Let's Slip-Slop-Slap and Explore A Bit of Australia in San Diego - Australia Part 4

Three local spots with Australia connections

These totem poles welcome you to the Australian Outback section of the San Diego Zoo.

Slip-Slop-Slap is an iconic Australian sun protection campaign which has successfully reduced cancer rates in the Sunburnt country. So let's slip on long-sleeved clothing, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat and go explore three Terhific local spots with Australia connections.

1. The San Diego Zoo

 The San Diego Zoo is home to a fairly new Koalafornia exhibit in the Australian Outback section of the zoo. There you can visit many native Australian animals such as Koalas, Tasmanian Devils, Kookaburras, Wombat and Wallabies. You can also have Breakfast with the Koalas, Adopt a Koala or organize an Aussie Outback Birthday Bash for your child. The San Diego Zoo's website is also a great resource on animal facts. My favorite is the Koala Cam through which you can take a look what the Koalas are doing right now. Usually, not much is happening on the Koala exhibit, as those cute cuddly animals like their beauty sleep.

2. San Diego Botanic Garden 

There is an Australian Garden at the San Diego Botanic Garden. There are kangaroo paws, bottle trees, firewheel trees, and many low water landscape plants. I do not have pictures of the Australian Garden as the Hamilton Children's Garden and the Seeds of Wonder usually take up most of our time. Our family really likes the San Diego Botanic Garden. Every year the landscape looks more mature and there are wonderful children's programs and activities. Thursday Family Nights during summer months are a lot of fun as well. Musical Groups entertain both adults and children.

3. Australian Garden at Balboa Park

The Australian Garden at Balboa Park is located in the Gold Gulch, southeast of the Spreckles Organ Pavillion. In actual fact it is quite difficult to find it. We stumbled upon it when we walked from the international cottages to Independence Point. If you turn from Park Boulevard to President's Way, then the garden will be on the right, just before the parking lot on the right. There are no signs that indicate that you have arrived in the Australian Garden. You'll just have to be on the look out for Native Australian plants and trees. The garden contains Grevellia, Acacia, Callistemon, Banksia, Hakea, Stenocarpus, Leptospermum, Melaleuca, and Gum trees (Eucalyptus). My kids were happy to look at the trees, and especially happy when they found a worm!

Native Australian plants and animals do well in San Diego as the climate is very similar to coastal Australian weather. When I started looking into Aussie things to do in San Diego, I stumbled upon this article: Get a Taste of Australia in San Diego. It is a good read especially for those Australians who are living in Southern California and feeling home sick.

The time is starting to run out and Australia Day is coming up soon. The Australian community is getting together in a park here in San Diego this weekend! Let's hope that the weather and the sun remind them of home!

Go Troppo over Australian Online Resources - Australia Part 2

Australian Overview, People and Animals

Overview

I like to start our online research by finding overview video clips. The Australian Tourism Board seemed to have the nicest ones. These two are my favorite ones.

I found a gem of a paper on the Australian Embassy's Website. Take a look at Tell Me About Australia Fact Sheet. It has educational information for children (K-8) on geography, unique wildlife, environment, history, aboriginal culture & natural wonders, government, education and sports. It even includes lyrics to most iconic songs and recipes for traditional Australian treats. The booklet is so informative that you could stop your search right here if you wish! But I still need to mention that the Australian Embassy in Washington D.C is also a great resource for Australian Maps. You can print all kinds of maps from there! 

Here are also some pretty good websites for quick facts: 

• Fast Facts on Australia by Kids National Geographic
• Interesting Australia Facts for Kids by Kids World Travel Guide
• Australia by TIME For Kids
• Australia Attractions: Top 10 Destinations by Kids World Travel Guide
• Australia Guide by National Geographic. Absolutely stunning photos here.

Who Are the Australians

There are about 22.6 million Australians. Australians, just like the Americans come from all over the world. Australia welcomes lots of immigrants each year. The Australian National Anthem, I am, You are, We are Australian and I Still Call Australia Home, Wiyathul and My Island Home songs bring it home for me. What a beautiful concept - We are one, but we are many. We share a dream. I am, You are, We are Australian. I can't get through these songs without crying, so go ahead and get some tissues before you start watching.

I have always had a soft spot for native people. I grew up in Lapland along with Finland's (and other Nordic Countries) indigenous Sami people. I've always loved Sami music, arts and crafts. Here in the States we have Native Americans and in Australia there are Aboriginals. All of the first natives of the nations seem to have very strong ties to nature and they all have had to endure horrific injustices and hardships in the face of newcomers to the area.  It brings me joy to have recently found out that both Aboriginal art and music are thriving and that attitudes towards Aboriginals are becoming softer and more accepting. Let's do our part on making sure that our kids learn to be kinder and more accepting than our own generations. Through education and friendship the wounds from the past can heal. You can find out more about Aboriginals from Aboriginal Australia Art & Culture Centre. 

I always try and get my kids to imagine that they come from the country that we are studying. I ask them what their names could be, how they look like and what they would do on a normal day. This time it helped to see a day in the life of a 12 year old in Australia on the web first. It also helps to know some Aussie Slang Words. It's neat if the kids know some famous Australians. This Global Kids Show on Australia was really great for the kids:

Australian Animals

My daughter is an animal lover. She loves to do animal research. Animals seem to engage children easily. Luckily Australia is a treasure chest of unique animals that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Thus studying them is a lot of fun! I can't think of any better way to introduce my kids to Australian animals other than via Steve Irwin, the beloved late Australian Animal Enthusiast. May he rest in peace. Steve Irwin's Great Escape to Australia is a great way to get started. Here is the first part:

Steve Irwin's legacy lives in the Australia Zoo. His wife and children continue to care for animals in the zoo which is located 1 hour north of Brisbane. The zoo's website has great information on on Australian Animals, such as Koalas, Kangaroos, Wombats, Tasmanian Devils, Dingoes, Kookaburras and Echidnas. In this video clip Steve Irwin's son, Robert, gives an overview of the Australia Zoo.

The web is full of great sites for animal research. Here are two easy and simple ones for kids: A - Z Animals Online Animal Encyclopedia and Australian Fauna by Kids.Net.Au.

Hope these links and ideas help you on your journey to discover more about Australia! I would love to hear if you found something really useful here! Next parts of the Australia Studies will deal with Australian Music and Arts. 

G'Day Mate! Let's Study Land Down Under - Australia Part 1

Aussie Map, Scavenger Hunt and Library Books

My first connection to Australia came in the form of geography and social studies lessons in elementary school in Finland. Somehow I still vividly remember seeing a picture of a little boy wearing big yellow headphones in my geography book. The boy was attending school via a two-way radio. He lived so far out in the bush that he could not travel to town every day. School of the air left an impression on my young mind! I also remember seeing pictures of jumping kangaroos and cuddly koalas as well as aboriginals playing didgeridoos in my school books.

I was hooked into knowing more about Australia as a young child, but my oldest friend (we've know each other since we both were 4-years-old) was hooked even more. She decided early on that she would spend a year in Australia as an exchange student and she lunged into learning more about the country. We used to go to the library together and my friend brought home piles and piles of books about Australia. One time she also wrote a wonderful essay in which she pretended to be Jørn Utzon, the Danish architect who designed Sydney's famous Opera House. I can still vividly remember our teacher reading my friends essay in which she described the heartbreaking ups and downs of the building of the magnificent structure. My friend did indeed go and spend a year in Adelaide, Australia, during our high school years. She had an interesting and exciting year in an all girls high school with uniforms and all! We had never heard of school uniforms and all girls schools before that! Now that must have been a great experience!

Since my childhood, I have had the honor to get to know and to befriend a lot of Australians. A couple of my closest friends are Australians and I am continuously blessed with invitations to Australian events and celebrations. The best part is when my friends pull out Marmite or Vegimite and try and surprise me with it's taste. (I actually quite enjoy it.) To my own surprise, I still have never made it to Australia and neither has husband nor my children. But that has not stopped me from exposing my children to Australia and it's culture. Our studies at home always start by finding the country on the map.

We have studied Australia many times before, so I asked my kids what things they remember about Australia. My daughter said without hesitation: koala bears, kangaroos, the big red rock (meaning Uluru), and the big building with sails (meaning Sydney Opera House). My son pointed out at the picture of the Aboriginal men with spears and commented that he wants one too. (Boys shall be boys!) From there our conversation moved onto our Australian friends. We are blessed with many! Some live in Australia, some live right here in Southern California and some have spent lots of time in the Island Nation. My daughter used to giggle in delight when her Australian friends spoke to her in their Australian accents. She was only four at the time, but she found it intriguing to try and figure out what her friends were trying to tell her.

I used to travel a lot for both work and fun. Australia and New Zealand were supposed to be my next big travel destinations, but then the children arrived... I had even bought some books to prepare for the trip and now I am grateful for them even if I still have not made the long trip to Down Under. During our scavenger hunt around the house we found mostly Australian items that have been given to us as gifts. Thank you Aussie friends! Especially Karen! We put on the Wiggles CD, went on an imaginary journey around Australia in the Wiggles' Big Red Car and looked at pictures from all the books. The next day, my son wore his Australian cap to school.

We were not extremely lucky at the library this time around, but we did find a few good books about Australia. It is always better to order the books online in advance. My daughter is an animal lover. She especially enjoyed learning about koala bears through Koala by Michael Leach. Postcards from Australia by Helen Arnold was perfect for my children. Reading the book makes you feel like you've just received post cards from a friend who is visiting Australia. Living in the Australian Outback by Jane Bingham gave us insights into the lives of the Australian Aboriginal peoples in the outback.

We love many Australian children's stories as well, but I will blog separately about them soon. Next I will share my favorite online resources on Australia. What Australian things do you have at your house? A boomerang, UGG boots or... wine anyone? After all, it's Friday. Cheers!

Raising Globally Aware Children

Promoting Open-minded and Accepting Views

In the wake of the horrific events that have recently happened in France and Australia, it is time to start doing my part on preventing such acts via promoting acceptance, open-mindedness and peace towards foreign countries, people, customs and cultures. The media here in the US often tends to paint a very sinister view on all things foreign, but in real life there is more good than evil in most places on earth. Through education and exposure our children can learn to be more open-minded than our own generations. 

Since I have always been interested and curious towards foreign lands and people, I have taken a practical approach in trying to instill these values into my own children. I always imagined that I would take my children all over the world right from the start, but of course reality has hit me since and our family has not gone to many places. But that has not stopped me. I am on a mission to make sure that my kids know that people from all over the world want the same things. Above all everyone wants to be happy and everyone needs food, shelter and love to survive. And that people are much more similar than different even if they grew up on the other side of the globe of each other. The best part about knowing people from around the globe is to be able to learn from them. There are so many wonderful and endearing things about each country and culture and we can choose to enhance our own lives by including some of those customs, foods or celebrations into our routines.

My children and I have had some fun while learning about foreign countries. Often I let the kids pick a country at random, although they seem to prefer to pick countries that they have heard about through stories, friends and other connections. It is easier to start from countries that you are familiar with as well. This is how we go on about it :

1. Find the country on a map and foster friendships with people from that country. We have a world map on a wall that the kids pass every time they go into their rooms. We look at the oceans, lakes, mountains and neighboring countries. We talk about the continent. Then we open our Great Picture Atlas for Children and look at typical animals, produce, products and places within that country. My kids get excited when they find something familiar from the country. It helps to also have a connection to the country through a friend. If I know someone from the country or someone who has spent some time in the country, I try and make sure that we spend some time with them. A shared experience is the most memorable one for my children.

2. Go on a scavenger hunt around the house and find all the items that you have from that country. Place the items on a special basket or a shelf. Talk about how you ended up getting the items and what they mean to you. At our house the special basket or shelf could be full of books, souvenirs, toys, games and photographs in the end, as we keep finding more after a few days.

3. Go to the library and pick up books about the country, its people and customs. I typically look for books online in the library catalog and order them in advance, but if I have not had a chance to do that, then I ask for help from the librarians. We look for books on the country's geography, culture and customs, people and famous people, arts and crafts, cook books, children's story books with a connection to that country, etc... The librarians are always excited to help, as they think that it is neat that we go to such lengths to teach the kids something new. It is always wonderful if we can find some music from that country as well. 

3. Research the country online. We go to Kidrex.org (a child friendly search engine) and find websites, videos and music from that country. Typically I do a fair amount of searching on my own and find the best sites and videos before I go online with the kids, but my daughter is now becoming a pretty good researcher so she is starting to take over. We find and save meaningful pictures of animals, people, products, places, famous people, etc. from the country (I use Google images for this) and print them out.

4. After studying the country online and from the books, make a poster. We cut out the printed pictures and paste them onto a big sheet of paper. The kids write labels for the pictures and hang the poster on the wall. 

5. Make a craft inspired by the country. I find ideas both online and through craft books.

6. Find and visit places and/or events that tie you to the country. Museums often have exhibits from foreign lands. International communities organize cultural events. Gardens often have plants from many countries and orchestras play music from all over the world. Ethnic Food Stores are also fantastic places to explore with children.

7. Try learn a few words in a foreign language from the country. The kids have a great time trying to learn a few words in the language(s) from the country they are studying. I look for little video clips that help us pronounce the words. Warning, lots of giggles are in line if you find words that sound silly for your children.

8. Celebrate and share things that you have learned with an ethnic meal. If I feel very energetic and enthusiastic I might get the whole family involved in cooking an ethnic meal from the country. We decorate the dining room with items from the country and with the crafts and poster that the kids made. We invite friends with a connection to the country over for a meal. If I do not have the time, I keep the cooking part simple and just make one dish with the kids. Sometimes I also take the easy way out and take the family out to a restaurant for an ethnic meal.

Here is also a list of local places in San Diego that can be helpful during your studies:

• House of Pacific Relations International Cottages in Balboa Park. You can visit cottages from many countries on Sundays between noon and 4:00 pm. You can talk with the hosts and find out more about the countries and often you can taste a few treats from the specific countries as well. At 2:00 pm on Sundays there is a lawn program. East host country of the international cottages takes turns organizing a lawn program, which usually includes music and performances from that country. The schedule is posted on the International Cottages Facebook page.
• Many museums in Balboa Park have exhibitions from foreign lands. As an example, the Natural History Museum, Museum of Man and The San Diego Museum of Art currently have exhibits on Egyptian items such a mummies. The Museum of Man even has a great Egyptian themed play room for children. Mingei International Museum often has exhibits from different countries, although the focus right now is on American Folk Art. 
• There are beautiful gardens in San Diego that all have plants from foreign countries. For example, San Diego Botanic Gardens has African and Central American Gardens. There is a Japanese Friendship Garden and an Australian Garden in Balboa Park. 
• Lots of ethnic community events happen year round in the San Diego area. I find out about them through the San Diego Family Magazine's calendar. 
• Look for concerts with international themes. For example, the San Diego Symphony often performs master pieces from all over the world. Sometimes there are even concerts and performances by international groups specifically designed for children. I also find out about those via the San Diego Family Magazine.
• San Diego Zoo is full of animals from around the globe. 

After all this studying, I encourage my kids to share what they have learned with others. I also personally love to talk with people about the insights I have gained while trying to teach my kids. I embrace friendships with people from all over the world. If my kids see me do that, then they will learn to be open-minded and accepting without even knowing it.  It's time we all become peace keepers and global citizens. Through education and celebrations it can be a lot of fun!

Let me know if I inspired you to try something new with your children! I would love to hear about your experiences! From here, I will launch into covering foreign lands. I will cover Australia first as Australia Day is coming up on January 26th. Then China, as Chinese New Years is coming up in February. And from there other countries as well. I will share good resources for educating children. I hope that you join me on this international journey!

Terhific Ideas Goes Global

Sharing the good, internationally

 

I had a really good day yesterday! I gave myself an early Christmas present by registering for some classes in a local university. These little international Christmas trees greeted me at the admissions office and I felt like I had just arrived to a place where I needed to be. It has been a while since I've done something just for me. As a mom, it is so easy to put other people's needs first. But now I am determined to steal some time for studying. Nothing beats renewal and continuous learning!

 

Being around the university campus and seeing young students reminded me of my early experiences here in the States. When I first came here to study, I remember walking into the international student orientation and noticing that my peers were mostly Japanese and Chinese. I had already spent a year in England and experienced being a foreigner. Nevertheless, it took me by a surprise, as I had expected to see more Europeans in the group. Little did I know then that my first experiences in California would involve cooking Japanese food with my Japanese friends and learning the basics of Turkish language with the help of my Turkish roommate. And little did I know then that it was only the beginning of my international journey.

Nowadays I think that exposure to diverse groups of people, cultures, customs and languages during the formative years of young adulthood really shaped me as a human being. It is really eye opening to experience being the different one in a group and even more powerful is meeting wonderful people with varied backgrounds. Acceptance and appreciation towards diversity comes from exposure. In actual fact, I think that the best part of the United States is the fact that it is such a big melting pot of people from all over the world!

In the recent years my world has shrunk. Before the children were born, I had visions of taking the kids to many foreign lands. But the reality is quite different from those visions. There are many reasons for it. First of all, the kids do not particularly like to spend time in air planes and traveling with them can be stressful. Secondly, United States is quite far from many other places and tickets to other lands cost a hefty sum. Thirdly, companies in the States do not give long vacations to their employees every summer like they do in Europe. Pairing those things with high cost of living in California has pretty much made sure that my family is stuck here for the moment. 

My experience is shared by many families here in the States, and everywhere else as well.. I often hear desperation in the voice of my friends when they grieve for the lost opportunity to travel and to expose their children to different cultures. I have become pretty creative in my ways to try and make sure that my kids grow into open minded global citizens. Once year 2015 rolls in, I will start sharing my ideas about raising globally aware children. You can look forward to learning more about Australia and China in January and February. How does that sound like to you?

Today, I ran into an acquaintance from Mexico. In the end of our brief conversation I asked her whether she celebrated Christmas because I wanted to wish her Merry Christmas if it was appropriate. She replied that she is a Mexican and that Mexicans celebrate everything!  Now that answer is perfect. Even though I am a Finn and I celebrate Christmas, I can also appreciate and join in on the fun of all international celebrations. Cheers to my global community! And cheers to my readers who now access my blog from the United States, Finland, United Kingdom, Denmark, Australia, Egypt, Norway, Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey, Germany, Netherlands, France and Canada!

Sending much love to everyone!