Argentina is a vast country located in the southern part of South America. Argentina is the eighth largest country in the world, it is the second largest country in South America after Brazil, and it's about one-third the size of the United States. The Andes Mountains and Chile border Argentina.
To the east of the Andes, the interior of the country is flat, fertile grassland called the Pampas. The eastern border of the country is the Atlantic Ocean. The high mountain spine of the Andes, called the Andes Cordillera, creates a natural 3,195-mile (5,141.9-kilometer) border between Argentina and Chile.
The country is divided into four regions: The Andes, the North, the Pampas, and Patagonia. The Pampas is the agricultural heartland.
Argentina is rich in animal species. The coast of Patagonia is home to elephant seals, fur seals, penguins, and sea lions. The waters off the Atlantic are home to sharks, orca whales, dolphins, and salmon.
In the north, there are many large cat species such as the cougar, jaguar, and the ocelot. There are also crocodiles and caiman. Flamingos, toucans, turtles, and tortoises also live in the subtropical north.
Patagonia is a sparsely populated area rich in natural resources and wildlife, including herons, condors, pumas, tortoises, and guanacos.
Nearly half of the population lives in the area around Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires has been called the "Paris of South America," because of the European influences.
1. Argentina: The name Argentina comes from the Latin word for sliver 'argentum' 2. Flag:
3. Languages Spoken: Spanish is the official language of Argentina, although English, Italian, German, and French are also spoken. 4. Words/Phrases:
Kitchen = Cocina Chef = Cocinero
Food = Comida Cook = Cocinar
5. Currency: Peso 6. National Bird: Andean condor, Hornero 7. National Animal: Jaguar 8. National Flower: Ceibo flower
9. National Tree -Red Quebracho 10. Motto: "En unión y libertad" which means “In unity and freedom” 11. History: Argentina was one of the first countries in the world to have radio broadcasting. The country’s first broadcast was made in August 1920. At that time only 20 people had a receiver! 12. National sport: Pato is a game played on horseback. It takes aspects from polo and basketball. The word Pato is Spanish for 'duck' as early games used a live duck inside a basket instead of a ball.
Tango is a very popular dance in Argentina and originated in Buenos Aries. You can’t dance the tango without a Tango Orchestra. Originally the orchestra was made up of flutes, guitar and a trio of violins. Help children make instruments to form their own band.
The Guitar
What you will need: • Paint stir sticks • Glue • Paper plate • 3 rubber bands (make sure they are big enough to go around a paper plate) • Stickers to decorate
Directions: 1. Place the 3 rubber bands around the plate 2. Glue the paint stir stick to the back of the plate 3. Have the children decorate with stickers
The Flute
What you need: • Paper towel roll • Markers • 1 rubber band • Pencil • Wax paper • Scissors
What to do: 1. Have the children draw/colour on the paper towel roll 2. With a sharpened pencil poke holes down the length of the roll 3. Cut the wax paper to fit over one end and secure with rubber band
Rayuela – Hopscotch
What You Need:
• Side walk chalk • Small stone for each player • Driveway, sidewalk, or cement area
What to do:
1. Draw a rayuela playing field on the ground like the diagram below. 2. The object of the game is to hop on one foot from boxes 1 to cielo and back ten times. When two boxes are side by side, players should land with one foot in each box. 3. On each turn a player throws a stone in one box and hops over that box. Players first throw a stone in box 1, then box 2, and so on. On the way back down the playing field the player picks up the stone before hopping in the box. 4. Players lose their turn if they hop in a box with a stone in it. Players also lose their turn if they step on a line or throw a stone outside of a box. 5. Players continue taking turns. On each turn players begin on the number they missed. The winner is the first person to land their stone in “cielo”. Cielo means heaven in Spanish. The player must hop back down the playing field to win.
Alto Ahi! – Stop There
What You Need:
• 3 or more players • Beach Ball (or any lightweight ball that wont hurt)
Instructions:
1. Initially, one player takes the ball. In that moment the rest start running away from the one who has the ball. 2. When the one who has the ball says: "Stop there…" (he has to name one of the players) and throws the ball up in the air. The one named has to look for the ball, and once he has the ball he says, "stop there" and everybody has to stop. The one who has the ball takes three steps to get nearer to his closest player, and throw him/ her the ball. 3. If he touches the person with the ball, that person has a spot, and he is now the one who has to say "stop there" and name one person. 4. If he doesn't touch the person with the ball, that person is "clean", and the one who threw the ball is called "spot". He has to throw the ball again and say "Stop there" naming someone.
Whoever gets 3 spots has to do something, which the group gets to choose like a dare. In Spanish it is called "prenda”, it consists of doing something funny.
1. The Magic Bean Tree: A Legend from Argentina
By Nancy Van Laan and Beatriz Vidal
2. On the Pampas by Maria Cristina Brusca
Use crayons, coloured pencils or markers to colour the flag of Argentina.
1. Colour the shapes numbers 1 sky blue 2. Colour the sun yellow 3. Leave the rest of the flag white.
Welcome to kids kitchen…
The “Kids Kitchen” section is an exploration of food and cuisine around the
world, each month we will discover a new country.
“Kids Kitchen” includes the following:
• Kitchen/food/cooking activities: Each month complete new
kitchen/food/cooking related activities that will teach children important
life skills.
• Activity books: Each child has received a “Together Wee Can Taste the
World” activity book, which include different food related activities. Each
month help children work on a new activity in their books.
• Local Food: You will find information about local food in each country
along with some popular recipes. Explore new foods by making some of
these recipes with the children.
• Favourite Recipe: The children’s activity books
include blank recipe pages, one for each country. You
can use these pages to record a favourite recipe; pictures of
children cooking/eating local foods, or children can draw or
cut and paste pictures of local foods.
Food fairs, Farmers Markets, drink and fruit & vegetable stands are popular in
Argentina. Children love to pretend, create your own food stand and have children pretend to own the food stand and shop at the food stand.
What you need:
• A cardboard box
• Markers, crayons, paint
• Scissors
• Pretend food
• Baskets for food
What to do:
1. Use the cardboard box and colouring utensils to decorate your food stand.
2. Set up your food stand and have children pretend they are shopping at a
food stand in Argentina.
If it is a nice day you could make your stand a lemonade and cookie stand and set up outside for neighbours, friends and family.
Did you know children should eat every colour of the rainbow each day?
Summertime is a great time for fresh fruits and vegetables. Try eating a rainbow today, what different coloured foods can you think of to try?
What you need:
• Colour template (page below) • Writing utensil • Fruits and vegetables
What to do:
1. Make a list of colourful fruits and vegetables (template on following page): • Red • Orange • Yellow • Green • Purple/Blue 2. As time goes on, check off foods on the list that you have tried.
RED ORANGE YELLOW
GREEN PURPLE/BLUE WHITE
Argentine families, like families everywhere, are busy. Because everyone is on a different schedule, they aren't able to eat every meal together. Desayuno (day- sigh-OO-noh, breakfast) is often a light meal of rolls or bread with jam and coffee. Most working people in the cities have a small comida (coh-MEE-dah, lunch) such as a pizza from a cafeteria. A farmer eats a hot dish for lunch, carried out to him in the field, of beef, potatoes, and chunks of corn-on-the-cob. Upper-class city families usually eat a large midday meal of meat, potatoes, and green vegetables.
In the late afternoon, Argentines have a snack of tea, sandwiches, and cake to hold over their appetite until dinner (cena, SAY-nah), typically eaten around 9 P.M. The teatime tradition comes from the British immigrants that brought tea to Argentina in the late 1800s.
Vendors sell food on the streets (the equivalent to "fast food"). Ice cream vendors sell helado, Argentine ice cream, and warm peanuts, sweet popcorn, and candied apples. Some vendors sell choripan (a sausage sandwich) and soda. Empanadas, little pies stuffed with beef, chicken, seafood, or vegetables, are a popular snack. Children can take vegetable-filled empanadas to school for lunch. A favourite drink is milk with chocolate syrup.
Beef is the national dish of Argentina. There are huge cattle ranches in Argentina, and the gaucho, or Argentine cowboy, is a well-known symbol of Argentine individualism. Many dishes contain meat, but prepared in different ways. A favourite main course is parrillada, a mixed grill of steak and other cuts of beef. Grilled steak is called churrasco, a beef roast cooked over an open fire is called asado, and beef that is dipped in eggs, crumbs, and then fried is called milanesa. Carbonada is a stew that contains meat, potatoes, and chunks of corn on the cob.
In many areas of Argentina, people hold festivals to honour aspects of the environment. For example, a city on the Atlantic coast celebrates the seafood harvest that is brought in from its fishing grounds. It is tradition for people to eat a seafood feast of shrimp, crab, and scallops. After the feast, a parade with people dressed in sea-creature costumes is held. Someone dressed as The Queen of the Sea leads the parade, sitting in a giant seashell.
Empanadas Salteñas
Ingredients:
• 5 ounces beef lard (suet) • 2 large white onions, diced • 2 tablespoons ground red pepper • 2 tablespoons paprika • 1 tablespoon ground cumin • 2 pounds sirloin beef, cut into 1/4-inch cubes • 2 large potatoes (1 pound) boiled to al dente, two tablespoons water reserved, and then peeled and diced to 1/4-inch cubes • 4 spring onions finely chopped • Salt, to taste • 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped • 1 recipe standard empanada dough (enough for 20 empanadas) or 20 prepared discs empanada dough • 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
Directions:
1. Melt the lard in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the white onion, lightly frying it until translucent. Add the spices and then the beef, stir frying for 1 to 2 minutes. 2. Add the reserved potato water and then the diced potato, spring onion and salt to taste. Remove from the heat and cool. Stir in the egg. 3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. If you make empanada dough, roll it out to just under 1/4-inch and cut out circles of about 4 inches in diameter. 4. Holding the circle of dough in the palm of your hand, wet the outer rim of one half of the circle with a bit of beaten egg– this will help you seal the empanada. Place a heaping spoonful of the mixture in the middle and join the two halves of the circle. 5. Going from left to right, twist and fold the edge of the dough over onto itself to form the traditional repulgue (or you could complete the seal by pressing down with the point of a fork). 6. Place on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Brush the formed empanadas with beaten egg yolk. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
Potato Gnocchi
Gnochi is a popular food item in Argentina, so much so that they celebrate Dia de Ñoquis — the Day of Gnocchi every Sunday of each month.
Ingredients
• 2 lbs potatoes • Water to cook the potatoes and gnocchi • 2 tablespoons salt • 1 tablespoon butter • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg • 1 cup all-purpose flour
Directions
1. Peel and cut the potatoes into medium-sized chunks. 2. Add enough water and a tablespoon of salt to a large pot. When the water comes to a boil, cook the potatoes over medium high heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender. 3. Once the potatoes are cooked, strain the water. Add the butter and nutmeg. Mash potatoes until they fall apart and let them cool. 4. Once the purée is cold, add the flour and combine gently and thoroughly, but don´t knead it so the dough doesn´t come out too elasticy. 5. Divide the dough into 4 or 6 portions and form ropes using your previously floured hands. 6. Cut the ropes into small chunks. Shape each gnocchi by gently pressing against the inside of a fork with your thumb. 7. Put enough water and a tablespoon of salt in a pot and boil. When it comes to a boil, add the gnocchi and cook. Once the gnocchi floats to the top, wait one minute and it´s ready. 8. Strain and serve with tomato sauce for pasta.
Alfajores (Dulce de Leche Sandwich Crème Cookies)
Ingredients
• 1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker™ sugar cookie mix • 1 cup coconut • 1/2 cup pecan halves, toasted, finely chopped • 1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened • 1 egg • 1 can (13.4 oz) dulce de leche (caramelized sweetened condensed milk) • 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. 2. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, 1/2 cup of the coconut, the pecans, butter and egg until stiff dough forms. 3. On floured surface, roll half of dough until 1/4 inch thick. Cut with 2-inch round or fluted cookie cutter. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Repeat with remaining half of dough. 4. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until set. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely. 5. To make each sandwich cookie, spread about 2 teaspoons dulce de leche on bottom of each cookie. Press 2 cookies together so some of filling seeps out around edges. Roll edges in remaining 1/2 cup coconut. Place cookies on cooling rack. 6. Sprinkle tops of sandwich cookies with powdered sugar. Store between sheets of waxed paper in tightly covered container.