Toddler Theme: London Calling

This is the first of many "Children of the World" toddler theme weeks.  Toddlers live a very ME-centric life but I wanted to start planting the seed of diversity early.  I'll stay really superficial and high-level with these particular theme weeks, because toddlers.  But, in general, you can expect a little exposure to language (if applicable), snacks & food, childhood games & activities, weather, and other country identifiers like flag, currency, etc.  And this is the really cool part...I've made several mama friends all over the world on Instagram and some have graciously agreed to help me with these themes.  For this particular week, Laura-Jane Mcdonnell (check out her IG here) provided all kinds of great ideas.  She even mailed out a postcard from London to Mia.  Thanks friend!

We started this week by checking out the United Kingdom page in the book Maps.  We learned about a few native animals, famous personalities, traditions, and some pastimes.  This book is a true treasure and we spend many rainy mornings looking through it, so it's worth checking out if you don't already own it.  I traveled to the UK several times while I was pregnant with Mia and I picked up a copy of The Paddington Treasury by Michael Bond.   It was fun to finally read through it with her all this time later.  Plus, she was pretty excited to see a picture of me I had taken at the actual Paddington Station.  She was there, too -- in my belly!  Laura-Jane also recommends Julie Donaldson books (like The Gruffalo) and Roald Dahl books as favorites.  

One afternoon, we pulled up a picture of the flag on the iPad and painted a watercolor version.  We also talked about the weather in London as compared to ours here in Denver - much more rain and cooler temperatures year round.  I showed Mia how you would dress appropriately for the rain -- wellies & an umbrella.  And they may speak the same language we do but we were able to explore the idea of accents.  A tad hard to explain but we watched the movie Mary Poppins so that she could hear the difference.  But mostly, I've just been eager to watch that movie again -- one of my childhood favorites!  I also taught Mia the song "London Bridge is Falling Down" and we had fun catching little sis Millie under the bridge.  To explore currency, I pulled out a few British pounds I had from my travels and we compared them to ours.  We discussed the physical similarities and differences between the pound and a US quarter.  And then I very vaguely introduced the concept of currency conversion by letting her count out the number of quarters it would take to equal the pound (Note: at the time of this post, GBP = $1.49US).  Since you may not have foreign currency lying around, I created this printable you could use to explore the same with your child.   

And since the real way to a toddler's heart/brain is through their stomach, we made a special meal -- bangers & mash -- to learn what a kid in the UK might have for dinner.  I prepared mash (similar to mashed potatoes and you could also stir in a soft cheese), baked beans, and sausages.  Laura-Jane said that many moms spread the mash on the plate and make a face on top of it with the beans and sausages.  Part of the fun is seeing what face you get.  She also said it's common to have tea and biscuits as a snack.  The tea is just warm milk with a couple of dunks of the tea bag to make it more official.  And biscuits are similar to cookies here in the US.  She specifically mentioned McVitie's Digestives biscuits and I was able to find those at World Market along with a pack of Walkers shortbread fingers.  Plus a tub of ABC cookies from Trader Joe's.  Never can have too many cookies, I always say!

What do you think about this "Children of the World" series?  Do you have any countries you'd like to see explored?  Do you want to provide input for a future one (I promise it's minimal effort)?  Please comment below or email me.

A summary of all London Calling week activities with links:

ACTIVITIES: Sorted British currency and compared to US currency (or use this fun printable), Played/Sang "London Bridge is Falling Down," Learned about typical weather in the UK and how to dress for it, Watched the movie Mary Poppins and noted the different accent

ART PROJECTS: Watercolored the flag of the UK

SNACK: Made bangers & mash for lunch, Had afternoon tea

BOOKS: The Paddington Treasury by Michael Bond, This is London by Miroslav Sasek, Maps by Aleksandra Mizielinska & Daniel Mizielinski, Any Julie Donaldson books but most notably The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, and Stick Man

BABY BONUS: Read BabyLit boards books -- Alice in Wonderland and Pride & Prejudice -- by Jennifer Adams & Alice Oliver

If you'd like to share a photo of your kid doing theme week activities, you can email it to me (email button in the left menu) or tag me on your Facebook photo or use the hashtag #weeklytoddlerthemes on Instagram (if you are private, just make sure I'm following you or tag me in the photo).