Montessori-Inspired Little Passports Activities – Russia

Russia is the first package of the year-two Little Passports World Edition Subscription. Today, I’m going to share some Montessori-inspired activities that work well with the Little Passports Russia package. Disclosure: I’m an affiliate for Little Passports and, as an ambassador, I received a 2-year subscription to the World Edition of Little Passports. I have posts for each of the year-one packages with Montessori-inspired activities featuring Little Passports. Periodically, I’ll be sharing posts for the year-two packages. This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you. Of course, all opinions are my own. Here are my previous Montessori-inspired Little Passports posts:

1. Montessori-Inspired Little Passports Global Adventure (which contained the Little Passports suitcase, passport, and world map used each month along with a letter from Sam and Sofia, activity sheet, stickers, and a boarding pass with access to online games and activities)
2. Montessori-Inspired Little Passports Activities – Brazil
3. Montessori-Inspired Little Passports Activities – Japan
4. Montessori-Inspired Little Passports Activities – France
5. Montessori-Inspired Little Passports Activities – Egypt
6. Montessori-Inspired Little Passports Activities – Australia
7. Montessori-Inspired Little Passports Activities – Mexico
8. Montessori-Inspired Little Passports Activities – South Africa
9. Montessori-Inspired Little Passports Activities – India
10. Montessori-Inspired Little Passports Activities – England
11. Montessori-Inspired Little Passports Activities – China
12. Montessori-Inspired Little Passports Activities – Argentina

The Little Passports materials could work especially well for afterschooling, in a Montessori homeschool with children of multiple ages, or for summer learning. The World Edition is a monthly subscription recommended for ages 5-10. A total of 24 different adventures are available in the series. I’m sharing activities that would allow multiple ages to join in the adventures.

Contents of the Little Passports Russia Package:

Contents of the Little Passports Russia Package

• A letter from Sam and Sophia, your child’s travel companions. This adds interest to a world study for a wide range of ages.
• Souvenirs themed around the chosen country. This month’s souvenir is a page of Russia temporary tattoos.
• An activity sheet for the country. This will generally be best for 5-10 year olds.
• A picture from the country. This month’s picture is of Sam and Sophia in Moscow.
  Picture of a Uakari Monkey
  Picture of a Uakari Monkey
  Picture of a Uakari Monkey
• A passport stamp.
• A map marker.
• A sticker for the suitcase.
• A “boarding pass” for access to online content about the country. This month’s boarding pass has a map activity with a tour of Russia (which includes a printable photo album), Russian Puzzles (of Russian Royal Ballet, Petergoph, and Baikal Seals), and a Matryoshka Dolls nesting game. The online activities are recommended for ages 5-10, although many preschoolers could be included in online activities for Russia. I would definitely print out the pages for each Little Passports country as a way to reinforce what’s learned about each country.

Following are some suggestions on how you can make Little Passports Montessori-inspired and have it work for multiple ages at home.

If you sign up for a subscription, you could do activities related to the month’s package and then focus on the continent box for the continent of the next package’s country. I recommend focusing on the continent for the next country you’ll be receiving when your children are finished with the focus of their present package (maybe two weeks with the package’s country and then start focusing on the continent for the next country.)

Map Work

The first package had a global focus, so you could have done any sort of continent map work in connection with the first package. After that, it’s best if your children have a chance to work with related Montessori continent box materials before the country package arrives. For the Russia package, I’d recommend reviewing the Europe continent box before and after working with the Russia package. (See Montessori-Inspired Continent Activities with Animal Figures  and Landmarks – Europe.)

Map Unfolding and Folding and Country Matching Activity

I have examples of this activity for a number of Little Passports posts, so I’m not showing the latest variation for Russia. Here’s an example you can use to set up a similar activity: Montessori-Inspired Little Passports Activities – Mexico.

Russian Temporary Tattoo Activity

Russian Temporary Tattoo Activity

The temporary tattoos that come with the Russia package can also be a practical-life activity as children peel off the temporary tattoos, apply them, and wet them with a sponge (or wet cloth).

Russian Nesting Doll Craft

Russian Nesting Doll Craft

This activity isn’t included in the Little Passports package, but it extends the online Matryoshka doll activity. This tray uses the Russian Dolls template from Paging Supermom. Your children might also like the Russian Nesting Dolls Memory Game from No Time for Flash Cards. The Natural Homeschool has free sorting by size Matryoshka printables. I simply printed the page on cardstock and added a pair of scissors. Your child could cut out the dolls and then glue the progressively smaller dolls on top of the largest doll. Your child doesn’t need to glue the dolls if he or she prefers to keep them loose for playing. For a young preschooler who doesn’t have advanced enough cutting skills, you could cut out the dolls, laminate them, and place them in a basket for your child or students to sort by size, placing each of the smaller dolls on top of the largest doll.

Snowflake Ballerina Cutting Activity

Snowflake Ballerina

This activity isn’t part of the Russia package but extends the Russian Royal Ballet focus from the online activities. It uses the free snowflake ballerina printable and directions from Krokotak. I like this activity regardless of season because it’s such a lovely activity and reminds me of the Russian Royal Ballet. This requires advanced cutting skills for preschoolers, so it will often be most appropriate for children in kindergarten through early elementary. Children who enjoy the activity can make garlands with different colors of snowflake ballerinas.

For more activities to extend the Russian Royal Ballet theme, check out the downloadable paper-craft materials from Crafterina. They’re great for young ballet lovers.

Map of Russia Pin Punching Activity

Map of Russia Pin Punching Activity

This activity uses the printable top map from Maps of Russia. You could also use the blank map of Russia from Free World Maps if you prefer. I have my map on two thicknesses of foam pieces. The wood-handled puncher (my favorite puncher) is from Montessori Services.

Other Russia Activities

You could make bookmarks and map and flag work similar to the activities in my Argentina post, a capital city and flag tray similar to the one in my China post, and/or flag jigsaw puzzle and other flag activities similar to ones in my England posts. I Believe in Montessori has lovely free Pysanka matching cards that would be a great matching or concentration game, especially near Easter. They’re Ukrainian but would work well for Russia, too. You could include animals for the appropriate parts of Russia from my Montessori-Inspired Continent Activities with Animal Figures and Landmarks – Europe. Enjoy your study of Russia! 🙂

Montessori-Inspired Global Adventure Pinterest Board

On the Montessori-Inspired Global Adventure Pinterest Board, I pin lots of Montessori-inspired continent activities in general along with Montessori-inspired continent and country activities that work well with Little Passports packages. You’ll also find pins with links to facts and resources you can use to create Montessori-inspired continent and country activities. And you’ll find links to free continent and country printables as well. Each month, I’ll add new continent and country activities to the board.

More about Little Passports

2022 Updates:

The posts in this subscription are from the World Edition for ages 6-10.

For the first month, your child will receive the introductory World Edition Kit, which includes our signature blue suitcase, passport, and wall-sized world map. In addition, they’ll receive a country-themed activity booklet, stickers, collectible souvenir, fact-filled letter from pen pals Sam and Sofia, and an original Brazil-themed chapter book.

Each month after that, your child will receive a new package that explores a different country. The packages include letters from Sam and Sofia, along with souvenirs or hands-on activities, country-themed books, stickers, activity booklets, collectible country coins, plus access to online photos, printable activities, and more!

You can sign up for 6 months, 12 months, or monthly.

There are subscription boxes for a variety of ages. But also check out the Shop All and Gift Guide at the top of Little Passports! There are some great individual products you can purchase for gifts as well!

Check out the new Space Quest subscription for ages 5-8!

See everything at Little Passports here.

Learn more about my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to. Teach Grace and Courtesy!

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