Kids from Brazil

• Continent: Northeastern South America
• Climate: Tropical and subtropical; some areas have an annual rainfall of more than 6 feet
School:
• The school year runs from February through December. Kids attend school for about four hours in the morning or the afternoon. Most schools require uniforms.
• An estimated one-quarter of children in Brazil do not attend school at all, but work, especially in cities.
Play:
• A traditional pastime is Queimada, a game of tag that is played in two teams. Jump rope, card games and checkers are other favorites.
• Soccer is the number one sport. Brazil's beautiful beaches also make swimming and volleyball popular
Family:
• Brazilian families are often large; having five or six siblings is not unusual. Nearly one-third of the population is under eighteen!
• Most Brazilians live in cities. About a quarter of city dwellers live in hillside shantytowns called favelas.
Signature foods:
• Feijoada, a stew of black beans and different meats, traditionally served with rice and oranges
• Farofa, a condiment of toasted flour made from cassava (a starchy root); it is sprinkled on feijoada or any meat, fruit or vegetable
Interesting animals:
• The golden-rumped lion tamarin, a small, long-haired forest-dwelling monkey that weighs just over 1 pound
• The pacarana, a nocturnal rodent that weighs about 30 pounds and resembles a guinea pig
• Unique holiday: Festas Juninas, the Feasts of June, is a series of huge parties (sometimes even bigger than carnival) that celebrate saints Anthony, John and Peter. Festivities include costumes, dances and—because June is winter in Brazil—bonfires.
• Did you know? Brazil has the largest area of rain forest in the world—almost a billion acres. It includes more than a million different insect species, tens of thousands of different plant species and more than a thousand different bird species.

For more information, go to the Fact Monster page about Brazil.