Queen Elizabeth II is the longest reigning monarch of the U.K., surpassing her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. The United Kingdom includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Take a day, or any day, with your kids or students to enjoy British culture. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
1. First, wear a crown. Bejeweled or a quick paper cut out. It doesn’t matter. Really, any excuse to wear a crown makes a day better.
2. Use some excellent slang:
– bee’s knees (fabulous)
– car park (parking lot)
– boot (trunk of car)
– rubbish (trash)
– brilliant (exciting, wonderful)
3. Drink tea! It’s very popular there.
4. Eat something traditional
– strawberries and cream
– tea sandwiches
Or, if you’re in the mood to cook, try this:
Grasmere Gingerbread
A cross between a granola bar and a gingerbread cookie, this recipe comes from the lake district of England. It’s a delicious quick breakfast or after school snack and you probably have the ingredients on hand.
2 c. whole wheat flour
¾ c. rolled oats
¾ t. baking soda
1 ½ t. cream of tartar
1 T. ground ginger
¾ c. brown sugar
1 c. butter (2 sticks)
¼ c. milk
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Stir dry ingredients (flour through brown sugar) together either by hand or in a food processor. Cut in butter until mixture resembles bread crumbs (or swirl in food processor). Add milk and mix until just combined.
Press into greased 13” x 9” baking pan with a floured fork. Bake 20-25 minutes, until light brown. Cut into squares and let cool in pan.
You can jazz it up with a drizzle of melted chocolate, or serve with whipped cream.
Adapted from Extending the Table … A World Community Cookbook
5. Take a moment to appreciate cement. Two generations of the English Aspdin family patented and made major improvements in the development of cement, which is super strong and made of plentiful materials. Even if you’re a nature lover like me, the historical value of cement is impressive.
6. Thank your lucky stars for Joseph Fry, in Bristol, England who in 1847 was the first person to make a chocolate bar!
7. You surely have at least one children’s book from a British author. Read it! Not sure? How about The Secret Garden (my favorite!), Paddington, The Wind in the Willows, The House at Pooh Corner, Beatrix Potter, Roald Dahl, The Chronicles of Narnia, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and of course Harry Potter! So many wonderful options.
8. Just color. So simple. http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/london-colouring-pages
9. Enjoy trying to say Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. This place in Wales goes by Llanfairpwllgwyngyll or Llanfairpwll for short. It’s the longest place name in the UK, and one of the longest in the world and means something like “St Mary’s Church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool of Llantysilio of the red cave.”
Then for fun, you can listen to this pro weather forecaster pronounce it with ease! http://mashable.com/2015/09/09/weatherman-welsh-place-names/?utm_cid=mash-com-fb-main-link#UvGqKfwlzEkW Whew!
10. Finally, you can find out about daily life in Britain here: http://projectbritain.com
And here on our Pinterest boards:
England for Kids
Scotland for Kids
Wales for Kids
Northern Ireland for Kids
Now, if only we could just get on a plane and go!
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