Worldwide Culture Swap...

If you have been reading my blog for a while you will know I love doing a swap, I have organised several in the past and joined swaps organised by other bloggers. I have made some great friends and we have had some fantastic packages which has made studying about another country or culture so much more exciting. I feel a bit guilty for not organising any recently but to be honest it is so time consuming, it is actually really hard work.

So, you can imagine how excited I was when Rachael dropped me a line last week to let me know about the site that her and two other bloggers, Deb and Mymy have set up, a site dedicated to culture swaps whoop-whoop!

I will hand over to Rachael to let you know a bit more about it...

My name is Rachael from Worldwide Culture Swap – a completely free resource for schools and families who are interested in learning more about different cultures around the world.

The project started lasted year when I set up an exchange on my blog after being inspired by the exchange page here! I asked if any families wanted to register to send packages to each other representing the country in which they were from and within a few weeks I was able to put together 25 swapping groups, each made up of 5 different families worldwide - the Culture Swap had started!

As time went on the swaps became more and more popular but I was struggling to keep up with the growing group of people. At one point I thought I would have to just close down the project so that I could catch up with the organisation but before I did I posted a quick plea for help on my Facebook page and that's when I 'met' Deb and Mymy, fellow bloggers and former participants in the project whose help just immediately transformed the project into the form that it is today.

We are three expat mothers all with a shared love of learning about different cultures, and together the three of us were able to set up a dedicated site just for the project and expand the types of swaps offered to suit schools, homeschools, families, clubs and just about anyone with an interest in cultural education.

Currently we offer the following (free) options

• Worldwide Culture Swap - A group of 5 families from around the world swap packages containing items related to their country and culture.
• US State Culture Swap -  A group of 5 families from different US states swap packages containing items related to their state's geography and culture.
• Culture Swap for Schools - An exchange between two schools / classes which takes whatever form is agreed between the two educational establishments.
• Find a Pen Pal - A service putting children and families in touch with potential pen pals from around the world

If you are interested in taking part in on of these swaps take a look at our site for more information about how to sign up and please visit our Facebook page for lots of updates about the swaps.

All that remains is for me to thank Jo on behalf of Deb, Mymy and myself for giving us this amazing opportunity to spread the word about our project. This site is absolutely inspirational and we are honoured to be part of it!

*all images are copyright of World Wide Culture Swap

Continent Boxes Swap

Here we are, as promised.

Please read the post carefully before signing up and you need to email me (see below) to sign up.

The continent boxes are used to enhance the learning of geography and culture. Each class should have a box containing small objects related to the continent in question and a folder containing photos/postcards of daily life, people at work and at rest, animals, crafts, landscape, plants, art etc.

Taking that we have enough people sign up I will put you into a group of 4. That means you need to send 3 sets and you will receive 3 sets. I will try my hardest to mix up the groups therefore you need to tell me which country and continent you will represent.

Each set you send must contain 10 small objects for the continent box.

ideas for objects suitable for the box...

• small coins or bills of the local currency
• traditional children's toys/games
• flag
• children's books
• examples of traditional artwork/crafts/textiles
• dolls dressed in traditional attire
• non-perishable food
• small representations of the local animals, foods, houses, landscapes, plants etc.
• a CD of music
• postage stamps
• small books/pamphlets of local life/animals/plants etc.
• examples of local transportation
• items used in local festivals
• examples of the countries script if it is not the alphabet we use in English (Kanji, Hangul etc.)
• examples of rocks and minerals specific to the country

If you have any other ideas to add to the list please pop them in a 'comment' thanks.

Please remember that you will be sending packages overseas so don't put in anything that is against immigration regulations.

If you would like to participate then copy and paste the following information..

name:

continent and country you are representing:

email address:

fill in the missing bits and send it in an email to me at

montessori.swapshop at gmail dot com

please write continent swap in the subject bar.

The swap will closes February 14th, I will send your groups info within a few days and then you will have until the end of the month to get your packages in the post.

***Please Note*** I don't want to know where you are or where you are posting from, I just need to know which continent and which country you will be representing, you maybe living in Canada but want to sent items representing Asia, Cambodia. or you may live in the UK but want to send items from Europe, Norway.

I guess we will have more entries from the United States than anywhere else, so if you are in the States and able to represent another country please do so. At the end of the day it will be potluck, it all depends on who signs up.

When you are gathering the things for the packages you will send think about what kind of package you would like to receive. Most Montessorians prefer objects made from natural resources over plastic and the objects should be beautiful and interesting to capture the imagination of the child.

OK, if you are still interested after reading all that, send me an email.

Mexican Mini's

Meg from Montessori By Hand and I set up a swap, she wanted some Japanese Tea Ceremony goods and I wants just anything interesting! Due to her living in rural Mexico, she sent the package via a friend in the States, it contained some wonderful minatures, BabyEbi fell in love with the fish, which will be great for my sound bags, when I eventually get round to making them. There was also a very cute little basket, I haven't decided what will live in there yet.