Oct. 18, 2008 - Flags Around the World
My 10 year old son loves flags. He looks them up in some of his children's world almanacs, asks me questions about them, and loves to see all the different flags as we watch television. During the Olympics, there was, of course, a boat load of flags...or should I say a world load? Then I started thinking of all the different things you can learn about a country via it's flag.
Flags usually tell a story. There can be meaning in the color choices, meaning in the design, and there is always meaning in the symbols that they use. Just take, for instance, the American flag. You know the 13 stripes represent the original 13 colonies. You know the 50 stars represent our current 50 states.
Throughout our country's history, we have used many flags and even our national flag has changed as our country has changed over the years.
Back to the Olympics...this is when I began to think about making him a Flags Around the World set of index cards. I thought it would be a great way to do a quick study of a country when he sees a flag, so we can learn more about them. So I then decided to make a "quick fact" card, so once we print the flag card, he can then fill in the quick info on the back of the card. This would give him a great basic start with the countries.
After much deliberation on my part, I also decided to create notebooking forms to go along with each country. Not only could he have his flag cards, I could also add a map to the notebooking form, as well as have a little more space which we could fill in for his history notebook, as well as my 12 yo daughter's.
Flags are so much a part of who a country is, that I am more exicted than ever for us to begin using this set. I could be raising a future diplomat or missionary, who has a global focus and knowledge. Well, those may be far off crazy dreams, but this will be a great study into the history and geography of this great big world!
**You could, of course, create your own study on Flags Around the World, however, if you are interested, I have made my set available on my website. You can see it at http://www.homeschoolwithindexcards.com/Flags_Around_the_World.html
Comments
Oct. 19, 2008 - "Making your own flag" activity
Posted by NaturalMath
Flags are love! Thanks for the post. The activity I want to suggest as a follow-up to work with flags is a great activity for a family or a small group with some members who already know and love existing flag symbols. The title says it all: you design your own flag, for yourself or for your family, homeschool group, or other organization. Things to consider:
- Colors can symbolize ideas and history. Pick colors that are symbols for you, and describe what they mean.
- You can put pictograms on flags: animals, objects, or abstract symbols like stars. Again, think carefully of what they mean to you, and their historical meaning.
- Use math and language conventions to combine your symbols. Crossed or joined symbols mean "together." The symbol on top of the other means "possession" or "more important." You can make your own conventions, and research historic ones.
- Look at particular times in history where people made flags. Each pirate captain used to design his or her own flag, but their are a bit repetitious, if you know what I mean. New countries, most recently the European Union, design flags for themselves. Some sports teams make flags, too.
Edited by NaturalMath on Oct. 19, 2008 at 7:55 AM
