Continent Studies: Animals

Our Montessori home school co-op will be doing a study of Asia this month, starting with a trip to see the Peking Acrobats on Monday.At our last parent/teacher meeting, we decided to purchase some miniature animal replicas for the 3-6 classroom, and it also looks like I'll be purchasing some for my 2 boys in the 6-9 classroom as well. I did a quick online search for lists of animals by their continent and found out that Alison's Montessori has sets of animals for sale, as well as a list of what is included for each continent. F.Y.I. Alison's Montessori has the following sets available:

Animals of Africa:
Aardvark
African Adult Elephant
Camel
African Wild Dog
Giraffe
White Rhino
Cheetah
Warthog
Lowland Gorilla Male

Animals of Asia:
Brown Bear
Panda
Leopard
Praying Mantis
Hare
Orangutan
Siberian Tiger
Elephant
Red Panda

Animals of Antarctica:
Chin Strap Penguin
Emperor Penguin
Giant Squid
Humboldt Penguin
Humpback Whale
Rockhopper Penguin
Sperm Whale
Walrus
Polar Bear
Octopus
Harp Seal
Dolphin
Sailfish

Animals of Australia:
Platypus
Cockatoo
Kangaroo
Koala
Blue Whale
Octopus
Crocodile
Humpback Whale
White Shark
Sperm Whale

Animals of Europe:
Owl
Hedgehog
Brown Bear
Wild Boar
German Shepherd
Border Collie
Dalmatian
Frog
Harp Seal
Ladybug
Hermit Crab

Animals of North America:

Squirrel

Beaver
Anteater

Deer

Bald Eagle

Wolf

Bison

Moose

Animals of South America:
Llama
Donkey
Armadillo
Alpaca
Iguana
Flamingo
Great Horned Owl
Honey Bee
Toucan
Macaw
Hermit Crab

These can be included in geography boxes or kits for the classroom as mentioned in this earlier post.

Now to find a good source to buy cultural objects! I provided the children with coins, textiles, jewelry, post cards, and indigenous dolls from Mexico for our studies in December and they loved them! I had them from when I visited family as a teenager. Got any ideas or suggestions for cultural objects from the rest of the world?