Patchwork Designs > HISTORICALLY SPEAKING POLAND PATCH PROGRAM

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING POLAND PATCH PROGRAM
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1. Poland is a country in north central Europe. Locate Poland on a map and its Capital. Identify Poland's flag and currency.

2. Four meals a day are usually eaten in Poland, the last meal being at 9 PM at night of a sandwich and pastry with tea. Some Polish foods include pierogi, dumpling filled with meat, blintz, rolled up pancake with jam sprinkled with powdered sugar. Try some foods from Poland, discover what foods are ate in Poland, or make a recipe from a Polish cookbook or website.

3. Easter Monday, Dyngus Day, the day when boys dump water or splash girls with water. Better watch out because the girls have buckets too! There are many public holidays and festivals in Poland. Some examples of holidays and festivals include: Mid Summer's Eve, Constitution Day, Harvest Festival, International Gypsy Festival, International Dance Theatre Festival, Easter, and Christmas Day. Visit a cultural celebration or re-creation of a holiday event OR learn the background of the celebrated holiday or festival. You may also create a drawing or art project, or prepare a food.

4. Poster art in Poland began about 100 years ago. Today there is a display of over 2,000 posters in The Krakow Poster Gallery. The designs range from culture and film, to music and literature inspirations. Design your own poster that represents your favorite thing, film, theater show, song, or a cultural item from Poland.

5. Poland has mountains, forests, and flat plains with apple orchards and wheat fields. Pretend you are exploring the different areas in Poland. What would you pack for your visit? Choose an area and talk about activities you could enjoy there, OR create a diorama, OR draw a picture, OR create a craft.

6. The official language spoken in Poland is Polish. The alphabet has 32 letters, created from the Roman Latin Alphabet. It consists of nine vowels and twenty three consonants that have different accents on some of them. Learn some common words in Polish or write some common phrases.

7. Soccer is the most popular sport in Poland. Some other sports and games that are enjoyed are hiking, horseback riding, bridge card game, camping, bicycling, swimming, fishing, skiing, basketball, volleyball and tennis. Learn more about a sport, play a game from Poland, or learn about other pastimes in Poland.

8. Frederic Chopin is Poland's most famous music composer and pianist. Traditional Polish music and dancing are played at festivals and celebrations. There are many different forms of folk dances and songs sung at celebrations. Learn more about Chopin or his music, listen to a Polish song, try to dance to a song, watch a musical show, OR play or learn more about a musical instrument played in Polish music. Such as an accordion, violin, flute, or guitar. Examples of dances: mazur [mah-zoor], kujawiak [koo-yah-wee-AHCK] and polka.

9. Poland's mountains and national parks are the homes to many wild animals. Choose three animals that reside in Poland to learn more about. Examples are: Chamois, small antelope; marmots, similar to groundhogs; elk, deer, black stork, lynx, fox, beavers and otters.

10. Traditional clothing in Poland is worn on festival days or during folk dances The dress for women is a velvet vest decorated with embroidery patterns, full skirt, and a white blouse with long sleeves. If she is not married then she wears a flower wreath on head, married women wear a white scarf. Men wear a kabat, sleeveless coat over a white shirt paired with loose baggy pants tucked into tall boots. The rogatywka, red hat with four corners is decorated with ribbons and peacock feathers. Draw a picture of the clothing, dress up in a Polish costumes, create and accessory, or view traditional clothing through books or the internet or our country manual.

11. There is a long history of folk art in Poland. It preserves the past by passing the skills down from generation to generation. Other handicrafts include: weaving, Wycinanki, paper cutouts; carving, linden boxes, wooden plates and statues; knitting, sewing, jewelry making, pottery, shoemaking, or sculpting. Create a craft or project using a traditional a Polish skill OR representing the Poland OR a holiday craft OR decorate a pair of shoes.

12. Market Square, located in Kraków, is the largest medieval town square in Europe. It dates back to the 13th century and is lined by buildings including the Wawel Castle, the residence of the early Polish kings. Choose one landmark, museum, or site in Poland to research. Find out where they are located and what they represent OR how it was created. Examples are: Wieliczka salt mine, Malbork Castle, National Museum of Poland, Przypkowscy Clock Museum, Chopin or Mermaid Monument, Grand Theater, OR Myslewicki Palace.

13. The Bialowieza National Park is a nature reserve for many animals and rare planets. Lynx, tarpan horse, dwarf birch, boar, heathcock, black stork, grouse, tawny owl, elk, deer, are only a few of the things that reside in Poland. Research three [3] different animals that reside in Poland such as their coloring and habitat.

14. As you take a ride down the Dunajec River the guide will tell you a legend or folktales passed down from the Poland culture. Some of the stories explain why they have monuments located in Poland. Research a folktale or story such as "The Warsaw Mermaid" OR write your own story OR act out a play; OR draw a character from a tale OR create an art project representing Poland or a legend.