Puddle Wonderful Learning: Country Day: Italy

We are excited to be back with another Country Day post on Italy. Enjoy learning about this amazing country with your kids by using some of the activities below.

Then find all of our past country day posts on England, France, Africa, and Russia, here.

Foods

You can't think about Italy without thinking about Pizza! Try this fun recipe for making mini pizzas from Tortillas.

Tortizzas!

Try different types of pasta. You could set up a pasta bar with different noodles and different types of sauce. (The sauces could even come from bottles or cans. Shh! just don't tell any Italians.) Look below for more fun crafts made with pasta noodles.

Enjoy some Italian Gelato.

Make an Italian Soda.
Here is a great post on How to Create an Italian Soda Bar from Our Best Bites. Yum!

Crafts
Here are some fun crafts using pasta. I know stringing pasta necklaces is a standby but look at these fun ways to broaden our pasta and crafting horizons!

Rigatoni Italian Flag

Look at these Colorful Pasta Monsters

The Culture Cottage has two great craft ideas.

Don't you love this Leaning Tower of Pisa made with Fun Foam? I can see my nephews having so much fun trying to knock this tower over with foam balls or a squirt gun!

And this gondolier is also found at the Culture Cottage site above. He is so cute!

Exploring Italian Artists

You can't learn about Italy without trying to paint in the style of a few Italian Masters.

Try painting like Michelangelo by taping some paper underneath a chair or low table. Then lay underneath it and color your picture with crayons. Or if you are really brave and don't mind getting dripped on use paint! Find some fun instructions here.

I love this idea of making a simple egg tempura paint over at Tinker Lab. This type of paint was used by great Italian artists like Botticelli, Giotto, and Fra Angelico.
Show your kids some of their works of art and then create some masterpieces of your own.

Simple Egg Tempura

Big Kids will love learning about the Renaissance Man Leonardo Da Vinci (See books below). They will also love trying their hand at making their own original flying machine with some Leonardo inspiration.

Make a Paper Flying Machine

Games

Here is a great site for some traditional Italian children's games. I especially like the game called: Johnny My Pony.
Doesn't that sound so funny?

John My Pony is an outdoor or indoor game in which six players of equal strength form opposite teams. One of the teams assembles a "pony" with their bodies on their hands and knees. Once accomplished, the players making the creature close their eyes. The opposite side sends a few players to sit on the others who must guess how many players are sitting on the pony.

Songs

Mama Lisa's site has lots of Italian nursery rhymes, counting games and songs.

Movies About Italy

Here are some great classics that are worth seeing again or for the first time.

And some more modern movies set in Italy.

Books About Italy

You must read some of the Strego Nona stories by Tomie dePaola. Strego Nona is an Italian witch who makes an appearance in many folk tales and stories. These books are laugh out loud funny! You will want to read about her adventures over and over again. Strega Nona- Her Story and Big Anthony are two of my favorites.