All About Antarctica for Kids

Antarctica is technically a continent, not a country, but I couldn’t resist throwing it in here (especially since it’s winter in the Northern Hemisphere). On average it’s the coldest, driest and windiest continent, and of course the least inhabited, with only a few thousand people living there at any given time.

Antarctica Basics

Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent and is 40 percent larger than Europe. The land area is around 14,200,000 square kilometers, or 5,500,000 square miles, and most of the land is covered with an ice sheet that’s 1.2 miles/1.9 km deep.

The Antarctic Treaty of 1957 established the continent as a scientific preserve, and nations that do significant research there have a collective say in decision making. Seven different countries claim sovereignty over parts of Antarctica, including Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, Great Britain, New Zealand and Norway.

The land surrounds the South Pole and is almost all below the Antarctic Circle. It’s divided into eastern and western sections separated by the Transantarctic Mountains. Most of the land is a polar desert and it only receives about 6 inches/150 mm or precipitation (mostly as snow) every year.

Antarctica Symbols

Because Antarctica isn’t actually a country it doesn’t have an official flag or national anthem or anything. The emblem of the Antarctic Treaty is sometimes used as a flag (and is shown above).

So how about some fun facts instead? Antarctica is home to penguins and seals, as well a mites, nematodes and tardigrades. What vegetation occurs is mostly lichen and moss.

About 70 percent of the world’s fresh water is frozen in Antarctica, and if it melted would raise sea levels by almost 60 meters/200 feet (thanks Wikipedia!).

The lowest natural air temperature ever recorded was at the Russian Vostok Station on July 21, 1983, and was −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F).

Antarctica Activities for Kids

NASA has a good article about Antarctica for kids and what NASA learns about the earth and about space from studying the continent.

Antarctica Day is apparently December 1 (it celebrates the signing of the treaty in 1959 mentioned above), and you can read more about its importance and the kind of work being done there in this article from the National Science Foundation.

Trillium Montessori has a great set of printable cards on the physical features of Antarctica, including icebergs, glaciers and the South Pole.

Homeschooling My Kinetic Kids has printable cards on different animals that live in and around Antarctica, based on the Antarctic animals Toob toys. You can also make an Antarctica shelf for kids to explore with these ideas from Pinay Homeschooler.

Make fun origami penguins with this craft from Artsy Craftsy Mom.

Antarctica Books for Kids

Learn more about Antarctica with books like these:

Where is Antarctica?
A Kids Guide to Antarctica
Antarctica: A Continent of Wonder
The Frozen Worlds: The Astonishing Nature of the Arctic and the Antarctic

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Activities to Celebrate Ice Cream Month

If you want to teach kids the basics of Hanukkah in the classroom or at home, the picture book Hanukkah by Lesléa Newman and illustrated by Rotem Teplow is a nice place to start.

The book explores the Jewish holiday through the eyes of Lior, a boy whose name means “my light” in Hebrew, which is appropriate for talking about the Festival of Lights.

The book goes through all the preparations the family does, including cleaning, setting the table and cleaning the menorah. It talks about what the menorah symbolizes and the Hanukkah story of the oil in the Holy Temple of Jerusalem lasting for eight days when it should have only been a one-day supply.

The meaning of the letters on the dreidel are also explored, in that when you are in Israel they have a different fourth word (the letters symbolize the Hebrew letters for “a great miracle happened there” or, in Israel, “a great miracle happened here”).

Because the story of Hanukkah involves oil, a lot of the foods that are eaten during the celebration are fried in oil, such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (fried jelly doughnuts). Other foods mentioned include challah, noodle kugel and sour cream and applesauce, which are served with the latkes. Family and friends drop by to share their food, light their menorahs together and play dreidel (the game is explained in the story). It also talks about how the candles are lit through the eight days and what happens at the end of Hanukkah.

The book includes Hanukkah blessings in English and Hebrew and talks about the lunar cycle of the Hebrew calendar, which is why Hanukkah is sometimes celebrated in November and sometimes in December. It also talks about why Jewish holidays are celebrated beginning at sunset rather than in the morning.

Other topics covered include Hanukkah greetings; how to spell Hanukkah; how to make an edible menorah and an tzedakah box (to collect money for charity); recipes for latkes and applesauce; and a more detailed story of Hanukkah than is included within the story of the book. There’s also a quiz to see how well you were paying attention.

This sweet little book is a quick read and a cute overview of the basics of Hanukkah and what the symbols, foods and games mean. It’s a great book for classrooms or at home for sharing basic knowledge.

About the book: 48 pages, hardcover. Published 2024 by words & pictures, suggested retail price $14.99.

Antarctica Basics

Antarctica Symbols

Antarctica Activities for Kids

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