Global Service Advent: Cambodia Activities and Service Ideas

Join us as we journey to the incredible country of Cambodia! During this virtual tour of Cambodia for kids, we’ll enjoy fun and inspiring Cambodia activities. This Cambodia 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!

Here’s the list of Global Service Advent Nonprofit Organizations!

This Cambodia 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.

Cambodia Activities for Kids and Service Ideas

SERVE AROUND THE WORLD

Featured Organization Doing Good: Wildlife Alliance

Wildlife Alliance delivers a unique and successful model of hands-on direct protection to 1.3 million hectares of the Cardamom Mountains rainforest, one of the last unfragmented rainforests in Southeast Asia.

How Families Can Help in Cambodia

Consider if there’s some way you can donate or fundraise at least $1 for Wildlife Alliance. Here are some ideas for either fundraising online or outdoors:
- Sell 4 cups of lemonade
- Sing a holiday song in a parking lot and collect donations
- Host a virtual fundraiser
- Teach a 10 minute kids class on Zoom (baking? LEGO building? Star Wars origami?)
Sponsor an animal
Purchase from the virtual gift shop
Simple service at home: Take a walk and remove litter that may be interfering with the environment fo ranimals

Supporting Cambodian Individuals

Look into an online Khmer language course
Try out these authentic Cambodian recipes
Look into some Cambodian jewelry

CAMBODIA ACTIVITIES: LANGUAGE ARTS

Featured Cambodia Book: Cambodia Activities for Preschoolers

A Path of Stars by Anne Sibley O’Brien (Author, Illustrator)

Picture Book Read Aloud

Picture Book Discussion Questions

Other Cambodia Books for Kids

Find a picture book read aloud and discussion of The Cambodian Dancer: Sophany’s Gift of Hope right here!

Languages in Cambodia: Khmer Activities for Language Arts

CAMBODIA SOCIAL STUDIES:

CAMBODIA VIRTUAL TOUR OF HISTORY & LANDMARKS

Facts About the History of Cambodia

The capital of Cambodia is Phnom Penh.
The official name is the Kingdom of Cambodia. Under other governments, the country has also been called the Khmer Republic, Democratic Kampuchea, and the People’s Republic of Kampuchea.
Norodom Sihamoni is the current king of Cambodia.
Cambodia has a very young population. 50% of the population is under 22 years old! This is largely because of the killings from the Khmer Rouge during their time of power.
In Cambodia, you should never sit with your feet facing someone else because it is considered disrespectful.
Over 90% of the Cambodian population is ethnic Khmer.
The official language in Cambodia is Khmer. Over 95% of the population is Buddhist.
People do not traditionally celebrate birthdays in Cambodia. In fact, many older people don’t even know their birthdays!
Cambodia is located in Southeast Asia and is bordered by Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam.
Cambodia has a tropical climate. It has 2 main seasons – a rainy season and a dry season.
History
- Prince Jayavarman II founded a new empire in 790 called the Khmer Empire. It lasted nearly 700 years. The center of the Khmer Empire was the city of Angkor, with the Angkor Wat temple.
- Thailand, Vietnam, France, and Japan all had ruling influence in Cambodia until Cambodia became independent. After just a couple of decades of independence, there was a Cambodian civil war.
- The Khmer Rouge (with its leader Pol Pot) won the war. They killed any opponents and any educated people they could. In just 4 years, they killed about 1-2 million Cambodians, about 1/5 of the population.
- Today, Cambodia is a very peaceful country.

Map of Cambodia

Color in Cambodia on this map of Asia!

Cambodia Flag Activity

Flag from HERE

HERE is a fun printable Cambodian flag coloring sheet!

Cambodia Virtual Tour to Featured Landmarks

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is a huge temple complex, or group of many temples, in Cambodia. It is the biggest religious monument in the world! The original temple was built to honor the Hindu god Vishnu. It later transitioned to become a Buddhist temple.

You can learn more about Angkor Wat here, or in the below video!

Featured Important Cambodian Person: Preah Maha Ghosananda

Preah Maha Ghosananda was called “the Gandhi of Cambodia.” He served as a Buddhist “temple boy” as an 8-year old. He received his higher education in India and studied under one of Mahatma Gandhi’s Japanese disciples.

During Pol Pot’s “Reign of Terror” during the rule of the Khmer Rouge, Maha lived and served in refugee camps at the border of Thailand and Cambodia. He founded 30 temples and distributed copies of Buddhist scriptures. In 1980, shortly after the communist government had been replaced, Maha represented Cambodia at the United Nations. In 1992, he led a 16-day, 125-mile peace walk across Cambodia.

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CAMBODIAN ACTIVITIES: ARTS & CULTURE

Featured Cambodian Artist: Dina Chhan

Dina Chhan was born in a refugee camp when the Khmer Rouge was in power. She learned to carve buffalos and toy dolls by using mud that was very wet during the monsoon season.

Dina paints and sculpts everyday activities and musical scenes. She also does some abstract work. She teaches art to children in orphanages in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.

One of the refugee camps where she lived, Poipet, had many unexploded landmines nearby. She wanted to do something to stop this destructive, hidden problem. So she made sculptures to share the stories of the mines.

You can see some of her work here!

Artist Dina Chhna painter and sculpture bio photo

Cambodian Craft & Culture Activity for Kids

Start by watching THIS VIDEO on the bas reliefs at Angkor Wat. Bas relief, or low relief, is an art form where the artist raises the artwork up from a flat surface, but does not raise it very high. Overall, they have a shallow depth. Coins are a great example of bas relief in everyday life!

Next, chose your medium, or your material that you’ll use to make your own bas relief. Some examples are modeling clay (here’s our favorite inexpensive clay, or here is great colored clay!), play dough (or you can make your own!), or carving out of a bar of soap.

Finally, choose a story from a bas relief at Angkor Wat and recreate your own bas relief. This details the Churning of the Ocean Milk, or you can choose another story. The below books on world religions and Hindu deities are especially helpful!

CAMBODIA ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS: MUSIC & MOVEMENT

Cambodian Movement Activities

Traditional Cambodian Dance

There are a number of types of traditional dance in Cambodia. Cambodian dances often convey different stories.

Cambodian Music

SCIENCE + MATH

Cooking activity, Cambodian animals

Featured Cambodian Food: Cambodian Recipes for Kids

Amok is one of the most common Cambodian dishes. It’s a curry with a hint of sweetness and lemongrass flavor that can have different types of vegetables or meat. It is served with rice.

Here’s a recipe to make a simple amok at home. It uses fairly standard ingredients you likely have at home (you may need to search a bit for lemongrass, though)!

One of my favorite recipes that a dear Cambodian friend (featured in a video below) makes often is Cambodian spring rolls. Here’s a great recipe for them!

Animals in Cambodia

VIDEO + FURTHER LEARNING & DISCUSSION FOR CAMBODIA VIRTUAL TOUR

Kid Videos About Cambodia

Cambodia Conversations with a Local: Culture, History, & Food Discussion Video

Cambodia for Kids Discussion Questions

Why do you think the Khmer Rouge was scared of educated people?
What were the two religions that were represented at Angkor Wat?
If you were to make art from everyday materials like Dina Chhan, what would you use? Or would you do another art form, like Sophany?
Who are some people in your own home country who may also be oppressed? What is something you can do to help them?
What are some common fruits and vegetables used in Cambodia?

Thanks for Taking a Virtual Visit to Cambodia With Us!

We’ve loved putting together this resource to virtually visit Cambodia. We’d love to hear if you do any of these activities for a homeschooling Cambodia 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 Cambodia for kids virtual tour and homeschooling resource along to others, as well!