The study of the Earth, its features its inhabitants and its phenomena… The making of maps… The only continent situated in all the four hemispheres… Both the westernmost and the easternmost State… Over 31000 lakes and the world’s longest coastline… The entire world’s population could fit into the state of… A heart-shaped coral reef. They are getting half an inch higher every year! LISTEN TO the Countries for Kids Podcast Episode 006 with your kids! The post Countries For Kids Podcast – Episode 6: Ten Fun Geography Facts and a story appeared first on Case of Adventure.

Countries for Kids from Case of Adventure

Countries For Kids Podcast – Episode 6: Ten Fun Geography Facts and a story

Welcome to Croatia For Kids with Karyn from CASE OF ADVENTURE! Download your FREE 25 page Croatia Printable Pack below with tons of fun activities for you to do! 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).   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.

Croatia for Kids

Download your free printables below: passport stamps, flags, map, map markers, word search,postcard, coloring page, recipes, national anthem and funfo! Welcome to another episode of the Countries For Kids PODCAST:  a Day in Singapore with Jake and Libby. Listen to the podcast to hear part of the story of Jake and Libby’s adventures in Singapore! Click the play button in the player to listen now (or listen in on iTunes or your favorite podcast app).   Have you seen Singapore Adventure including the story, “Trail of the Orchid”? Jake and Libby are exploring Singapore together when they receive a code message intended for someone else. As they uncover clues left by the orchid gang, they uncover some shady activity and have to figure out a way to catch the perpetrators in the act of smuggling! Plus tons of activities and clues to solve! A day in Singapore with Jake and Libby Singapore is a busy and prosperous city. Actually, it’s a city and a country! It is a large island close to Malaysia and is connected to the mainland of Asia with bridges. The name Singapore means “Lion City”. Singapore has 63 small islands around the large one. Singapore is very clean and orderly – you will get fined for dropping any garbage! You’d have to pay $1000 singapore dollars for dropping one piece of paper! They don’t even sell chewing gum in Singapore because they don’t want people spitting it out on the streets. You are only allowed to chew it, if its prescribed by your doctor. Let’s join Jake and Libby on their adventure in Singapore. It was hot and muggy…     The post A Day in Singapore with Jake and Libby appeared first on Case of Adventure.

A Day in Singapore with Jake and Libby

Welcome to Italy for Kids, with Karyn from CASE OF ADVENTURE. Today we are going to be talking about the land of pizza and ice cream! We have a FREE 24 page ITALY printable pack for you to download! Maps, flag, welcome signs, food words, fun info, crossword, word searches, coloring pages, postcards, passport stamps, journal page, recipe cards, food flags and more! Read or listen to Italy for Kids, watch the videos 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). Have you seen our awesome new product, ITALY ADVENTURE? 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 Italy Adventure. Italy Adventure includes a 35 page adventure story which takes place in five cities in Italy!  Ren, Rome, Jake and Libby need to figure out why the olive oil bottles in a Milanese restaurant get empty so fast. What could be hiding in those bottles? After an encounter with a man with a wolf tattoo in the catacombs of Rome, and a visit to an olive farm in Florence, Ilario, a local Italian boy whose father is a gondolier, takes them to Murano, where the glass blowers of Venice help solve the mystery! There are clues to solve, puzzles, crafts, jokes to tell, and lots of fun learning and activities all in one awesome Italy Adventure book!     Italy for Kids 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.

Italy for Kids

Welcome to Romania for Kids, with Karyn from CASE OF ADVENTURE. We have a fun 24 page Romania for Kids printable pack for you to download, including a crossword, word searches, coloring page, postcards, language cards, match up game, passport stamp and visa, maps pages and flag, notebooking page, recipe cards, food flags and more! Get the pack below. Read or listen to Romania for Kids, watch the videos and download the Romania printable pack. Click the play button in the player above to listen now (or listen in on iTunes or your favorite podcast app).   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. 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. 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? 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!

Romania for Kids

Welcome to Madagascar For Kids with Karyn from CASE OF ADVENTURE! We have a fun 22 page Madagascar Printable Pack for you to download, including a fill-in map, flag, passport stamps, fun info page, crossword puzzle, wordsearch postcards, collectable animal cards and more! Read or listen to Madagascar for Kids, watch the videos and download the Madagascar for Kids printable pack. Click the play button in the player above to listen now (or listen in on iTunes or your favorite podcast app).     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,

Madagascar for Kids

Have fun learning about countries with this podcast from CASE OF ADVENTURE

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Countries for Kids from Case of Adventure

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