Top 3 World Thinking Day Online Resources

I have been with my troop for three scout seasons and we have never celebrated World Thinking Day. To be honest, I didn't even know what it truly was until this year. Then I felt really sad that we hadn't been encouraging our girls to engage in this program. As explained by girlscouts.org, "Each year on February 22, World Thinking Day, girls participate in activities and projects with global themes to honor their sister Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in other countries." This year the 'focus' countries are Egypt, Benin, Bangladesh, Armenia, and St. Vincent and Grenadines (although you can celebrate World Thinking Day by learning about any of the 150 countries in the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts community). 

The theme this year focuses on education and how it can provide opportunities and open doors. We want our girls to see how blessed they are to be educated in the United States, while also teaching them that these opportunities don't necessarily exist in other countries. The Girl Scouts USA website has activities, reading materials, and ideas on how to get the girls involved with this vision.

This year our troop chose Costa Rica as our country to celebrate. We have a multi-level troop so the older girls have taken to preparing food and making swaps. I want our younger girls to really learn about what makes Costa Rica different from the USA, so I scoured the Internet for child-friendly facts about the country.

Here are my top 3 websites for facts about countries (child friendly)

1.  Factmonster.com - This website has all the fundamental facts, such as the flag, land area, demographic statistics, etc.. Not super exciting, but good for the important information about your country. The layout is convenient, with all countries listed in alphabetical order. The negative side of this website is that there are a lot of ads and they're sneaky (pop-ups). Adult supervision is definitely a must with this site.
2. TimeForKids.com - This is a fun website for kids to learn about different cultures. The countries are listed by continent (mostly) and the layout is easy to navigate. When you select your country's link, it opens up to a page with the basic info, but on the left-hand side, you'll see a box with other areas to explore. My favorite sub-topic is "Day in the Life", where the girls can explore what living in the selected country is really like.
3. National Geographic Kids - This was my favorite site for learning about our country. The countries are listed alphabetically with a thumbnail picture for each country. I love how the website is super interactive. The girls can watch a short video about their country, send an e-post card, and even print out a fact sheet that includes a photo card.

There are tons of resources to make your World Thinking Day fun and educational. Follow the activities (and remember there are requirements for earning the badge) planned out on the Girl Scout website. Even if you aren't planning on attending a huge council-led event, this should still be a Girl Scout holiday that you get your troops excited about.

Here's the link for everything you need to know about World Thinking Day 2014.