Netherlands Unit Study | Geography Curriculum & Hands-On Activities for Kids

Discover the Netherlands with our hands-on, literature-based unit study that includes lessons in geography, language arts, science, music, math, and more.

Explore Dutch fairy tales, read The Wheel on the School and All in a Drop: How Antony Van Leeuwenhoek Discovered an Invisible World, learn about the country’s water management and flood control measures, and study the geography of the Netherlands through mapwork and notebooking activities.

Along the way, you’ll meet artist Vincent van Gogh, discover the canal houses of Amsterdam, prepare stroopwafels, and learn how to play Spijkerpoepen.

✅ What You're Purchasing:

Our unit studies are literature-based learning frameworks built around carefully curated books, mapwork, journaling, and hands-on cultural activities. While books and select media resources are referenced, they are not included. Each country study provides flexible lesson plans, ready-to-use printables, and engaging activities that make it easy to explore the world together as a family or classroom.

✅ What's Included:

• Netherlands Notebooking Page: Students record important facts, color the national flag, document their favorite discoveries, and draw scenes from the geography, culture, plants, and wildlife of the Netherlands.
• Netherlands Mapwork Activity: Students will locate major cities, geographical features, and cultural landmarks on an outline map and are encouraged to personalize their maps with illustrations, labels, and symbols that reflect what they’ve learned about the country.
• Literature Study: Explore Dutch fairy tales and read The Wheel on the School by Meindert De Jong and All in a Drop: How Antony Van Leeuwenhoek Discovered an Invisible World by Lori Alexander while completing guided discussion questions and extension activities.
• Circle Round: Listen to “Riches to Rags” and then follow up with guided writing activities based on Judith C. Hochman’s The Writing Revolution method.
• The Writing Revolution Resources: Build writing skills with sentence-based exercises that connect directly to what students are learning about the Netherlands.
• Science Notebooking: Discover how the Dutch use dikes, canals, pumps, and polders to manage water and protect land below sea level while completing a science notebooking activity.
• Elapsed Time Task Cards: Build real-world math skills by solving elapsed time problems connected to places throughout the Netherlands.
• Artist Study: Learn about Vincent van Gogh and explore the bold colors and expressive brushstrokes that made him one of history’s most influential artists.
• Creative Arts: Design and create colorful Dutch canal houses inspired by Amsterdam’s famous waterfront architecture.
• Cooking Class: Learn how to make Dutch stroopwafels.
• Global Games: Play Spijkerpoepen, a Dutch party game that challenges players to lower a nail tied to a string into a bottle.

✅ Bonus Materials:

• Printable Global Explorers Cookbook Page for the Netherlands
• Discover the Netherlands: Bingo Challenge activity sheet
• Netherlands Unit Overview Sheet
• Access to our optional digital planning tool in Notion
• Plus, more than a dozen extra printable resources, such as book passports, food chain pyramid templates, and more!

Format: Printable PDF + Optional Digital Access

Best For: Homeschoolers, co-ops, enrichment, Montessori continent studies, and classroom geography units

Why Choose Global Explorers?

At the Global Explorers Club, we believe geography should be an adventure and not just a list of places to memorize. Our secular, literature-based unit studies allow children to explore the world through living books, hands-on activities, mapwork, and meaningful cultural experiences. Designed for flexible, family-style learning, each study encourages curiosity, critical thinking, and a deeper appreciation for the people, places, and traditions that make our world unique.