Kids (and adults!) are always curious about their peers. Whenever we visit a friend’s house, my kids inevitably want to go see their bedroom, their play area, their backyard. I have noticed the same curiosity when other kids come to our house: kids wonder where we sleep, what toys we play with, or even what snacks we have in our pantry. This natural inquisitiveness is equaled in adults- how many times have you taken in the details of a friend’s home, visited an open house for sale just to see the interior, or watched a show on TV that tours the inside of houses? We can capitalize on this curiosity by taking a fascinating picture tour of houses around the world and then talking about the similarities and differences.
(Dong, 9, shares a room with his parents and sister in Yunnan Province, China). Photo credit: James Mollison, used with permission from his photographic essay “Where Children Sleep”
Here are 3 resources to begin to examine inside houses around the world: 2 great children’s books, and one photographic essay available on-line and in print. These glimpses inside homes and home life in various countries are guaranteed to open your eyes as well as your kids’. Whether in a social studies class, a multicultural unit, or simply for enjoyment, teachers and parents can use these photographic journeys to stimulate children’s wonder and increase our cultural awareness of the many different people, cultures, and ways of life around the world.
Houses and Homes (Around the World Series)
Wonderful Houses Around the World
The final photographic experience that invites us inside homes around the world is brought to us by photographer James Mollison. Mr. Mollison was born in Kenya, educated in London, an currently lives in Venice. He traveled the world and documented children and their bedrooms in a photographic essay aptly called “Where Children Sleep.”
Lamine, 12, shares a room with several boys at a Koranic school in a village in Senegal. Photo credit: James Mollison, used with permission from his photographic essay “Where Children Sleep”
There are over 50 pairs of photographs: a child posed in front of a white background, and his or her bedroom. While some children’s rooms are packed with toys and books, others are sparse. Some children share their room with several other family members or children, and others have their own room. Adults may read deeper into the documentary than our children do, though all ages will enjoy the stunning pictures of kids and their houses around the world (even if they aren’t smiling!).
After reading the books, I suggest that kids and teachers make a list together of what makes a home: is it a gathering place for family and friends? a safe sanctuary where we can relax at the end of the day? a shelter from the elements, where we can sleep comfortably, warm, and dry? a place to prepare and eat meals, celebrate holidays, play games, read books, and enjoy our families?
Teachers doing a social studies unit on Communities and Ways of Life might try a Venn Diagram, displaying similarities and differences between 2 houses in different geographic regions (or between their house and one of the homes in the books).
Additional Resources of Houses Around the World:
Learn about “Famous Buildings and Architecture for Kids!”
Play on-line memory using images of houses around the world.
On-line photo gallery of houses around the world
This is a wonderful idea. We need to have the interest of these children at heart. Our members will like to know more about you and your work.
Come and check out the new WORLD BLOGGERS COMMUNITY (http://worldbloggerscommunity.ning.com). It will be lunched this weekend but sign-ups are already open. Hope to see you there.
Thank you!
Thank you for this post. I can relate to it in so many ways. Visiting you from World Bloggers Community.
We do a middle school math project designing a house while we learn about surface area. One variation we discussed included combining the lesson with Social Studies and drawing homes around the world. This would be an excellent resource for that! Thank you for sharing.
I love interdisciplinary lessons!!! What a fantastic extension activity to globalize math!
This info is a bit misleading. Not all bedrooms of children from China or Senegal are like these on the photos. what is the purpose of showing these photos to western children? if we are going to educate our children about multicultural world, we can at least show them a real world.
You are absolutely- the photographer didn’t take the most typical bedrooms, though they are actual bedrooms.