Explore fun, engaging and exciting world themed activities to do with toddlers, preschoolers and kindergartners. Our activities are widely used by teachers, moms, dads, child care providers and more!
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Saudi Arabia Arts and Crafts
Sand paintings
Add sand to brown colored paint for desert painting.
Camels
Create camel cutouts to decorate with sequins, yarn, etc.,
Sensory Art
Arabic coffee is a strong brew made from pulverized coffee beans. It is served out of a special coffee pot with a curved spout. (I have a small one for use in the house corner) Make the following dough recipe for a fun activity.
Coffee Dough
4 c Unsifted all-purpose four
1 c Salt
1/4 c Instant coffee
1 1/2 c Warm water
1. Dissolve the coffee in the warm water.
2. In another bowl, mix the flour and the salt.
3. Make a hole in this and add 1 cup of the coffee water into it.
4. Mix with a fork or hands until smooth.
5. Add more coffee water if needed: dough should be smooth and satiny, not sticky or crumbly.
Store in a plastic bag to prevent drying of the dough. Use cookie cutters in camel and palm tree shapes. Bake finished designs in a 300 degree oven for 1 hour or more (until hard). Add 2 coats of shellac to preserve.
Saudi Arabia Games and Activities
Pictures
The desert, camels, date trees, people, buildings, etc. The Arabian Peninsula has a hot climate. The terrain is mostly uninhabited, sandy desert. Some parts of the country can go without rainfall for 10 years at a time. Natural hazards: frequent sand and dust storms called shamals (pronounced sha-mals with emphasis on the second syllable )
Block Area
For inspiration, display pictures depicting the arched doors and the domes of middle eastern architecture. T.C. Timber makes a set of middle east table blocks.
History
Up until the 1930s, the inhabitants of the Arabian desert relied on the camel and dhows (wooden sailing vessels) for travel. Some Bedouins still travel across the desert, living in tents, raising goats, sheep and camels – they ride on the camels and use the camel to carries all of their cargo. (However, most people now travel by car on paved roads or by plane.) Camel races are popular in the middle east – unfortunately the jockeys are children as young as seven years old, tied on to the camels. The jockeys are often kidnapped from their families in India and Pakistan, smuggled into the Arab countries for racing.
Arabic Words
Marahaba – (pronounced mar-a-ha-ba) means hello
As-salaam a lai-kum – (pronounced a- sah -lom -a -lake-um) – the formal greeting that means peace be upon you.
Shukran – (prononced shoe- cron) – means thank you
Dramatic Play
Basic traditional dress for men and boys: a white ankle length, loose-fitting dress called a thawb (pronounced thobe that rhymes with robe) Worn on their heads is a square of white material folded in half to make a triangle, called a ghutrah (pronounced gootra). The middle point falls down the back with the two other points falling on either side of the face. It is held in place by a black double ring cord on the top of the head, called an igal. (pronounced egal) For shoes, most men wear sandals. Woman and girls (over 12 or so) wear a black floor length outer garments called an abayah , (pronounced a-bi-ya). Younger children dress in shorts and shirts, as they would in any hot climate here.
Saudi Arabia Recipes and Snacks
Sambousik
Ahead of time, make filling:
Finely chop one small onion (sauteed in 1 tablespoon butter)
Add lb ground beef
Cook until brown, then add:
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 teaspoon all spice
A pinch of cinnamon
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Cook and stir 2 minutes, then set aside. You ll need a package of 20 filo pastry sheets Preheat oven to 350F Stack the filo sheets and cut lengthwise into thirds. Now the children can help: Stack three of the strips together, brushing each with melted butter. Place a heaping teaspoon of filling in the corner of the stack, show the children how to fold flag-fashion back and forth, to end up with a neat little triangle, place seam side down on a baking sheet. Continue until you have used all the pastry strips and filling. Then brush the tops of the triangles with butter and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Snack Time
Arabs traditionally eat communal-style, except in restaurants and hotels. A large tray of food sits in the middle of the floor and guests sit around it – called a kupsa. While knives and forks are widely used, fingers are traditional. Serve pitted dates. In the Arabian desert, the date palm traditionally provided a stable food as well as wood.
Sand Cups
Serve vanilla pudding cups with vanilla wafers crushed on top.
Saudi Arabia Songs, Poems and Finger Plays
Camel Count Down
Five little camels
Carrying heavy packs,
Walking through the desert,
Leaving little hoof tracks.
One little camel
had a stiff neck,
But the other four camels
Continued their trek.
Four little camels
Passed by a delicious tree
One stopped for lunch
Then there were three.
Three careful camels
As the hot winds blew
Whoops, one lost his pack
Then there were two.
Two little camels
Under the hot desert sun,
One took a nap
Then there was one.
The last little camel
He traveled on alone.
Until he reached
his master s home.
Then his pack was unhumped
By his master s hand.
As he lay down to rest
On a warm bed of sand.
Who Has Seen The Wind?
Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I (shake head sideways)
But when the palm trees sway (sway arms back and forth)
The desert wind is passing by.
When our hair begins to fly (lift to hair)
And dust gets in our eye, (point to eye)
Then we know for certain,
a shamal is passing by.
Ideas contributed by Elaine Parsons
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