Exploring Louisiana Through Little Passports

Time to share another of our adventures with Little Passports! This time we took a virtual trip to Louisiana. 

Trevor started by building the model of the paddle steamer. Then we did a wordsearch about the local lingo in Louisiana. Do you know what a fais-dodo, a shotgun house, or a faubourg are? I didn't! A fais-dodo is a dance party. A shotgun is a long, narrow house with all the rooms lined up and doors on the two ends. A faubourg is the French word for suburb. I always learn new things with Little Passports!

Next, we learned about the regions of Louisiana. We read about jazz music in New Orleans and were amazed to discover that brass bands parade in the streets every Sunday. We did an activity about the birds of Louisiana and learned how swamps' slow currents help filter water for Louisiana's plants and animals. 

We read about the connection between the fleur-de-lis and Louisiana with our next activity. The Boy Scouts of American use the fleur-de-lis as their symbol, so it's very familiar to Trevor. We were fascinated to learn that, despite its literal French translation as 'lily flower', there are historians who claim the fleur-de-lis was actually designed to look like an iris, not a lily. Others say it was originally designed after the head of a throwing spear or even from a honeybee, a symbol of French royalty. After reading all the explanations, Trevor thinks that the spear is the most likely. I'm voting for the bee. 

After reading about Oak Alley Plantation and famous events that happened in Louisiana, it was time for cooking. Louisiana is famous for a lot of amazing food, so it was fun to see which recipe they chose to include in the State Journal - jambalaya. Trevor started by chopping 'the trinity' of onions, celery, and bell peppers.

He followed the recipe exactly, with one exception. He reduced the amount of cayenne significantly. We don't like our food too spicy! 

Finally, we made mini mardi gras floats out of single-size cereal boxes. Affiliate links below.  

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Mini Mardi Gras Float

Materials: 

• small cereal box
• hot glue gun
• white gesso
• green, purple, and gold paint
• green, purple, and gold feathers
• green, purple, and gold Stickles
• flowers, gems, sequins, etc.

Steps:

Empty the cereal box and coat it with gesso. Let that dry. Glue the open end shut.

Paint the cereal box and let it dry. 

Decorate with feathers, sequins, flowers, or whatever else! 

What good is a float without people on it? Lego minifigs to the rescue! The jester fits right in...

Let's add the princess and the frog and Dr. Jekyll! This is Trevor's float.

This one is mine. 

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We had such a fun time with our virtual trip to Louisiana! We hope to actually visit it in person soon. It seems like a wonderful place with so much to explore. Thanks to Little Passports for introducing us to the Pelican State!