DIY Little Passports: Madagascar

Manoa ahoana! That’s Malagasy for “hello” at our next stop on our World Explorer tour, the island of Madagascar. Madagascar is famous for its plant and wildlife, most which are only found on this island! The Malagasy people are also very unique, especially with their customs for honoring their ancestors. Check out what we got for this month’s package to learn about this amazing island!

In This Package

• Madagascar Bingo Game
• Madagascar Animal Fact Cards
• Stuffed Ring-tailed Lemur by Wild Republic

Additional Resources:

• ​Library Books about Chameleons (most are native to Madagascar), “Super Pasta and Rice Dishes” (rice is a main food)
• Lemurs video “Island of Lemurs: Madagascar”​ – see trailer here

That’s not much, what gives? The librarian said there simply isn’t much out there on Madagascar!?? See “Other Awesome Ideas for Madagascar” below. I actually have a friend who lives in Madagascar who I had been pen pals with, and all of her letters actually had French stamps! So, I didn’t get to include an authentic Madagascar stamp.

Why didn’t I include the animated movie “Madagascar”? Mostly it’s because I find it subpar animation, loud, obnoxious, and annoying haha… and the movie is about a lion, zebra, hippo, and giraffe—none of which are animals from Madagascar! But for reals, I did end up renting it for the kids since it brings them joy especially the music, and it does have the lemurs and a foosa in the story. I probably should have included it!

Things Mentioned in the Letter:

• ​Being called the 8th continent for its unique land, animal, and people
• Over 90% endemic plant and wildlife or only found in Madagascar!
• Lemurs
• Rice, a staple food
• An interactive link on PBS to explore the Canyonlands, Spiny Desert, Rainforests, and Villages of Madagascar: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/madagascar/explore/

Madagascar Bingo

I got permission from the photographer Rhett Butler of WildMadagascar.org for these amazing pics to create a fun Bingo game and animal fact cards that my Explorer could use to learn about Madagascar! I would like to offer them for free download as an educational resource soon, and will update this post if I get any requests.

Other Awesome Ideas for Madagascar

Check out these other books, crafts, and activities I would have loved to include for Madagascar! I especially recommend “Torina’s World : A Child’s Life in Madagascar” by Joni Kabana, which includes beautiful black and white photographs and poignant text to help children learn about and connect with the life of this little girl in Madagascar. It was less than $5 for a very good condition copy on eBay, or new copies were available at the author’s website.

My other personal favorites were the lemur cupcakes, a Malagasy stew if you’re feeling more authentic, and the color changing chameleon craft using paper plates, paint, and a brad!

Cost Breakdown

• French stamp: Included with initial package
• Madagascar Bingo Game & Animal Fact Cards: $10 to print- I got them on fancy card stock and laminated for durability, so that definitely added to the cost!
• Stuffed Ring-tailed Lemur by Wild Republic: $8.97

Total Cost for this month’s package: $18.97

How It’s Going

The ring-tailed lemur is her favorite stuffed animal now! It’s great quality and very soft, plus the long tail perfect for swinging and piggy back rides has been the envy of all her brothers. She’s been taking it with her everywhere—brushing her teeth, our road trip to Idaho, bedtime… She made a leash and jewelry for it out of pipe cleaners when she played all day with her cousins. We’ve also played the Madagascar Bingo game with pennies quite a few times! There were so many options for the animals and plants, we would play until blackout Bingo (all of the spaces were filled) so we could read about all of them especially the lemurs. A big success this month!

Check out all the other places we’ve explored in this DIY Little Passports project here!