Where Am I? (All Ages)
Hold up pictures of cultural scenes from different parts of the world (pictures that revolve around people and buildings as opposed to landscapes) and ask kids to guess the part of the world and the country that is represented in that picture. (Write this info on the back as you gather each picture.) Give them hints along the way if needed until they guess the correct answer, and then have a brief discussion about what stands out to them in that picture before moving on to the next.

What Would You Do – Multicultural Edition (All Ages)
In this simple yet fun group time activity, tell kids to imagine each of the following scenarios, and then ask them what they would do if this actually happened.

• You could take a trip to spend time in any other culture you wanted
• Classmates were making fun of a foreign exchange student because of the way she dressed and her accent
• You walked in on an Indian, an Eskimo, a Russian and a Brazilian, all having a heated argument (then follow up by inventing some conflict for your kids to find a solution to)
• It was your job to end hunger in the world
• You were hiking through the Amazon and encountered an unknown Indian tribe who decided to make you a chief
• You were tasked with bringing about world peace

 

Curious Random Thoughts – Multicultural Edition
Sit down with your kids and act like you’re daydreaming, swaying back and forth with your hand on your chin while staring dreamily off into the distance. Or stretch out on the floor and lay down, and have the kids in your class do the same. Then hit them with the following random thoughts, starting each sentence with “I wonder….” and then having a brief discussion about each one.

• If there’s any culture in the world where it’s customary to let kids eat ice cream for breakfast
• What would happen if you plopped an African pygmy in the middle of the Alaskan arctic
• If Eskimo kids complain as much as you children do about having to wear their jackets
• How many Eskimos it takes to change a light bulb
• What it would look like if you mixed all the world’s cultures together

After you’ve exhausted your list of random thoughts, you might ask the kids if they have any random thoughts of their own, and if so, to share them with the class. It’s an activity your kids are sure to love!

Cultural Cuisine (All Ages)
Look through cooking magazines or search the Internet for pictures of different ethnic dishes. Clip or print the picture and write down the name of the dish and its ethnicity on the back. Show each picture one by one to the kids during group time, reading them the name of the dish. Then see if they can correctly guess what part of the world it comes from.

World Antiquity Tracker (All Ages)
Collect either actual items or pictures of items (or a combination of both) that are distinct to different cultures. For example…

• An Indian arrow
• Russian dolls
• Sombrero
• A parka
• Piñata
• Didgeridoo
• Coins or dollar bills from other countries
• And so forth.

Hold up each item or picture one by one to show the kids, and then ask them to guess what culture this particular item comes from. If they don’t correctly guess after a couple of minutes, give them the answer and talk briefly about the item before moving on to the next one.