Africa

Week two we studied Africa!

Such a fun week!
We tried to add more crafts and projects into our curriculum because Rowan said she was bored just looking at maps and telling stories all day! (Boo for me!)

We ventured to our library and made a list of books to check out on Africa, seeing I know "nothing" about the continent.

We learned a few things that even I found interesting!
The north coast of the continent is all Arab African, not Black African.  Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Never realized there was a difference, or that they were part of africa (alright I knew Egypt was).

We also learned that the national language of Africa is English.  Though there are many more languages spoken throughout Africa, the second language spoken most frequently is Swahili.  So we learned to count in Swahili.  Rowan has now substituted "tatu" for "three" on a regular basis.

There are a lot of fun movies to watch for kids: Madagascar movies are super fun.  There is a Curious George movie where George goes to Africa.  The beginning of Despicable me takes place in Africa, the kids referenced that one all on their own. 

Here is a list of the books I checked out from my local library. I was so impressed with the number of books they had available!
There were quite a few chapter books of african adventures, picture books for Rowan, and of course cook books and craft books!  I highlighted our favorites

South Africa /	Blauer, Ettagale.
The watcher :Jane Goodall's life with the chimps /	Winter, Jeanette.
The basilisk's lair /	La Fevers, R. L.
Fort Mose	Turner, Glennette Tilley.
Nigeria /	Taylor, Dereen.
African critters /	Haas, Robert B.
The white giraffe /	St. John, Lauren,
Celebrate Kwanzaa /	Otto, Carolyn.
I lost my tooth in Africa /	Diakité, Penda.
Welcome to Zanzibar Road /	Daly, Niki.
The brink of ex-stink-tion /	Perlman, Rhea.
Curious George
Calabash Cat and his amazing journey /	Rumford, James,
What's cooking, Jamela? /	Daly, Niki.
Passport on a plate :a round-the-world cookbook for children /	Vezza, Diane Simone.
Egypt /	Berg, Elizabeth,
The lonely lioness and the Ostrich chicks :a Masai tale /	Aardema, Verna.
Doctor De Soto goes to Africa /	Steig, William,
The slave dancer /	Fox, Paula.
African crafts /	Corwin, Judith Hoffman.
Akimba and the magic cow :a folktale from Africa /	Rose, Anne.
Ashanti to Zulu :African traditions /	Musgrove, Margaret.
Why mosquitoes buzz in people's ears :a West African tale /	Aardema, Verna.
Moja means one :Swahili counting book /	Feelings, Muriel L.

Fried Plantains!

We learned one of the main staples of the Nigerian diet is the plantain.  So we got some and the kids cut them and fried them and even tried them.  Although they didn't like them, at least they tried!  It was fun just to make them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mancala

We learned how to make Mankala, the "game of Africa"
We had all the stuff to make the game here in the house already! Both Rowan and Clayton loved making it! We found instructions online and we've all played it throughout the last week.  So much fun!

It was a great week and we are looking forward to studying all that Asia has to offer next week!  Got our books picked up from the library, and with Farm Camp during the day we will have to do what we can to fit it in! Hope you can pick up one or two things or ideas from what I've supplied here!

Europe

Discovering Europe was a blast.  Almost as much fun as learning with my kiddos, was seeing what they had learned from school this year, and applying it to what we were learning.  "Making Connections" my sons teacher would call it.

After looking at the entire globe and how it all connects,

We started with Russia and France:
Food was first on our list for Russia and France.  While the kids weren't interested in Russian fair, the husband and I explored a little bit.  We found this fantastic website about foods you need to try!
22 Delicious foods from Russia

We thought we would make some golubtsy (which came from russia and migrated into many other countries (I thought they were from Poland) but we waited too long and made deconstructed glumpky because I wasn't willing to eat at 9:30.  One new food I want to try from Russia are these awesome looking dumplings.  Of course I also want to try to make potato pancakes at some point in the summer too!  Bring on the Russian Flare

44 Delicious foods from France
Well we had french toast sticks for breakfast and Clayton helped me make homemade french fries for dinner.  They were actually amazing!  And gluten free! :)  Between our cabbage and sausange cooking and the potatoes frying it was like we were at the Woodstock fair!

As we explored other countries in Europe, we looked at monuments and history in addition to the food!

This week they earned Passport stickers from:
Russia: St Basil's cathedral 
England: London Bridge, London Eye, Big Ben, Notre Dam, Stonehenge
France: Eiffle Tower
Spain: Bull fighting arena
Germany: Berlin Wall
Italy: Gondolas and Leaning Tower of Pisa

In their passports the kids drew a different monument from each country.  While I'm no expert in geography, or culture or history, we all learned a little something from different countries in Europe. 
There were so many more things we wanted to cover, but we had a very busy week doing lots of fun and different things.  With the 4th of July here today, we were able to cover the Revolutionary War and England and why we fought in the war and its importance in our own History of America.

So all in all, we haven't really begun to explore Europe, and I could do a better job at being more thorough, but there was a lot to cover in one continent!!!

I'll leave you all with a few games that French Children Play:

Bilboquet

• Americans will recognize this simple “catch the ball in the cup” game. In France, children make their own ball and cup games by stringing yarn through a large bead or ball and knotting the yarn to a small hole in the bottom of a cup. Play the game by using only one hand to try to swing the ball into the cup.
  

Escargot (Snail)

• Escargot is a different version of what Americans call Hop Scotch. Children draw a snail-shaped course in chalk, with the numbers increasing toward the center. Unlike American hopscotch, children playing escargot do not use a stone or marker. Rather, each player simply hops on the selected foot toward the center. A player loses his turn if he touches any lines or hops in a square more than once. Once a player hops all the way to the center and back out again, she may choose one square as her “house” and place her initials in it. This square becomes a resting place for her so she can take a break mid-turn; other players must avoid the square by hopping over it. All players can rest in the center square. When the board is so full of players’ “houses” that players can no longer make it to the center, the player who has claimed the most squares wins.
  

Petanque

• You might know this traditional French game by its other name, “boules.” This leisurely social activity recalls British lawn bowling, or American horseshoes. The game requires a special sand surface and metal balls. Each player tries to toss her ball closest to the target ball, or tries to hit the target ball to direct it toward her previous tosses.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/list_5786495_games-children-play-france.html

Bilboquet

• Americans will recognize this simple “catch the ball in the cup” game. In France, children make their own ball and cup games by stringing yarn through a large bead or ball and knotting the yarn to a small hole in the bottom of a cup. Play the game by using only one hand to try to swing the ball into the cup.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/list_5786495_games-children-play-france.htmlB

Bilboquet: Catch the ball in the cup
Escargot: HopScotch
Petanque: Boules, or lawn bowling
(Read the above link to see the full article and rules to the games!)

Happy Learning!
Adios!

Bilboquet

• Americans will recognize this simple “catch the ball in the cup” game. In France, children make their own ball and cup games by stringing yarn through a large bead or ball and knotting the yarn to a small hole in the bottom of a cup. Play the game by using only one hand to try to swing the ball into the cup.
  

Escargot (Snail)

• Escargot is a different version of what Americans call Hop Scotch. Children draw a snail-shaped course in chalk, with the numbers increasing toward the center. Unlike American hopscotch, children playing escargot do not use a stone or marker. Rather, each player simply hops on the selected foot toward the center. A player loses his turn if he touches any lines or hops in a square more than once. Once a player hops all the way to the center and back out again, she may choose one square as her “house” and place her initials in it. This square becomes a resting place for her so she can take a break mid-turn; other players must avoid the square by hopping over it. All players can rest in the center square. When the board is so full of players’ “houses” that players can no longer make it to the center, the player who has claimed the most squares wins.
  

Petanque

• You might know this traditional French game by its other name, “boules.” This leisurely social activity recalls British lawn bowling, or American horseshoes. The game requires a special sand surface and metal balls. Each player tries to toss her ball closest to the target ball, or tries to hit the target ball to direct it toward her previous tosses.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/list_5786495_games-children-play-france.html

Welcome to our Summer Curriculum

Inspired by the 2014 World Cup, and all the questions my children had while watching with their daddy, I thought that exploring the many cultures, countries, languages and foods of the world would be a good idea this summer.  We plan to explore one continent each week.  We won't be able to hit every country, but I hope that we will be able to explore a little bit about each one every day!

I hope to teach them something and learn a little something myself. Keep ourselves busy, have some fun and do some exploring right from our seats in CT!

Stay tuned for fun projects and foods from around the world!
(Antarctica should be interesting!)

Enjoy!