Cultural Dinners

Every couple of months our family hosts a special cultural dinner.  Patrick and I think about a place that we would like to teach our kids and plan the event accordingly.   In honor of where we thought we were going for our 10 year anniversary, we chose Greece.  He does the maps, geography and fun facts while I work on a scrumptious meal. Doesn't that look yummy?

A simple yet classic greek salad, with homemade hummus, grilled zucchini, chicken with a greek seasoning (thanks Scott & Susan for telling us about it!) and closing the meal out with yummy pita and feta cheese.  Patrick pulled out his laptop and showed the boys a map....

and....smart husband of mine spouted out facts he knew about Greece, and actually spent time talking about Paul's journey through Ephesus, and Corinth in the bible.  Then, we talked about about how the Greeks believed in every kind of God....

As the kids get older, every family member will be responsible for doing their own research on the city or country we choose.  Since Tristan enjoys music and singing so much, maybe one day he'll be in charge of finding a CD featuring music from the country.  Hopefully, it’ll become so much fun, that the friends of my children often ask for invitations to the event as well.

 On our top 5 list we chose some interesting places we've been, where food might be fun to sample:

Soryda                    Patrick

   Italy                       Beijing

Kenya                      Alaska

    Paris                       Thailand

  Laos                       Hawaii

              Ecuador                   Cambodia             

These dinners have inspired both the kids and me to learn new things about new places and cultures. It creates excitement over learning and appreciation for different cultures and people.  Even if you're making tacos one night, you can seize an educational opportunity by choosing a South American country and just talk about it a little....Hope this inspires you!