some fun facts about the place.

Today, she’s visiting Pisa, Italy to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa!

Download your Leaning Tower Page for a fun activity to do! Go to CASEOFADVENTURE.COM/ACTIVITIES

 

Countries for Kids from CASE OF ADVENTURE! COUNTRY-THEMED UNITS FOR HOMESCHOOLERS – ages 7 to 12 Unique and exciting COUNTRY Studies! EACH UNIT CONSISTS OF: A Travel Mystery Novel to read And a Fabulous Adventure Book filled with pages of learning, and tons of activities to work through The Novel and Adventure Book work together to teach your kids about each country.

The post Countries for Kids Short Story #8 – The Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy appeared first on Case of Adventure.

Two new story episodes each week on the Countries for Kids PODCAST from CASE OF ADVENTURE!

Join Libby as she explores a new landmark in a faraway place. Listen to the short story and discover some fun facts about the place.

Today, she’s visiting Naples, Italy and tasting some authentic Italian pizza – in the place where pizza was invented!

Download your Naples Pizza Page for a fun activity to do! Go to CASEOFADVENTURE.COM/ACTIVITIES

Countries for Kids from CASE OF ADVENTURE! COUNTRY-THEMED UNITS FOR HOMESCHOOLERS – ages 7 to 12 Unique and exciting COUNTRY Studies! EACH UNIT CONSISTS OF: A Travel Mystery Novel to read And a Fabulous Adventure Book filled with pages of learning, and tons of activities to work through The Novel and Adventure Book work together to teach your kids about each country.

The post Countries for Kids Short Story #7 – Pizza in Naples, Italy appeared first on Case of Adventure.

Two new story episodes each week on the Countries for Kids PODCAST from CASE OF ADVENTURE!

Join Libby as she explores a new landmark in a faraway place. Listen to the short story and discover some fun facts about the place.

Today, she’s travelling to the fascinating Sea Organ in Zadar, Croatia.

Download your sea organ activity page for a fun activity to do! Go to CASEOFADVENTURE.COM/ACTIVITIES

 

 

Countries for Kids from CASE OF ADVENTURE! COUNTRY-THEMED UNITS FOR HOMESCHOOLERS – ages 7 to 12 Unique and exciting COUNTRY Studies! EACH UNIT CONSISTS OF: A Travel Mystery Novel to read And a Fabulous Adventure Book filled with pages of learning, and tons of activities to work through The Novel and Adventure Book work together to teach your kids about each country.

The post Countries for Kids Short Story #6 – The Sea Organ in Zadar, Croatia appeared first on Case of Adventure.

Two new story episodes each week on the Countries for Kids PODCAST from CASE OF ADVENTURE!

Join Libby as she explores a new landmark in a faraway place. Listen to the short story and discover some fun facts about the place.

Today, she’s travelling to the beautiful Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia.

Download your Plitvice Lakes activity page for a fun activity to do! Go to CASEOFADVENTURE.COM/ACTIVITIES

Countries for Kids from CASE OF ADVENTURE! COUNTRY-THEMED UNITS FOR HOMESCHOOLERS – ages 7 to 12 Unique and exciting COUNTRY Studies! EACH UNIT CONSISTS OF: A Travel Mystery Novel to read And a Fabulous Adventure Book filled with pages of learning, and tons of activities to work through The Novel and Adventure Book work together to teach your kids about each country.

The post Countries for Kids Short Story #5 – Plitvice Lakes, Croatia appeared first on Case of Adventure.

Two new story episodes each week on the Countries for Kids PODCAST from CASE OF ADVENTURE!

Join Libby as she explores a new landmark in a faraway place. Listen to the short story and discover some fun facts about the place.

Today, she’s travelling to the top of the Matterhorn Mountain in Zermatt, Switzerland.

Download your Matterhorn activity page. Go to CASEOFADVENTURE.COM/ACTIVITIES

Countries for Kids from CASE OF ADVENTURE! COUNTRY-THEMED UNITS FOR HOMESCHOOLERS – ages 7 to 12 Unique and exciting COUNTRY Studies! EACH UNIT CONSISTS OF: A Travel Mystery Novel to read And a Fabulous Adventure Book filled with pages of learning, and tons of activities to work through The Novel and Adventure Book work together to teach your kids about each country.

The post Countries for Kids Short Story #4 – Matterhorn, Switzerland appeared first on Case of Adventure.

Two new story episodes each week on the Countries for Kids PODCAST from CASE OF ADVENTURE!

Join Libby as she explores a new landmark in a faraway place. Listen to the short story and discover some fun facts about the place.

Today, she’s exploring Zermatt, a tiny town in Switzerland with the Matterhorn mountain.

Download your Zermatt activity page. Go to CASEOFADVENTURE.COM/ACTIVITIES

Countries for Kids from CASE OF ADVENTURE! COUNTRY-THEMED UNITS FOR HOMESCHOOLERS – ages 7 to 12 Unique and exciting COUNTRY Studies! EACH UNIT CONSISTS OF: A Travel Mystery Novel to read And a Fabulous Adventure Book filled with pages of learning, and tons of activities to work through The Novel and Adventure Book work together to teach your kids about each country.

The post Countries for Kids Short Story #3 – Zermatt, Switzerland appeared first on Case of Adventure.

Two new story episodes each week on the Countries for Kids PODCAST from CASE OF ADVENTURE!

Join Libby as she explores a new landmark in a faraway place. Listen to the short story and discover some fun facts about the place.

Today – it’s up the Eiffel Tower!

Download your Eiffel Tower activity page. Go to CASEOFADVENTURE.COM/ACTIVITIES

Countries for Kids from CASE OF ADVENTURE! COUNTRY-THEMED UNITS FOR HOMESCHOOLERS – ages 7 to 12 Unique and exciting COUNTRY Studies! EACH UNIT CONSISTS OF: A Travel Mystery Novel to read And a Fabulous Adventure Book filled with pages of learning, and tons of activities to work through The Novel and Adventure Book work together to teach your kids about each country.

The post Countries for Kids Short Story #2 – Up the Eiffel Tower appeared first on Case of Adventure.