Welcome to Russia, the largest country in the world! Russia occupies one-tenth of all the land on Earth. It spans 11 time zones across two continents (Europe and Asia) and has coasts on three oceans; the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic. The Russian landscape varies from desert to frozen coastline, tall mountains to giant marshes. Much of Russia is made up of rolling, treeless plains called steppes. Siberia, which occupies three-quarters of Russia, is dominated by sprawling pine forests called taigas. Russia has about 100,000 rivers, including some of the longest and most powerful in the world. It also has many lakes, including Europe's two largest: Ladoga and Onega. Lake Baikal in Siberia contains more water than any other lake on Earth. Most of the country has a continental climate, with long, cold winters and mild brief summers. There is a wide range of summer and winter temperatures and relatively low precipitation. January temperatures are in the range of 6° C (45 ° F) on the southeastern shore of the Black Sea. As big as Russia is, it's no surprise that it is home to a large number of ecosystems and species. Its forests, steppes, and tundra’s provide habitat for many rare animals, including Asiatic black bears, snow leopards, polar bears, and small, rabbit- like mammals called pikas. Russia's most famous animal species is the Siberian tiger, the largest cat in the world. Indigenous to the forests of eastern Russia, these endangered giants can be 10 feet (3 meters) long, not including their tail, and weigh up to 600 pounds (300 kilograms). 1. Location: Russia is such a large country it spans two continents, Europe and Asia. 2. Population: The population of Russia is approximately 143.5 million. 3. Capital of the Country: Moscow is the capital of Russia. 4. Flag: The Russian flag is made up of three horizontal lines, white, blue and red. 5. Language: Russian 6. Words/Terms: Bye = Poka Cooking = Gotovka Breakfast = Zavtrak Milk = Moloko Food = Yeda Snack = Zakusk 7. Currency: The currency used in Russia is called the Russian Ruble. 8. National Animal: Russia’s national animal is the bear. 9. National Sport: The national sport in Russia is Bandy, which is similar to ice hockey. 10. National Flower: The Camomile flower is the national flower of Russia. Dymkova Toys These toys are moulded painted clay figures of people or animals. It is an Old Russian Folk-art handcraft. What you need: • White air-drying clay • Tempera or Acrylic paint What to do: 1. Mould your clay into the shape of an animal or person. 2. Allow moulds to dry, usually 2-3 days to dry completely. 3. Once your mould has dried completely you can paint them. Make Your Own Faberge Eggs Faberge eggs are decorative works of art created by the House of Faberge, a jewellery company founded in 1842 in Russia. The eggs are jewelled and colourful, and usually contain a tiny surprise. Decorate your own beautiful, bejewelled Faberge egg! This craft can be adapted to suit a range of ages. Younger children can just "pile" it all on. Older children might like to sketch out a careful design. What you need: • Paper • Glue • Scissors • Plastic gems/beads/string • Glitter • Markers/paint What to do: 1. Cut an egg shape out of paper. 2. Decorate with markers, paint, plastic gems or beads etc. Matryoshka Doll A Matryoshka doll is also known as a Russian nesting doll. Nesting dolls are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed inside one another. The outside doll is a woman and the ones inside can be girl or boy, the smallest doll being a baby. Printable Russian Dolls: What you need: • Paper • Markers/crayons • Printer • Glue • Paper doll template • Scissors What to do: 1. Print templates • Template for dolls 1 &2 http://tinyurl.com/ousf4kg • Template for dolls 3, 4 & 5 http://tinyurl.com/pybvhpr • Template for doll stands http://tinyurl.com/ome8ygk 2. Colour the doll templates. 3. Cut out dolls and the stands. 4. Spread glue on the back bottom portion of the paper doll. Match each doll up with the right strip of paper and then glue to the center of the strip. Traffic Light This game shares a bit of similarity with the American game of Red Light, Green Light. How to play: • A starting line is drawn, and all children must start behind this line. • Approximately four to five more lines are drawn about 15 feet apart. • The "leader" stands on the next line up from the starting line and calls out a colour. Any children wearing this colour can safely advance to the next line in front of them. • Children who are not wearing this colour can attempt to make it to the next line by running. However, if the leader catches one of them, the two must trade places. The player who reaches the last line first is the winner. Cossacks & Robbers (Cossack refers to southern Russia part of military) This game is best played in the woods where there are more places to hide. How to play: • Children divide themselves into two teams. One group is Cossacks, and the other group is Robbers. • The Cossacks have a "camp," and one Cossack stays behind to keep watch. • Robbers run away and hide somewhere, only to be sought after by the other Cossacks. • Each Robber who is caught is kept prisoner back at "camp." • The game ends when all Robbers are caught. 1. Rechenka’s Eggs by Patricia Polacco 2. Russia ABC’s by Ann Berge 3. Masha and the Bear: A Story From Russia by Melanie Williamson 4. Koshka’s Tales: Stories from Russia by James Mayhew The Camomile flower is the national flower of Russia. This flower is a member of the daisy family. Camomile flowers are native to West Asia and grow freely everywhere. Complete the colour by numbers by colouring the picture of the Camomile flower using the colours and numbers indictaed. 1 = Purple 5 = Brown/Black 2 = Yellow 6 =Dark Green 3 = Red 7 = White 4 = Light Green 8 = Grey St.Bastil’s Cathedral in Moscow, Russia was built between 1555 and 1560. It is a famous landmark in Russia and has nine brightly coloured domes. Colour the Cathedral. 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. Explain to children that plants start out as seeds and need water and sunlight to grow big and strong. Children will then learn about seeds and plants by engaging in a hands-on activity in which they observe seeds, plant them, and watch them grow. Plant your seeds two different ways, one in soil and the other in a plastic bag. What you need: • Clear plastic cups (with holes poked in bottom for drainage) • Plastic plates to rest the cups on • Potting soil, without added fertilizer • Dry kidney or lima beans (NOTE: these must first be soaked overnight) • Water spray bottles • Tape • Plastic wrap • Paper towels • Plastic sandwich bags Planting in Soil - What to do: 1. Let each child fill a plastic cup most of the way with potting soil and plant 2–3 beans. Cover the seeds gently with soil. (Plant some additional seeds in a few extra cups, just in case some of the children’s don’t grow.) 2. Show children how to moisten the soil, using the water spray bottle. Ask, Why do you think we’re putting water on the seeds? 3. Help children write their names on tape and label their cups. Put plastic wrap over the cups and place in a well-lit area. (The plastic wrap will help the soil stay moist. Remove the plastic when seedlings appear.) Ask, Do you think we will be able to see when the beans first start growing? Why or why not? Planting in Plastic Bags – What to do: 1. Next, tell children that they will plant some beans in clear plastic bags, without soil. Ask, Do you think that the seed will grow in the bag? 2. Have children fold a paper towel to fit in a plastic sandwich bag. Then have them wet the paper towel and put it in the bag. Place 3–4 beans on the towel and then fold over the top of the bag. Help children label their bags and attach them with tape to a window or a bulletin board that you’ve designated as the Watch Them Grow learning center. Plant Observation Journal: Explain to children that they will check on the beans in their cups and bags each day. Begin to track the progress of each bean. What you need: • Printed copies of the Plant Observation Journal • Ruler • Magnifying glass • Camera • Pencil What to do: 1.