The costs of sending your child to a few weeks of summer camp can add up! And sometimes you can’t find a camp that addresses something you and your kids are really interested in. If you’re raising little global citizens, why not pull together a casual DIY around the world summer camp? This post has a wealth of resources for creating a simple camp for a group of kids or just your own family.

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How to Have a DIY Around the World Summer Camp

I recommend choosing a country from a different continent for each day of your camp. You can follow the loose structure below, and for certain countries you may want to use one of the add on activities. Don’t forget to consult my resource list at the end of the post!

Choosing a particular country within a continent allows you to dive much deeper into a culture.  It also helps you avoid sweeping generalizations that aren’t true. (As I like to remind people “Africa is not a country!”)

Disclosure: For your convenience, this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase items through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. You can read my full disclosure policy here. 

Here are the main elements I recommend including:

Gathering time with music or language learning (15 – 20 minutes)

Especially if a group of children are participating in your camp, help them get out their wiggles out by singing and dancing to some music from the country you’re “visiting” that day.

Putumayo Kids is my go to resource for fun and beautiful world music!

I also have a list of free global music videos in my Around the World in 12 Activities booklet. This is one of the free booklets you can access in resource library.

Your gathering time is also the perfect opportunity to practice some phrases from a language spoken in your chosen country. For example, you could learn a few words in Yoruba when you “visit” Nigeria.

Craft (20 – 35 minutes)

There are so many great sources for fun children’s crafts from different countries. I have several in my Around the World in 12 Activities booklet (available in my free resource library, as well as a passport craft with stamps that you could make on the first day of your camp.

You could make a Guatemalan Day of the Dead flag or paint a work of art on your own Chinese scroll. 

One of my favorite sources for finding global craft and learning ideas is Multicultural Kid Blogs. Just put the country name in their search box and you’ll find lots of resources.

Related Post: 6 ways to make your children’s Peace Camp a success

Cooking/Snack Time (15 – 45 minutes)

You could try simply serving a snack from the country of the day for your summer camp. But children will learn more – and be more likely to try the snack – if they help make it.

My friend Sharon included some yummy Thai recipes in my Around the World in 12 Activities booklet (you can find it in my free Resource Library – just fill out the box below.)

My 6 year old enjoyed making Kenyan coconut and sweet potato pudding, and he’s still talking about these Greek Easter cookies.

Another one of our favorite sources for global recipes that are simple enough for kids to make is this Kids’ Kitchen sturdy deck of recipe cards.

Games and Movement (30 – 45 minutes)

If unlike me, you live in an area that’s not sweltering in the summer, get outside for some international summer games! Try the Nigerian game Catch the Tail, or play Pilolo, a game from Ghana. (Learn about Pilolo in my Around the World in 11 Kid’s Activities, available in my free resource library.

Learn more about India by doing some kid-friendly yoga, either indoors or outdoors.

Storytime (15 – 25 minutes)

Storytime is my favorite part of around the world summer camp!

Depending on what other activities you’ve done for the day, you could also include time to act out the story. As the adult, you can be the narrator and the children can read the lines of different characters. You can find more storytelling ideas here.

For book ideas, be sure to consult my Global Passport around the world book series, with book ideas for countries from every continent. 

Related Post: 10 multicultural children’s books about back to school

Possible Add On Activities

Do a service or advocacy project

Be a friend to the country you are learning about by showing compassion or speaking up about an issue affecting people there.

If you’re learning about Indonesia, you could tell companies to protect endangered rainforest animals by keeping conflict palm oil out of our food.

You could use Kiva make a mico-loan to a (very) small businessperson in the country you’re learning about.

Field trips 

A field trip during your camp doesn’t have to be complicated. It might be visiting a Vietnamese grocery store in your city, stopping by a Brazilian food truck, or enjoying an international festival in your community.

Resource List for your DIY Around the World Summer Camp

Children’s Atlas

You’ll want a great children’s atlas available to your summer camp kids to help them visualize where the countries they’re learning about are located.

Plus, a kid-friendly atlas is a must have for answering questions that are sure to pop up during your activities. This kids’ atlas is hands down our family’s favorite!

Little Passports subscription box

If you want to make finding camp activities a bit easier, or if you want to continue your global fun year round, my little guy and I highly recommend Little Passports.

They have subscription boxes for specific countries for ages 6+. You can see the starter kit we received the first month in the picture above. Since then we’ve received packages that helped us explore Brazil, France, Japan, Australia, and Mexico.

Their Early Explorers package sends themed packages for kids ages 3 – 5. Some of our favorite themes that we received were landmarks of the world, world art, world music, and dinosaurs. You can read my full review of their Early Explorers subscription here.

Barefoot Books Summer Reading Club

Barefoot Books if my favorite source for imaginative children’s books that help my kiddo learn about cultures from around the world. Their free summer reading club will give you lots of wonderful free resources using the theme Adventure to the Kindness Kingdom.

Little Global Citizens Summer Bucket List

Last summer, I compiled a ton of fun ideas for global learning in this summer bucket list. Try adding a few to the mix of your camp activities.

Growing Up Global book

I’m constantly pulling Homa Sabet Tavangar’s book Growing Up Global off the shelf. It’s chock full of ideas for games, language activities, global compassion projects, and more.

Country and continent specific blog posts

Find a list of all my blog posts of children’s books, crafts, and activities related to particular countries and continents here.