Norway

Here is a list of the resources we used, videos we watched, and activities we did in our study of Norway.

Travel Book Pages

Every time we begin our “travels” to a new country, we always do the same 5 things:

1) Find the flag sticker for the country we are going to travel to, and stick it in our

2) Set up a pretend airplane and sing our "All Around the World" song as we pretend to fly to our destination.

3) Assemble our first travel book page, with the name of the country, the flag, country outline, and the pictures of people dressed in traditional costume.

>> Norway Travel Page 01 - Country Profile Page

4) Have a fun little country themed scavenger hunt! (featured below)

5) Assemble our second travel book page. Although, this page we usually do on our LAST day of learning about the country, since the kids like to pretend that they took all these pictures while they were visiting the country, so this second page is a place for them to “scrapbook” their memories of what they did on their adventure.

>> Norway Travel Page 02 - Scrapbook Page

Norway Scavenger Hunt

Norway Scavenger Hunt. We always like to do a scavenger hunt when learning about a new country. This is the scavenger hunt we put together for Norway.

Fun Facts About Norway (Tyler Klooster)

Fun Facts About Norway. This short video shares some fun and interesting facts about the country of Norway, as told by a true Norwegian.

Let’s Take a Journey: Norway (Miacademy)

Let’s Take a Journey: Norway. Let’s learn about what life is like for kids in Norway.

You May Also Like:

>> Norway For Kids (Playdate With Stacy)

For Older Students:

>> Geography Now! Norway (Geography Now)

>> Oslo, Norway (Rick Steves' Europe)

>> Bergen, Norway (Rick Steves' Europe)

>> Discover the City of Bergen and Norway's Stunning Fjords (DW Travel)

Norway Song For Kids (Playdate With Stacy)

Norway Song For Kids. Learn about Norway with this fun and educational song for kids!

Hogie Goes to Tromso (Hogie the Globehopper)

Hogie Goes to Tromso. Join Hogie and friends as they go in search of the Northern Lights in Tromso, Norway.

Viking Voyage (Super Wings)

Viking Voyage. Jett brings a Viking helmet to Karl in Norway, who is attending a fun Viking camp.

You May Also Like:

>> Camp Fjord (Super Wings)

>> The Snow Princess (Super Wings)

>> Run, Reindeer! Run! (Super Wings)

What Are the Northern Lights? (Colossal Questions)

What Are the Northern Lights? Have you ever stopped and wondered: what are the northern lights, and what causes them to appear? Welcome to Colossal Questions, the show that answers all of life's most pressing questions!

You May Also Like:
>> What Causes the Northern Lights? (BrainStuff)

>> What Is An Aurora? (NASA Space Place)
>> Northern Lights in Trondheim (Life in Norway)

For Older Students:

>> The Northern Lights Explained (Visit Norway)

Northern Lights Art for Kids (Taming Little Monsters)

Northern Lights Art for Kids. Learn how to make a fun and simple Northern Lights art picture using pastels. Kids will love smudging the colors together and creating a beautiful nightscape.

To read the instructions with step-by-step pictures, visit:

https://taminglittlemonsters.com/northern-lights-art-for-kids

A True Norwegian (Visit Norway)

A True Norwegian. Want to behave like a true Norwegian? How to look like a Norwegian to really blend in? What is "a Norwegian arm"? Dag has been in Norway for a while now, and wants to show you what he has learned about Norwegian behavior and how to blend in.

Four Facts to Know About Reindeer (SciShow Kids)

Four Facts to Know About Reindeer. It's getting really cold where Jessi and Squeaks live, and that has her thinking about a super cool animal that's always ready for super cold weather: Reindeer!

Blippi Visits a Reindeer Farm (Blippi)

Blippi Visits a Reindeer Farm. Join Blippi as he feeds reindeers, teaches some fun reindeer facts for kids, and rides in a Santa sleigh.

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>> Blippi Feeds Reindeer (Blippi)

Meet the Indigenous People Herding Reindeer in Norway
(Good Morning America)

Meet the Indigenous People Herding Reindeer in Norway. We shine a light on the Sami people, the only people allowed to herd reindeer in Norway.

The Sami People in Northern Scandinavia (DW Travel)

The Sami People in Northern Scandinavia. Life above the Arctic Circle: DW's Diana Pineros visits the Sámi, an indigenous people in northern Europe, where it's icy cold in winter. The Sámi have been reindeer herders for centuries. To this day, many members of the Sámi community remain true to their culture and live in harmony with nature.

Top Ten Viking Facts (Professor Propeller)

Top Ten Viking Facts. Learn some interesting facts about the vikings!

Amazing Viking Facts for Kids (LearningMole)

Amazing Viking Facts for Kids. A short, animated video, that teaches kids about the vikings in a short story form.

It's a Viking Thing (Justin Time)

It's a Viking Thing. Justin and Squidgy join Olive and her Viking friends who are searching for new land. The crew sails through some stormy seas and past a sea beastie before they finally discover new land. But this land has already been discovered! They're back where they started! Justin shows the Vikings that you can always discover new things, even at home.

Visiting a "Real" Norwegian Viking Village (Visit Norway)

Visiting a "Real" Norwegian Viking Village. Who is the best Viking, Tobias or Gabriella? The duel is ON in the Viking Village Njardarheimr in Gudvangen, Norway!

For Older Students:

>> Vikings for Kids Part 1 (The Touring Teacher)

>> Vikings for Kids Part 2 (The Touring Teacher)
>> Vikings for Kids Part 3 (The Touring Teacher)
>> Vikings for Kids Part 4 (The Touring Teacher)
>> Vikings for Kids Part 5 (The Touring Teacher)

Viking Clothing | Mr Bradley (Learning Made Fun)

Viking Clothing. Viking clothing were not just made to survive in harsh climates but were also worn for status, appearance and to be comfortable. Different clothing was worn for different occasions. Sometimes it was worn to show off wealth while other times it was worm for practicality. Join Mr. Bradley for a fun episode to learn about the vikings.

For Older Students:

>> Viking Weapons and Armour | Mr Bradley (Learning Made Fun)

>> Viking Battle Tactics | Mr Bradley (Learning Made Fun)

>> How They Did It - Growing Up Viking (Invicta)

Sailing a Real Viking Longboat | Mr Bradley (Learning Made Fun)

Sailing a Real Viking Longboat. Join Mr Bradley as he takes a look at the viking ships, and explains how their incredible design was a huge advantage to the vikings.

For Older Students:

>> What's So Special About Viking Ships? | Jan Bill (TED-Ed)

>> How Vikings Built a Real Viking Ship in 10 Hours Without Nails or Power Tools (Old Human Craft)

>> How Viking Built a Real Viking House in 8 Hours (Old Human Craft)

>> How Did Vikings Actually Row Their Ships? (Grimshall)

>> What Nobody Tells You About Viking Raids (Grimshall)

>> Why Did English Women Actually Like Vikings? (Grimshall)

>> What Was It Like to Be a Rich Viking? (Grimshall)

>> What Did Vikings Actually Eat? (Grimshall)

>> Every Genius Detail That Made Viking Longships Remarkable (Smithsonian Channel)

>> How Did Vikings Survive Freezing Seas Without Fire? (WHYLO)

>> How Viking Ships Survived the Brutal Arctic Cold (The Viking Archive)

>> The Economics of Owning a Viking Trading Ship (Capital Blueprint)

>> Why Did The Vikings Really Disappear? (Sticky Explainee)

>> Who Was Harald Hardrada? | The Last Viking Conqueror (Look Back History)

>> How Far Did the Vikings Explore? (KhAnubis)

Who Were the Vikings? (A Kid Explains History)

Who Were the Vikings? In this episode of "A Kid Explains History", Quinn teaches kids all kinds of interesting facts about the vikings and some important details about their history.

Before the Vikings (Norse to Now)

Before the Vikings. The Vikings didn't come out of nowhere. Three days before the raid that started the Viking Age, Norway was already a sophisticated, connected, hierarchical society — and almost nobody knows what it actually looked like. This is the story of Norway before the first longship launched.

Amy Searches for Dragons in Norway | How To Train Your Dragon (YMC)

Amy Searches for Dragons in Norway.

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>> Where Is Berk? | How to Train Your Dragon (Khanubis)

>> When & Where Does the How to Train Your Dragon Series Take Place? (Mickeyology)

>> The Scottish Secret Behind This Movie Theme (Film Score and More)

Viking Paper Craft (Teachers Pay Teachers)

Viking Paper Craft. The kids really had a lot of fun making these paper vikings. I purchased the pattern from Teachers Pay Teachers, then cut out the pieces and let the kids each glue\assemble their vikings and color them any way they wanted. After that, I actually laminated the completed project so that the kids could play with them. They had hours of fun – both creating and playing with their viking characters.

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>> Viking Ship Craft (Teachers Pay Teachers)

Hnefatafl | Viking Chess

Hnefatafl | Viking Chess. Since we’ve been learning a lot about Vikings in our study of Norway (and the kids saw this game featured in one of the videos we watched), we decided to learn how to play Hnefatafl, otherwise known as “Viking Chess”.

Printable Board Game:

Copenhagen Hnefatafl Print-and-Play

To set up our game, I simply printed out the play board, cut it out, and covered the entire thing with packing tape (to sort of laminate the board). Then I just used one of the wooden kings from our chess game and the rest of the pieces I nabbed from our Othello game, and it worked great!

(You can also purchase the game on Amazon)

How to Play Viking Chess | Hnefatafl (Triple S Games)

How to Play Viking Chess. A quick introduction on how to play the Viking Chess game, Hnefatafl.

For Older Students:

>> How to Play Hnefatafl 2-Player Version (Hnefatafl: The Viking Tales)
>> How to Play Hnefatafl 4-Player Version (Hnefatafl: The Viking Tales)

The Littlest Viking Read Aloud Storybook (Let’s Read Stories)

The Littlest Viking. Sven might be the littlest Viking, but he has no trouble making himself known. He has the loudest warrior cry and the fiercest set of teeth. He loves to pillage and plunder. A fun little story about what happens to the littlest and loudest Viking when an even littler and louder Viking arrives.

How To Be a Viking (Stories With Scott)

How to Be a Viking. Join Hiccup the Viking as he ventures out to sea for the very first time.

Anna and the Scandinavian Hearts (by Wendy Jangaard Jensen)

Anna and the Scandinavian Hearts. I couldn’t find an online read-aloud video for this story (which is usually our preferred way of doing storytime in school), but this book was available on the Kindle (even with an option to read online with Kindle on the web), so we just did that.

It was a cute little story that teaches kids about “symbols” and the different meanings that different symbols have. More specifically, the book tells about the symbol of the woven heart that is often found in Norway and other Scandinavian countries.

Since I really wanted to do the “woven heart” craft with the kids (below) I found this short story to be a great introduction to that.

Scandinavian Heart Basket Craft | Video Demo & Pattern
(Teachers Pay Teachers)

Scandinavian Heart Basket Craft. There are lots of free options for learning how to do this particular craft, but I went ahead and purchased the pattern (comes with a video demo) from the Teachers Pay Teachers website since it just made the whole project very simple and straight-forward with no advanced prep (or practice) needed. I just printed the pattern sheets and was ready to teach the class!

Woven Paper Hearts Craft (Sparkle and Splatter)

Woven Paper Hearts Craft. Woven paper hearts are a very popular holiday item in Scandinavian countries, including Norway. It is an old Scandinavian tradition to make woven heart baskets (from paper or felt) and fill them with candies or nuts and hang them on the Christmas tree.

Download a Woven Heart Basket Pattern Here!

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>> Simple Paper Weaving (Crazy Art Class)

>> How to Make Julekurver Woven Heart Baskets (Tom Toomey)
>> How to Make a Velentine’s Day Felt Woven Basket (Sunday with Sarah)
>> Do It Yourself Danish Heart Basket Ornaments (WonderFil Specialty Threads)
>> Scandinavian Woven Heart Basket (AutoDesk Instructables)

Eurasian Lynx (Leo the Wildlife Ranger)

Eurasian Lynx. Leo the Wildlife Ranger is one of the cutest shows for teaching young kids about animals. In this episode, kids will learn about the Eurasian Lynx, a wild cat that can be found in Norway.

Other Episodes That Feature Animals in Norway:
>> Big Baby Day Out - Blue Whale (Leo the Wildlife Ranger)
>> Whale You Move - Sperm Whale (Leo the Wildlife Ranger)
>> The Ocean Vacuum Cleaner - Sea Cucumbers (Leo the Wildlife Ranger)
>> The Underwater Spider - Sea Spider (Leo the Wildlife Ranger)

Brigadier Sir Nils Olav III (bitividi)

Brigadier Sir Nils Olav III. Learn about Sir Nils Olav III, the knighted penguin at Edinburgh Zoo, who has received multiple promotions, and currently holds a very high position in the Norwegian Kings Guard.

For Older Students:

>> Every Honour Earned by Nils the Military Penguin (Qxir)

>> The World's Most Famous Penguin (BBC Scotland)

>> The Knighted Penguin of Edinburgh Zoo | Sir Nils Olav (Clan Broonford)

>> King Penguin with Royal Connections (Royal Family Channel)

The Norwegian Royal Family (Royal News Network)

The Norwegian Royal Family. Learn about Sir Nils Olav III, the knighted penguin at Edinburgh Zoo, who has received multiple promotions, and currently holds a very high position in the Norwegian Kings Guard.

For Older Students:

>> 10 Things You Didn't Know About the Norwegian Royal Family (Royal News Network)

The Moose Feud Between Norway and Saskatchewan (Global News)

The Moose Feud Between Norway and Saskatchewan. Aired on January 24, 2019, this news broadcast tells about the feud between Norway and Canada over the title for the World's Tallest Moose statue.

Weird Tourist Attractions in Norway (How to Norway)

Weird Tourist Attractions in Norway. Who wouldn’t want to see the world’s biggest toothpick, a stunning toilet, or visit a stockfish museum? Norway has plenty of beautiful tourist attractions—but also a bunch of pretty weird ones. Tobias and Gabriella take you through a few of their favorites, like the big moose that got us into a moose war with Canada!

What is a Fjord? (Visit Norway)

What is a Fjord. This video explores the unique geographical features of fjords in Norway. The hosts explain what fjords are, how they were formed, and why they are so special to Norway.

For Older Students:

>> Is This The Most Beautiful Country In The World? (Jaychel)

>> Amazing Places to Visit in Norway (Joyous Travel)

>> Why Norway Is Insanely Well Designed (OBF)

Norwegian Food and Snacks You Must Try (Visit Norway)

Norwegian Food and Snacks You Must Try. Norwegian snacks? Dag and Katarina try different kinds of traditional Norwegian snacks, from very weird to super delicious! Have you ever tried some of these?

You May Also Like:
>> How to Celebrate Constitution Day (Visit Norway)

For Older Students:

>> How To Norway Season 1 (Visit Norway)

>> How To Norway Season 2 (Visit Norway)

>> Norwegian Food Tour | Americans Try Norwegian Food (The Endless Adventure)

Most Popular Norway Foods (Travel & Taste)

Most Popular Norway Foods. Learn about the most popular foods served in Norway.

Kringle Recipe | Norwegian Cookie (Sons of Norway)

Kringle Recipe | Norwegian Cookie. Here’s a recipe for making a delicious Norwegian treat that’s not too sweet, and really soft (almost cake like). The recipe is super simple (even my 3-year-old was able to roll and twist the dough to shape the cookies), and I have to say we really enjoyed both making AND eating these cookies!

You May Also Like:
>> Cookbook: Classic Recipes of Norway (Amazon)

Kransekake | Norwegian Wreath Cake (That Bread Lady)

Kransekake | Norwegian Wreath Cake. This video teaches you how to make the Norwegian Wreath Cake (called Kransekake). The exact recipe (and even a link for where to buy a mold to shape the rings easier) can be found at The Bread Lady website.

The World’s Largest Gingerbread City (DW News)

The World’s Largest Gingerbread City. An entire miniature gingerbread city in Bergen, Norway. Visitors can marvel at the over 2,000 delectable creations including castles and churches on display during the Christmas season.

Bergen's Incredible Stave Church (Life in Norway)

Bergen's Incredible Stave Church. Does your local church have dragon heads adorning its rooftops? Today it’s time to explore these architectural marvels of Norway, the stave churches, and in particular Fantoft Stave Church in Bergen.

For Older Students:

>> Why Norway's Churches Look Weird (Hoog)

Where the Sun Never Sets | Midnight Sun in Norway (Visit Norway)

Where the Sun Never Sets. From mid-May until the end of July, the sun never sets in Northern Norway. Life in this part of the world is very different. When the sun never sets, does the day really end? For many, it is an excellent excuse to stay outside all night long!

You May Also Like:

>> Midnight Sun in Tromso (Life in Norway)

>> Norway's "Garden of Eden" Tropical Island in Stavanger (Life in Norway)

>> Visiting the Town That's Always Dark - No Sunlight (Ben Morris)

>> What Is Svalbard? | More Polar Bears Than People (Drew Binsky)

For Older Students:

>> Norway’s Midnight Sun in Real? (Gregor Brown)

What Is Svalbard? | More Polar Bears Than People (Drew Binsky)

What Is Svalbard? | More Polar Bears Than People. Join Drew Binsky as he travels to the northernmost inhabited place on earth -- a place that has more polar bears than residents!

You May Also Like:

>> Visiting the Town That's Always Dark - No Sunlight (Ben Morris)

>> My Trip to Svalbard, Norway (Allison Anderson)

For Older Students:

>> What On Earth Is Svalbard? (ChronoSphere)

Polar Climate Song For Kids (Playdate With Stacy)

Polar Climate Song For Kids. Learn about the polar climate with this fun and educational song for kids!

Trying Cross-Country Skiing For the First Time (Visit Norway)

Trying Cross-Country Skiing For the First Time. Gabriella is a bit skeptical before trying cross-country skiing for the first time. But since she is in Norway, and there's nothing more Norwegian than cross-country skiing, she will give it a go. Luckily, she has Tobias with her, born and raised with skis on his feet!

Norwegian Folk Music - Gudbrandsdalen (NTV - Hello Norway)

Norwegian Folk Music - Gudbrandsdalen. Listen to some beautiful traditional music from Norway. In our classroom, we like to listen to traditional music playing in the background as we’re working on our travel books or other activities.