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Geography Fair 2012


In April we participated in our homeschool group's Geography Fair.  We went the easy route because we were throwing together our project at the last minute, and chose to do our project on Chile!  It was easy because that's where Jon served his mission.  So, we had a bunch of little items that showcased the culture there.  Jon and I traced the map on a long sheet of paper, and, okay, we colored it too.  We are such control freaks.  Oh well.  The children drew little pictures/icons of exports, produce, and other things that symbolized specific things we learned about Chile.  We got to the part and everything was set up trunk-or-treat style ... which was so great!  Although, our friends in the car next to us did their report on Argentina ... the sworn enemy of Chile!

Then, came the presentation!  This was the fun part.  Eliza, Kate and I got together the day before the fair and wrote a rap for our presentation.  Then, we broke up the stanzas so each of the children could do one, and they practiced it a few times.  Of course, they still had to read, but it was a blast.  And, it was so different than everyone else's presentations ... it was actually fun!  Ha ha ha... no, everyone else had great presentations too!  Here's their rap for your enjoyment (the children couldn't get the hang of the little chant at the end; luckily Jon was there to set them straight):


Here are the words for their rap:

We're the Hill Rappers,
and we're here to say:
We're gonna tell ya of a land
called Chile, okay?

Our Daddy served his mission there,
He taught us what we know.
So sit back, relax
Enjoy the show.

It's in South America,
on the west coast.
It's long and it's skinny
and we like it the most.

They've got the ocean to the west
and the Andes to the east.
In the north there's the desert,
in the south penguins feast.

They feed their chicken fish
and it tastes real fine.
It might be confusing,
but it's all in the brine.

Apples and bananas,
beans and wheat,
corn, grapes and fish:
It's what they eat.


Santiago is the capital
with buildings galore.
They's a bunch of different colors,
who could ask for more?

You might not understand
everything they say,
'cuz they speak Espanol
Ev-er-y-day.

They've had a democratic government
since 1989
After 16 years of dictatorship
Ooh, that's fine!

The world's largest copper mines
are up near the desert,
Named Chuquicamata
and Escondida.

The Chileans, they export
copper and fish,
paper, pulp, and chemicals
and fruit if you wish.

Our time is almost up
but, first we must say:
Chile is great and good.
Go visit today!


As part of our projects, we were supposed to bring some kind of food that is native to the region or area on which we reported.  I don't remember what the above desert was called, but I believe it is from Bulgaria ... and it was YUMMY!


One family brought Flan.


Another brought ice cream (from China because it was the Chinese who first started making and eating ice cream).


The "Argentinians" beat us to the punch and brought their version of empadas.


And, here are our version .... and they were so good, if I do say so myself.  Beef, hardboiled eggs, olives, onions, cheese ... YUM!

In all, it was a great experience for my children.  Many of the moms in our group worry about their children being able to speak publicly, so they do everything they can to give their children opportunities for presentations.  After the geography fair, I have no worries about my children feeling comfortable presenting to large groups ... just the writing of the presentation needs some work!  (Thank goodness this was a family effort!)

Comments

Lynette said…
I love this! I'm hoping homeschoolers in my county will put something like this together. My co-op won't (no one cares about doing presentations; the moms just like to get together mostly so the kids can play). Thanks for sharing!! :)

P.S. Your rap was so fun! And the food looks delicious! :)
Aubrey A said…
That rap was awesome! I particularly liked Kate's beatbox! You go girl!!! And, I have to say since I've had both Argentine empanadas and Chilean empanadas (my dad went to Argentina on his mission, my brother Chile and we had a Chilean family in our ward growing up) that Chilean empanadas are WAY better than Argentine ones. Hands down!!! :)

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