This is our second week studying India (scroll down for links a little further in the post). We continued our studies this week and learned more about peacocks, the currency of India, the Taj Mahal and rangoli. Here’s a peek at our week:

Monday

• Mapping of India – more detailed than what we did last week. We also focused on the surrounding countries and bodies of water. I made a map worksheet for this (below) that you can also download.
• Henna tattos – the girls had a lot of fun watching Indian brides get the intricate tattoos before their wedding and also watching parts of different wedding ceremonies.

Tuesday

• Peacocks – we found a short little video clip about them and also found a great info sheet to learn more about them. The girls also spent some time on the easel painting their own peacock (do you recognize it in the slideshow above?).
• William Carey – missionary to India

Wednesday

• India’s money – the rupee and the paise. I made an information sheet about them (you can click on the thumbnail link below if you would like to download it).

Thursday

• Cooking – the girls helped me make a chicken curry dish (yum) along with Naan bread
• Taj Mahal – We studied who had it designed and why it was built. We also found a short video clip to see a little more of it
• Learned about rangoli – a form of Indian art. We used colored rice to design our own patterns.

Some of the books that we used this week

• DLTK – Rangoli designs and ideas on making your own
• PBS – Pictures and information on the Taj Mahal
• Indian Bridal Henna art – You Tube video showing how the art is applied
• National Geographic – short video clip about the peacock
• National Geographic – printable page on the peacock
• India Video – I haven’t even begun to browse through the many video clips all about India on this site – suffice it to say there are a LOT!!! Just a few: peacock sanctuary, Taj Mahal, Diwali celebration showing rangoli design