One of my favorite homeschool memories was the year we did a geography study around the world and included Mexico. That was the year of the butterfly (and then the beaver) that ultimately led to our delight-directed homeschool style.
As May approaches, I’m seeing some wonderful Cinco de Mayo resources out there for learning more about Mexico through this much loved holiday. So I thought I would take a few moments to round some of them up for you. Mexico is a great country to study if you live in the U. S. because it’s a part of our own history as well. And, for many homeschool families, it’s a country not out of the realm of possibility to visit. These resources would also be great for a geography fair project or simple country study.
Resources for Learning about Mexico
Expedition Mexico Download N Go Unit study and lapbook from Amanda Bennett. Studying a country is a great way to discover amazing animals and geographical features with your children. Here are a few of the things that they will explore with this study:
Mariachi bands often bring Mexico to mind, but what are they?
Exciting dances can be incredibly fun, and you may already know some of them.
X marks places on the map—some you will have heard about . . . others will be new finds!
Iguanas are often green, but how long are they?
Cinco de Mayo is a holiday in Mexico, but do you know why?
Old pyramids remain after the Mayan civilization—no need to go all the way to Egypt!
Mexico: Coloring Book and Geography Study Geography study and coloring/notebooking pages from Paradise Praises. Information accompanying each ready-to-color illustration identifies the state’s motto, coat of arms, capital city, state size, landmarks and other interesting facts. In addition, accurate outline drawings of each state include an inset of the state’s location on a full map of Mexico.
Cinco de Mayo Calendar and Coloring Pages Free printables from Paradise Praises.
Cinco de Mayo for Kids This site gives a brief description of how the holiday came to be, and shares how it usually celebrated.
Mexico Country Lapbook A lovely free lapbook from Homeschool Share.
Mexico Unit Study Free lesson plans for studying Mexico.
Teaching Your Kids Hispanic Culture with Picture Books A collection of picture books for several countries in Central and South America, including Mexico.
Mexico From Teacher Created Resources — don’t miss this book filled with information about Mexico’s climate, plants, and animals. Look at how the country’s rich history and diverse geography have shaped its language, legends, celebrations, foods, arts, and music.
Learn about Monarch Butterflies Books, videos, websites, and crafts all related to the Monarch butterfly.
Ojo de Dios Craft We’ve made many of these “eyes of God” over the years, and taught a few children how to make them, too. Very simple to make and really pretty.
Mexican Paper Craft Decorations Includes papel picado and paper flowers.
Mexican Food Recipes Food is important to the celebration of Cinco de Mayo. Here is a huge list of recipes you can try with your kids.
Not Just Tacos A wonderful cookbook filled with Latin recipes, including some from Mexico.
Mariachi Bands Music is an important part of the celebration. Learn more about mariachi music from Mexico.
Country Notebooking Pages – Purchase the whole set or just the set for Mexico. Each individual country notebooking set includes 125+ notebooking pages designed to help you create a notebook study of that country.
Enjoy your study of Mexico!
