Global Service Advent: Brazil Activities and Service Ideas

South and Central America week for the Global Service Advent is sponsored by Cotopaxi.

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Join us as we journey to the incredible country of Brazil! During this virtual tour of Brazil for kids, we’ll enjoy fun and inspiring Brazil activities. This Brazil virtual field trip is a perfect way to explore and also serve the world right from home during this holiday season!

You can find the full list of countries for the global children’s advent right HERE. Be sure to sign up for the email list to get all the information in advance and to receive fun extras!

Don’t miss the global service opportunities, teaching moments, and giveaways with the Global Service Advent!

Get your FREE Printable Global Service Advent Coloring Calendar here!

Here’s the 2020 Global Service Advent schedule!

Here’s the Global Service Advent Printable Book List!

This Brazil virtual tour contains affiliate links, but all opinions are 100% my own. That means I earn a small commission if you purchase through my link, but doesn’t change your price.

Brazil Activities for Kids and Service Ideas

Table of Contents

SERVE AROUND THE WORLD

Featured Organization Doing Good: Mercy Corps x Cotopaxi

In Brazil, Cotopaxi teamed up with the nonprofit Mercy Corps. Together, they have provided up to 8,000 medical consultations through 32 mobile medical units for individuals with COVID-19.

With funding from Cotopaxi, Mercy Corps also purchased medical equipment and supplies for hospitals, as well as provided hygiene kits, baby formula, and other needed items as determined by the community in need. Through this program 1,000 sets of PPE were provided to 350 health care workers.

How Families Can Help in Brazil

Consider if there’s some way you can donate or fundraise at least $1 for Mercy Corps. Here are some ideas for either fundraising online or outdoors (with a mask, of course!):
- Sell 4 cups of lemonade
- Sing a holiday song in a parking lot and collect donations
- Host a virtual Mercy Corps fundraiser
- Teach a 10 minute kids class on Zoom (baking? LEGO building? Star Wars origami?)
Purchase a Cotopaxi face mask. With each purchase, one is donated to someone in need via Mercy Corps.
Donate to Mercy Corps.
Reach out to Congress to help protect foreign aid to provide assistance to vulnerable families.

Supporting Individuals in Brazil

Purchase some authentic Brazilian instruments
Sign up for an online capoeira class
Purchase a Brazilian hammock
Attend a virtual Brazilian cooking class

BRAZIL ACTIVITIES: LANGUAGE ARTS

Featured Brazil Book

The Sock Thief: A Soccer Story by Ana Crespo (Author), Nana Gonzales (Illustrator)

Find it on Bookshop.org and support local bookstores.

Book Read Aloud

The Sock Thief Picture Book Discussion Questions

Other Brazil Books for Kids

Brazil Activity Books

Languages in Brazil: Brazil Activities for Language Arts

Portuguese is the official language of Brazil, but there are over 200 indigenous languages.

BRAZIL SOCIAL STUDIES: BRAZIL VIRTUAL TOUR OF HISTORY & LANDMARKS

Brazil History

Basic 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.
Jair Bolsonaro is the current president of Brazil.
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.
The currency in Brazil is the Real. $1 USD is about 3.3 Brazilian Reals.

Interesting Facts

Brazil is the only country in South America that speaks Portuguese.
Brazil covers 3 time zones.
About 60% of the Amazon rainforest is located in Brazil.
Brazil shares a border with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador.
Brazil was the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery (in 1888).

Map of Brazil

Color in Brazil on this map of South America!

Brazil Flag Activity

Flag from HERE

HERE is a fun printable Brazilian flag coloring sheet!

Brazil Virtual Tour to Featured Landmarks

Amazon Rainforest

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEsV5rqbVNQ

Iguazu Falls

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 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.

BRAZIL ACTIVITIES: ARTS & CULTURE

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).

Brazilian Craft Activity for Kids

Carnaval Mask

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:

Paper Plates (the thicker ones will work better)
Scissors
Paint
Paint Brushes
Glue
Feathers
Sequins
Glitter
Wooden dowel or Craft elastic

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 Activities for Kids

BRAZIL ACTIVITIES: MUSIC & MOVEMENT

Brazil Movement Activities

Sports in Brazil

Soccer is very popular in Brazil. During the World Cup, some people even painted their animals the colors of the Brazilian flag!

Capoeira

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!

Brazilian Folk Dance

Brazilian Samba

Samba is very popular in Brazil. You can learn some of the basic steps right here!

Brazilian Music

SCIENCE + MATH

Cooking activity, Brazilian animals

Brazilian Foods

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!

Brazilian Limeade

This is my favorite Brazilian drink – fresh limes with the peel blended with sweetened condensed milk. So good and so simple.

Animals in Brazil

VIDEO + FURTHER LEARNING & DISCUSSION FOR BRAZIL VIRTUAL TOUR

Kid Movies About Brazil

Brazil with 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?
If you were giving something up for Lent, what would it be and how would you celebrate it during Carnaval?
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!