With my kids on April vacation this week, and nowhere to go, I decided we’d go on a Virtual World Tour. For those of you looking for a way to shake things up while under quarantine, I thought I’d share the links and resources we used. Bon voyage!

My plan was to explore five different countries, on five different continents. Knowing my kids, and what appeals to them, I also wanted to include themed food and traditional games from each of the countries we “visited.” With no other knowledge than the fact that we were “going on vacation,” my kids got into the car at 10 a.m and off we went to the drive-thru at Heavenly Donuts. When we came back, it was to this sign on our basement door that I had surreptitiously placed before we left.

I had taped this sign to the TV armiore. As we munched on our donuts and bagels, we watched this video of Israel, and then played the traditional Israeli game Three Sticks.

Three Sticks: The goal is to jump between three sticks which are laid on the ground and are spread further and further apart. Players must not touch the sticks or step more than once in the spaces between the sticks.

Back in the car, we went through the drive-thru at McDonalds and came home to this sign on the TV armoire.

We had lunch, picnic-style, on the family room rug as we watched this video of Washington, DC to learn all about our nation’s capital. Then it was time for Volleyball!

Volleyball: Volleyball began in a town called Holyoke, Massachusetts in 1895. The sport was developed at the YMCA by William G. Morgan as an alternative for the older men that was less taxing than basketball. Originally called Mintonette, it took the net from tennis and took cues from basketball, baseball, and handball.

Next up was Peru, South America. We watched this video on Machu Picchu while munching on tortillas chips and salsa, then played El Conejo es Muy Vivo y El Lobo es Muy Tonto (The rabbit is Very Lively and The Wolf is Very Dumb).

El Conejo es Muy Vivo y El Lobo es Muy Tonto: Sit in a circle with a blanket over  your legs. A volunteer sits in the center of the circle on top of the blanket (they are the “lobo” — wolf). Group members pass a stuffed animal (preferably a rabbit) from person to person under the blanket, switching directions at any time if they like. Group members also may try to fake out the person on top of the blanket, pretending that they have the rabbit by scratching the floor, moving their hands under the blanket. The person in the middle, the “wolf,” tries to find the rabbit by feeling for it on top of the blanket. When the person on top of the blanket finds the rabbit, the person they catch with it goes in the middle and the game starts over.

On we traveled to Italy. At this point we were so full from eating all day, we went with the Italian custom of La Passeggiata and went for a family walk.

La Passeggiata: This evening promenade, generally between 5 and 8 PM, occurs in virtually every town, village, or big city in Italy. We finally made room for our pizza dinner and ate that while watching this video on Italy. We followed dinner up with a game of Corsa con la Cannata (Pitcher Race).

Corsa con la Cannata: Participants have to run balancing a “cannata” on their head: a large terracotta pitcher full of water weighing several kilos. Ours was a plastic pitcher, filled half-way, and we were lucky to make it from one cone to the other, at a snail’s pace!

We ended our day with this video of a safari in Tanzania. We were too darned tired to play Mbube Mbube (Lion), but did manage to make room for make-your-own sundaes for dessert.

Ice Cream Sundaes: In honor of the African Baobab tree that produces fruit that tastes like ice cream.

Thanks for traveling with us! If anyone has other fun quarantine ideas, I’d love it if you could share them in the comment section below.