Learn Facts about Greece for kids through fun and educational activities. Its almost like traveling to Greece from home.

 

We had such a great time on our travel to Greece from home! My kids have long been fans of Greek mythology and we loved learning even more about Greek culture. One of my favorite trips ever was to the island of Santorini, and traveling from home helps me remember it!

Facts About Greece

You must see dozens of things if you visit Greece, including some spectacular Landmarks in Greece.  Here are some facts for kids about Greece.

• Greece is in Europe.
• Greek is the name of the language spoken in Greece.
• The Olympics began in Greece.
• The capital of Greece is Athens.
• The tallest mountain in Greece is Mount Olympus.
• Greece has more than 2,000 islands.

What to make for your Greek food from home

Greek food is full of fresh ingredients and lots of spices that are common in Western food. It’s hard to narrow an entire cuisine down to 1 or 2 recipes, but I picked the most iconic of all.  If you want something else savory please try the recipe for Boureki. It is a delicious blend of potato, zucchini, cheese, and mint.

 

Baklava recipe

I know baklava may seem very intimidating and challenging, but it is much easier than you have been led to believe. It involves layers of thin phyllo dough, butter, nuts, sugar, and spices. It is sooo delicious and looks fancy.

Baklava is the pronunciation in Greek but it was first an Arab treat called Baklawa.  My favorite baklava in the world is made by my mom (who uses an Arab recipe), and I’m excited for all of you to try it too.

Some tips about making baklava:

• You will buy phyllo frozen, and you need to let it thaw in the fridge for a few days. I have tried thaw it in the microwave before, which was a disaster.
• You can use a chef’s knife to cut up your nuts, and you will get a more hearty filling.
• It will feel like a lot of butter, but your baklava won’t taste right if you scrimp on the butter.
• If you want to make a smaller batch, you can use only a single sleeve of phyllo and halve the entire recipe. Baking time is only 25-30 minutes if you half it.

Traditional Gyros at Home

I love gyros! They are so yummy and meaty and drippy deliciousness! I had never tried to make them because I assumed I needed a spit of meat and a rotisserie.

I was happily wrong! This recipe creates delicious gyros, much like making a meatball.

If you want to try your own hand at gyro’s, you will need the following recipes.

Gyro meat at home

Homemade Tzatziki Sauce

What to watch for your movie about Greece

You can watch movies about Greece for days and days and still not see all of them! I guess that’s what happens when you have one of the oldest civilizations in the world.

“Hercules”

Hercules is the story of a young Greek man who discovers that his father is Zeus. He goes out into the world to find out how to be a hero and to save the world from Hades.

Hercules might be my favorite Disney movie of all time, the music is spectacular, the lyrics are very clever, and the story (while not true to Greek mythology) is action packed enough to keep small kids entranced.

Find it on Disney + or Amazon.

A great G rated favorite!

“Mamma Mia”

Mamma Mia is a movie based on the Broadway musical of the same name. Sophie is getting married and discovers she has three possible dads. She decided to invite all of them to her wedding. Meanwhile, her mom has no idea.

The movie is set on the island of Skopelos, and the scenery gives you a real taste of what Greece looks like. Plus it is a musical set to the music of ABBA and features Merryl Streep, what more could you want?

Watch it on amazon prime.

For older audiences, I would recommend the following movies:

The Two Faces of January-a story about a con man who gets involved with a businessman and his wife and ends up in a love triangle and is framed for murder. My husband and I enjoyed this, but the kids were bored after 10 minutes.

Troy– An epic movie about the Trojan War. I stopped watching about 30 minutes into it because I don’t like movies that have battle scenes, but my husband and teenagers were fans.

What to read about Greece

I love this book! My grandparents gave me a copy of it when I was seven years old, and I read it over and over again for years. My tattered copy has been read by my own kids and each of them has fallen in love with the stories and the beautiful illustrations. Dozens of stories and hours of entertainment.

I hope you and your family will love it as much as mine has.

How Else Can you Learn about Greece?

Go on a virtual field trip to Ancient Greece

Enjoy a short virtual field trip where you and your kids can learn all about the buildings and thoughts of the Ancient Greeks.

This week’s supplemental video from Greece is created for kids and is all about the history of Greece and its influence on our modern-day world.

What to Craft from Greece

We are going to craft Greek pottery this week. You will need the following supplies:

• terracotta pot
• black paint or paint pens
• pencil

 

To do this project, you will need to watch this Google slide show and follow the tutorial on the final page.

 

(In essence, you will be rolling a die to show you what to put on your pot. We didn’t want to dig out dice, so we asked Siri to roll a die for us and used that number to pick our designs.)

Watch this video explaining Greek pottery!

Music from Greece

We try to listen to music from each country while we do our craft projects. We liked this music much more than other collections we tried.

My oldest said it reminded him of music from Spain, and I can see how he hears that. This music is primarily music played on the Bouzouki (an instrument that looks like a lute and is strummed like a guitar), and in Spain, most music is played on the mandolin. Both instruments have similar sounds; therefore, Spanish music and Greek music sound similar!

 

I hope you enjoyed learning facts about Greece and about Greek Culture.