Welcome to the B is for Brazil for the Global Children’s Book Club! Today we’ll be going on a virtual tour of Brazil for kids. Get ready for a fun and inspiring Brazil virtual field trip – perfect for global education at home or for a Brazil homeschooling unit.
You can find the full list of countries for the book club right HERE. Be sure to sign up for the email list to get all the information in advance and to receive fun extras!
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B is for Brazil: Brazil For Kids Virtual Tour
Featured Brazil Book
Fuzz McFlops by Eva Furnari
Author Read Aloud
Eva kindly agreed to talk to us about another book of hers, Drufs!
Other Brazil Books for Kids
Brazil Fun Facts
- The capital of Brazil is Brasilia.
- Brazil is the largest country in South America, and shares a border with every other South American country except for Chile and Ecuador.
- Portuguese colonists arrived in 1500. Brazil declared independence in 1822.
- The Amazon River is the 2nd longest river in the world and flows through Brazil.
- Brazil has a tropical climate, and about 60% of the Amazon rainforest is in Brazil.
- Portuguese is the official language of Brazil, but there are over 200 indigenous languages.
Color in Brazil on this map of South America!
Brazil for Kids: Flag Activity
Flag from HERE
HERE is a fun printable Brazilian flag coloring sheet!
Brazil Virtual Tour to a Featured Landmark
About 60% of the Amazon rainforest is in Brazil! It is an important area that not only provides a home for many plants and animals, but also helps the earth’s air. It’s a tropical rainforest and is very moist. Over 20% of the worlds bird species and 10% of all the known species live in the Amazon!
Climate change, including rising temperatures and droughts, are big issues and could potentially destroy much of the rainforest.
Rio de Janeiro: Christ the Redeemer Statue, Copacabana Beach
The Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio is a famous statue of Jesus. It symbolizes Christianity around the world. It’s nearly 100 feet tall and wide!
This group of waterfalls on the Iguazu River on the border of Brazil and Argentina is the largest in the entire world. They are on the edge of the Paraná Plateau.
Featured Brazilian Artist: Gilberto Gil
Gilberto Gil grew up playing the drums, trumpet and accordion before learning to play the guitar. In college, he started a band that created a new style of music called “Tropicalia” that mixed Brazilian and African sounds.
Sometimes his music talked about social issues of the day. Sometimes, government leaders were afraid of him because of his popularity. In 1964, he actually went to prison for his music for nine months. When he was released, he moved to London and lived there until 1972 when he went back to Brazil. From 2003 to 2008, he served as the “Minister of Culture” for all of Brazil under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula).
Featured Important Brazilian Person: Pelé
Pelé was born Edison Arantes do Nascimento. Brazil has a history of being excellent in soccer, and has won more World Cups than any other country (5 total). Pelé has played on 3 of those championship teams!
Pelé’s dad tried to earn a living playing soccer, but had a hard time doing so. Pelé grew up poor and first played soccer by stuffing a sock with rags and kicking it around in the street. After scoring two goals in the World Cup Final when he was 17, the Brazilian President officially declared Pelé to be a “National Treasure.” He played soccer professionally for 20 years and has used his stardom to fight racism as a FIFA ambassador and support children through UNICEF.
Featured Brazilian Food: Brazilian Recipes for Kids
Easy Pao de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)
Pao de queijo is Brazilian cheese bread, or cheese puffs. Indigenous Brazilians would pound the cassava, or yucca, plant to make food. They continued doing this after Portuguese settlers arrived since wheat did not grow well there.
The Portuguese settlers brought African slaves with them. They were not treated well and did not have enough food and nutrition. Because of this, the slaves scooped up the tapioca starch leftover from pounding the cassava, and rolled it into balls to make bread. Many years later, local cheese was added to it to make what is now a favorite Brazilian snack. It became popular again in the 1950s.
This version uses ingredients that are common in American households, although you may need to purchase tapioca flour (although cornstarch or all-purpose flour will workin a pinch).
Simple Brigadeiros (Brazilian chocolate truffles)
Brigadeiros were named after the Brazilian brigadier Eduardo Gomes. Brigadeiros are very easy to make, only take a couple ingredients, and are a favorite at birthday parties!
This is my favorite Brazilian drink – fresh limes with the peel blended with sweetened condensed milk. So good and so simple.
Brazilian Craft Activity for Kids
The Carnaval do Brasil (Brazilian Carnival) festival in Rio de Janerio is the biggest of its kind in the whole world! It’s a festival held before the Catholic holiday of Lent, which is a time to give up many earthly pleasures. So those who practice (and many others) have a big celebration with many earthly pleasures before the time of Lent, leading to the Easter holiday.
Brazil has taken this traditional Catholic festival, brought to the country by Portuguese colonists, and made it their own. The country has integrated parts of African culture, as many Africans were enslaved and brought to Brazil at the same time as Carnaval. A unique dance was even created from these African roots, called samba. (You can learn more about samba here, or watch a video of samba during Carnaval below!)
You can make your own paper plate Carnaval mask! Here’s what you need:
- Cut your plate in half and cut out holes for eyes.
- Paint your mask completely in your base color.
- After it dries, paint designs with a second color.
- Glue on feathers, sequins, and glue.
- Attach either a piece of elastic to wrap around the back of your head or attach a wooden dowel to the side to hold up your mask.
Rainforest Photosynthesis Craft
The Amazon Rain Forest is “the lungs of the planet.” It produces more oxygen than any other forest (on land) in the world. It creates 6% of the whole world’s oxygen supply! Learn more about how plants turn carbon dioxide into oxygen with this simple photosynthesis craft.
Other Brazil for Kids Facts & Activities
Soccer is very popular in Brazil. During the World Cup, some people even painted their animals the colors of the Brazilian flag!
Brazil is also home to many unique animals. Here’s a video on some of them!
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art. It includes sport, dance, music, and popular culture. It was started by African slaves and Brazilian natives in the 1500s.
Capoeira’s original purpose probably was to help enslaved people to escape, or survive after escaping. It had to be practiced as a dance so officials or owners of enslaved people wouldn’t figure out its true purpose. Capoiera was technically illegal in Brazil until the 1930s. You can see some incredible similarities between breakdancing and capoeira.
You can try out some capoeira yourself, and then watch a video of some pros after!
Brazil Movie for Kids
Brazil Conversations with a Local: Culture, History, & Food Discussion Video
Brazil for Kids Discussion Questions
- Do you think certain art forms should be outlawed, like capoeira? Why or why not?
- What sport is very popular in Brazil? Do you think sports have helped or hurt overcome racism in Brazil?
- What are some ways we can protect the Amazon rainforest?
- What would you celebrate during Carnaval if you had to give it up for Lent?
- What religion is very common in Brazil?
Thanks for Taking a Virtual Visit to Brazil With Us!
We’ve loved putting together this resource to virtually visit Brazil. We’d love to hear if you do any of these activities for a homeschooling Brazil unit, or if you visit in person!
We hope to inspire curiosity and connection through exploring and learning, and we hope this guide helps you and your families. Please share any activities you do with us over on our Instagram. And we’d be delighted if you passed this Brazil for kids virtual tour and homeschooling resource along to others, as well!
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