Learning about Algeria for Kids

Our next stop on our nations of the world tour is Algeria. The People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria is located in northern Africa.

Algeria Basics

Albania is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea and the nations of Tunisia, Libya, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Western Sahara and Morocco. It is the largest nation in Africa and the tenth largest in the world by area, covering 919,595 square miles, or 2,381,741 square kilometers. It is more than 200 times larger than the smallest country in Africa! (Which is Gambia, by the way.)

At 44 million residents it is only the tenth most populous nation in Africa. The capitol is Algiers, and the languages spoken there are mostly Algerian Arabic and Berber. The country has 58 provinces.

Algeria was a colony of France from 1830 until it gained independence in 1962. Read more about Algerian history at Britannica Kids. Because of the French influence, that language is still spoken a lot in Algeria, but it is not an official language of the country.

National Symbols

The Algerian flag is half green and half white, with a red crescent and star in the middle. These represent Islam, which is the religion of most people in the country. Green is also a symbol of Islam, and red represents the blood spilled in the struggle for independence, while white is for purity and peace gained through independence.

The national motto is “By the people and for the people,” and the national anthem is called “We Pledge.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-CBPYBA_Qc?si=CN_2ZDMc3ywm64Dq]

The national currency is the dinar.

Algeria Activities for Kids

Learn more about Algeria and download the worksheets from KidsKonnect to test your knowledge.

Algeria has seven UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the kasbah (ancient walled city) in Algiers. You can learn more about the site and check out photos and videos at the UNESCO site.

Another heritage site is Tassili N’Ajjer National Park, which features amazing prehistoric rock art. Read more at National Geographic.

Other than this Reddit post I couldn’t find much on traditional games in Algeria, so if you know about them let me know in the comments!

Couscous is a popular dish in Algeria, which I saw referred to as the unofficial national dish. This recipe from Halal Home Cooking uses lamb, but you can use other meats if you prefer, or just try it with vegetables. And check out this post from Very Hungry Nomads to learn about other popular dishes from Algeria.

Read more about Algeria with the book My First Book: Algeria, or check out this Algeria coloring book that also includes facts about the nation.

[Algeria map via Encyclopaedia Britannica]

When my daughter was younger I would spend a lot of time trying to come up with activities she could do in the car on long road trips and things to entertain her when we were waiting at restaurants and things that didn’t involve screens.

But it turns out there are a lot of great activities you can do with just a piece of paper and a pen.

What Do We Do All Day has a great collection of pen and paper games, including some that can be done with just one person, though they’re all more fun if you have at least two.

There are some classics on here like hangman and dots and boxes, but there are also quite a few I hadn’t heard of before.

I don’t want to spoil the whole list for you because you should definitely click over there and look around, but I will share about the one that you see pictured above.

This game is called Bridges, and you start by making the big random shape and the dividing it into a bunch of sections (the post says 30-50 sections is ideal but I think this one is smaller than that).

Each player gets their own color marker and you take turns drawing bridges from one space to another, crossing a third. Once there’s a bridge, no other bridges can start, end or cross in those spaces. Keep going until no more bridges can be built, and the person who makes the last bridge wins.

Check out the post over at What We Do All Day for more great ideas for no or almost-no prep games you can play with your kids or that kids can play together. I’d love to know if you have a favorite paper and pen game, whether it’s on this list or a different one.

[Photo: What We Do All Day]

Algeria Basics

National Symbols

Algeria Activities for Kids

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