With Tea Collection’s launch of its Brazil line, instead of daydreaming about warm, sandy beaches or Mardis Gras and Carnival, my mind wondered to soccer. Let me explain … I have a preschooler in the house.

Our son will be four in a few months, and this fall he participated in soccer school, which involved a 30-minute group lesson once a week. The program was offered by Soccer Shots (www.soccershots.org), and he absolutely loved it. So much so that he asked his grandparents for soccer cleats for Christmas. The shoes did not disappoint—shiny silver with red accents; I want a pair in my size, and I could be the world’s worst soccer player. To round out the outfit, my husband and I added a Francesco Totti jersey and shorts. (Totti is apparently a star player for Italy’s SA Roma team, which of course I didn’t know.)

Sometimes, we spot soccer games on television, occasionally with international teams. Our son is starting to understand what a country is and where a few are located, as we work his world map puzzle (made by Mudpuppy) on the floor a few nights per week. The puzzle has great imagery for kids, including a soccer player situated where Brazil would be. The puzzle does not name countries or include borders; it only names the continents and oceans, which saves space for all of the colorful graphics. It is helpful, though, that soccer is so beloved all over the world, because I have an excuse to explain to him that the game he enjoys so much is also adored by children and adults in almost every other country on the map. I am actually looking forward to next year’s World Cup, both as an opportunity to watch fantastic soccer with my son, but also as a shameless excuse to sneak in some geography lessons. Goooooooooal!

My son, Jude, developed a fun (and challenging!) game that involves reading an imaginary story. He holds up an imaginary book (his hand), and his father or I get to make up a story while he turns the imaginary pages. Sometimes we use familiar characters like Thomas the Tank Engine or something he is interested in like dinosaurs, but inspired by Emily Meyer’s post last week about Brazil, I decided to use one of these opportunities to make the “foreign familiar”.

I re-created a story about Barney going shopping with two pals. Barney Goes Shopping isn’t exactly my pick for great children’s literature, but this is currently one of my son’s favorite books mostly because it is an interactive book which asks questions and has a little car at the top that the child drives to each destination.

In my story, I changed the characters to Isadora, Danilo, and Lia (Brazilian names). I described the rich scenery of Brazil including the highland mountains providing a dramatic backdrop for the city and the open-air market or feira. Isadora, Danilo, and Lia shop at various stalls to buy fruits, spices, and pastels (meat and cheese filled turnovers) for a party. We used our fingers to imagine our new friends walking through the narrow paths between stalls that sell all sorts of handmade items, clothes, baskets, and natural medicines.

Of course, this would be easy to do with any culture. And if your child was older you could make the story more elaborate and have them help create the story. An easy way to get started is to pick a story that you know well, you know the one you have read a hundred times, and use that as a starting place like I did. Change the characters’ names to ones that are from another culture, change the scenery to a less familiar part of the world. Insert activities or objects that might be customary for that part of the world. Try to use some words from the language that is spoken by this culture. Ask your child questions as you go through the story to get them to use their imagination and to keep them interested.

Using the imaginary book game to enlighten your child about other cultures will stimulate their imaginations and help them appreciate differences and similarities between their own lives and those of children living in other parts of the world. Believe me it is definitely more fun on my end as a parent, when I can offer an imaginary book as an alternative to the 123^rd reading of Barney Goes Shopping!

*This is actually written by my husband, David. Capoeira is one of his great loves.

One of the most amazing imports from Brazil to the U.S. in recent years has been capoeira, an athletic game that is part sport, part dance and part martial art. Capoeira academies are springing up in most major cities, and offer a fascinating glimpse of Brazilian history, music, and culture, while at the same time providing a fun way to get in shape and also learn self-defense.

Capoeira is “played” when two people enter a circle of on-lookers, and engage in an unchoreographed dialogue of movements. As the circle sings in Portuguese, and plays traditional instruments, the two players move to the rhythms in a fluid interaction of kicks, swaying torsos, and amazing acrobatics. At times the music is slow, and the game is playful and low to the ground, at other times the music accelerates and the interaction becomes more martial and can appear quite dangerous, although in fact movements are exquisitely controlled and violence is not the goal.

Capoeira was developed by African slaves in Brazil, and may have some of its origins in African traditions. The way that martial elements are concealed as a dance may also reflect the conditions under which the slaves trained for self-defense.

How does one “win” a capoeira game? On the one hand, the game is played for the sake of beauty, and also communication, just as two ballroom dancers communicate with each other in a conversation of subtle and dramatic movements. On the other hand, capoeira introduces an element of treachery in the midst of the dance; players are looking for a chance to tug at a supporting leg with one of many different techniques, so that the other player lands sitting on the ground. The most important rule in capoeira is to avoid sitting, and avoid having the other player sweep your legs. A well-executed leg sweep is perfectly timed, so that someone lands softly. Both players, and the crowd, recognize the skill of the player who is successful in sweeping the other. Mastery can also be demonstrated by complicated acrobatics, or by catching the other player with a kick; it is good form to pull the kick at the last moment to avoid hurting the other player, and good form for the other player to acknowledge being caught.

Capoeira is also an ideal activity for children. Many academies have special children’s classes, for children as young as five years. The combination of music, athletics, and culture is sure to be a blast for little ones. If they can play, then they are ready to start playing capoeira.