8 Fun Ways to Teach Kids About the Philippines and Filipino Culture

Kids learn to love what is familiar and what they know. This is why I believe that instilling nationalism is better achieved when kids appreciate our country’s rich culture and heritage at an early age! Don’t you agree?

So if you’re looking for ideas on how to teach young kids about The Philippines, whether you homeschool or supplement school, look no further! Today, I’m sharing with you some tips on how you can do just that.

(Plus BONUS: A free trial subscription to one of my favorite printables sites ever at the end of the post!)

1. Sing Filipino songs

Get the kids singing Bahay Kubo and other Filipino folk songs! Start with singing and lots of dancing (we are Filipinos after all!) and as the kids get older, familiarize them with the meaning of the song lyrics.

2. Create paper crafts of Filipino landmarks and icons

Do you have a crafty kid? I have one! And one of the things we love doing together are these Filipino themed paper crafts that I got from Twinkl. I use the activity as a tie-up to whatever lesson we are currently having. It’s also how I introduce them to landmarks before we visit them.

So cute right? They make for nice displays in your homeschool room too!

3. Read Filipino stories aloud

Thankfully, there are a lot of available children’s books written in Filipino and I highly recommend them. There are even some that are bilingual (Filipino-English), which may be helpful if your child is used to reading only in English.

If access to Filipino books is hard OR if you need more to supplement, you can also try these E-Books from Twinkl. The stories are fun and they were made specifically for budding readers.

4. Eat Filipino food together

Bibingka, halo-halo, puto, kuchinta! Have your kids tried these? If our traditional Filipino dishes are not usually part of your everyday diet, try introducing them.

Bonus tip: look for stories or books that match! We recommend reading the book “Hating Kapatid” while eating sapin-sapin!

5. Familiarize them with Philippine geography with map work

We do a lot of map work in our homeschool and it’s been a great way to engage them.

For younger kids, I start with coloring pages (download nice ones here!) Then we slowly progress to copying the lineart. Start with familiarizing them with Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. And work your way up to other maps (Metro Manila, Visayas region, etc.)

6. Celebrate local holidays

Introduce your kids to our local holidays by learning about the history and celebrating in simple ways like crafts and activities. This will help them appreciate our history more and gain a better appreciation.

Some great holidays to introduce to your kids (linking here some resources you can use for each): Independence Day, National Heroes Day, and Edsa People Power Anniversary.

7. Introduce our famous landmarks

Introduce them to famous spots in the country like the Banaue Rice Terraces, Mayon Volcano, Fort Santiago. You can try combining this with your map work by letting them plot the spots in a map.

Try these paper crafts and coloring sheets for kids to start.

8. Visit different places in the country

Now that they know about the landmarks, let’s go and visit them! 😉 Nothing compares to first hand experience so whenever possible, bring the kids out to see our famous spots. Let’s not be tourists in our own country.

Some ideas for you: Visit museums within the city (Metro Manila: National Museum, Ayala Museum, Museo Pambata), experience historical monuments and spots (kalesa ride at Intramuros) and try visiting immersive places like Las Casas de Acuzar.

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Resource suggestion:

A lot of the things I suggested here can easily done by clicking the download button on the resources I linked, thanks to Twinkl!

I’ve been using Twinkl since 2020 (when my eldest was in Kindergarten) and I’m still subscribed until now, 4 years later (as my youngest now enters Kindergarten!) It’s been such a big help for me, being able to find printables and crafts for a variety of topics!

Honestly, my favorite way to use Twinkl is as a supplement to our history and Filipino lessons. There’s such a huge variety of printables available and you’ll never run out!

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