Summer Camp wk 2 - Oceania

Here are my notes for our remaining three continents of World Geography Study this year. Welcome to "Foods of the World" week 2 - Oceania.

PDF outline maps of Oceania

Booklist: Animals of Oceania




Montessori Research & Development:

Flags of Oceania


Waseca Biomes:

Oceania Biome Puzzle

Oceania Stencil

Oceania Biome Cards
(complete list of The Peoples of the Biomes)
(complete list of The Plants & Animals of the Biomes)


Nienhuis Montessori:

Colored Globe of the Continents






Dolphin Hunting Is Their Tradition. Rising Seas Have Made It a Lifeline.
The New York Times - Mar 26, 2025

Mon - Australia

introductory map activities - trace and label outline maps

look at flags

look at biome puzzle map

from International Cooking: Food from Australia:

Australia is the world’s sixth-largest country, and the oldest, flattest, and dried inhabited continent. The middle of the country is mostly desert, but there are rainforests in the north-east, savannas in the north, and mountain ranges in the south-east.


AM - play Australia's Deadly Animals Bingo




read Wombat Stew by Marcia K. Vaughan
(sensory / mud kitchen play ideas here)

recipe - Fairy Bread
Australia

make birthday cards to send to Zac's Australian penpal, Simba

explain that it is almost the Winter Solstice in Australia

read Thank You, Santa by Margaret Wild




PM - Katy No-Pocket by Emmy Payne
(next time, read A Platypus, Probably by Sneed B. Collard III)

video - newborn baby grey kangaroo with David Attenborough

recipe - Beetroot Salad
Australia

describe Australian Burger with the Lot

Art History Kids Aug 2021 - Contemporary Indigenous Australian Art
week 1, p.14: Different Perspective

Indigenous communities are the original inhabitants of Australia, and the oldest culture in the world. Indigenous Australian communities have been making art for 55,000 years! It’s believed that this is the longest unbroken artistic tradition in recorded history.


audio - First Languages Australia

https://gambay.com.au/languages?language=Batjamalh

Little Yarns: Box Jellyfish in Batjamalh

Little Yarns: Saltwater Crocodile in Batjamalh

Tue - Papua New Guinea, New Zealand

AM - peoples of the biomes (cards) - Siawi people

A Ride on Mother's Back: A Day of Baby Carrying Around the World by Emery Bernhard

recipe - Bugandi Egg Drop Soup (Mung Bean Soup with Poached Egg)
Papua New Guinea




After Decades of Decline, a Feathered Icon Breeds in New Zealand’s Capital
The New York Times - Dec 4, 2023

read "Sandpipers" poem by April Halprin Wayland, p.19 of Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems edited by Paul B. Janeczko

sewing project for younger children
Running Stitch on Burlap




PM - Kākāpō Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot by Sy Montgomery

chap 1, "The Strangest Parrot in the World," pp.1-3

chap 2, "The Extinction That Almost Happened," pp.5-9

"A Night with Sirocco," pp.35-37

look at photos on pages 25, 53, and 67

Kākāpō Recovery
There are 242 kākāpō alive today.


peoples of the biomes (cards) - Māori people

video - New Zealand: MPs perform Māori Haka to protest against a controversial bill

update: New Zealand’s Parliament Suspends Māori Lawmakers Over Haka Protest
The New York Times - Jun 5, 2025

The Arrival of Māori

The Arrival of Europeans

Treaty of Waitangi


recipe - Vegemite Avocado Toast
New Zealand

recipe - Vegemite Lettuce & Cheese Roll
New Zealand

Wed - Tahiti (France), Samoa, Marshall Islands

AM - legends from In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World edited by Virginia Hamilton
Ta-aroa the Creator - Society Islands, French Polynesia

God Lowa the Creator - Marshall Islands, Micronesia


play Pacific Foods Bingo

recipe - Moa Fa'Asaina (Samoan Chicken)
Samoa

recipe - Pani Popo (Samoan Coconut Rolls)
Samoa

adapted from Gluten-Free Buttery Dinner Rolls





PM - The Gift from the Past by James Rumford

sewing project for older children
'Mini Landscapes in Fabric & Thread' w/ Jen Strauser

Thu - Hawai'i & Guam (U.S.), Easter Island (Chile)

AM - Island-Below-the-Star: How the First People Came To Hawai'i and Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves: The Hawaiian Monk Seal by James Rumford

figure out how to open a young coconut and drink the coconut water




PM - Tutu's Quilt: Ke Kapa Kuiki a Tutu by James Rumford

read 'Ohana Means Family by Ilima Loomis and look at taro root

recipe - Gollai Hagun Suni (Spinach with Coconut Milk)
Guam

Art History Kids May 2022 - Rapa Nui and the Mysteries of the Moai
p.18: Scientific Sketch

Of course, we have lots of play time as well! What a fun & interesting week!

Note: Zac, age 10, is looking for a chapter book to enjoy that takes place in this part of the world. I suggested Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry (Society Islands). When he gets a bit older, he can read Keeper of the Night by Kimberly Willis Holt (Guam). That one is definitely a middle school read!

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