No.136: A Year in Africa // A Literature-Based Geography Study

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World geography has always been a big interest in our home.  We’ve done general overviews of the world in the past, but this year, I really wanted to dive deep into one continent.  Africa seemed like a great starting point!

I’m not exaggerating when I say that this study was one of the biggest highlights of the school year.  We all loved immersing ourselves in African literature and cuisine.  We pored over photographs and listened in awe to musical talent.  In all, we spent 22 weeks in Africa.  This allowed us to take a break throughout December and have a little wiggle room if I wanted to include a few weeks of zoology.

Since I’m on a mission to make our bookshelves really diverse, I purchased most of the books used on Amazon.  (Tip: look for hardcover “former-library” copies for cheap!)  Below I’ve tried to link to everything we read and ate and watched, although I’m sure I’m forgetting something!  I hope it will be helpful for you too. 

Spines & Important Resources:
+ Big printable map: we printed ours as a 3×3
+ Lonely Planet’s The Africa Book
+ Maps atlas: this book doesn’t cover every African country, but it’s worth the investment for the gorgeous illustrations

INTRODUCTION TO AFRICA
Read Africa is Not a Country by Margy Burns Knight and Anne Sibley O’Brien
Make a big printable map of the continent and hang it on the wall
Color a picture

NIGERIA
Read Master Man: A Tall Tale of Nigeria by Aaron Shepard
Play Dara, a Nigerian three-in-a-row game with a twist
Listen to groovy 70’s music from Fred Fisher Atalobhor and his Ogiza Dance Band
Eat a traditional Nigerian meal: West African peanut kabobs, rice jollof, and Chapman cocktails 

GHANA
Read Pretty Salma: A Little Red Riding Hood Story from Africa by Niki Daly
Make a kente cloth weaving project
Drink watermelon lemonade
Eat Ghanian meat pies

LIBERIA
Read Head, Body, Legs: A Story from Liberia by Won-Ldy Paye & Margaret H. Lippert
Learn three different clapping games
Bake plantain gingerbread upside-down cake

SENEGAL
Read Kofi and His Magic by Maya Angelou
Learn about Lake Retba, a lake that looks like a giant strawberry milkshake
Watch Aziz Faye, a master drummer from Senegal
Bake cinq centimes, a peanut butter and peanut sugar cookie

MALI
Read The Hatseller and the Monkeys by Baba Wagué Diakité
Eat maasa, gluten-free “pancake doughnuts”

SIERRA LEONE
Read Counting Chickens by Polly Alakija
Play “football” or soccer like the children do in Sierra Leone
Eat West African peanut bites

MOROCCO
Read My Father’s Shop by Satomi Ichikawa
Play Moroccan bingo (to really make this work, you’d have to print and rearrange the pictures to make a few boards – not hard, but a little time intensive)
Learn a little Arabic
Eat a traditional Moroccan meal for dinner: lamb tangine with sweet honey figs

SUDAN
Read A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
Learn about St. Josephine Bakhita
Drink cinnamon tea

EGYPT
Read We’re Sailing Down the Nile by Laurie Krebs and Anne Wilson
Eat an Egyptian-themed lunch

ETHIOPIA
Read E is for Ethiopia by Ashenafi Gudeta 
Play mancala
Bake hembesha, an Eritrean spiced bread
DIY an Ethiopian coffee ceremony

ZAMBIA
Read Beautiful Blackbird by Ashley Bryan
Eat spiced tilapia stew

KENYA
Read Mama Panya’s Pancakes by Mary and Rich Chamberlin
Play shisima, a math game
Eat a traditional Kenya meal for dinner: spicy beef stew, stewed greens and chapati

MALAWI
Read Galimoto by Karen Lynn Williams
Check out a galimoto in real life and then try making one with recycled materials
Bake mbatata, sweet potato cookies

UGANDA
Read Beatrice’s Goat by Page McBrier
Pretend you’re visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park and research the animals you would see on safari
Learn how to make an egg rolex with chapati

MADAGASCAR
Read A Little Lemur Named Mew by Joyce Powzyk
Make a lemur craft
Eat Akoho sy Sakamalao (Madagascar chicken) for dinner

ZIMBABWE
Read Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe
Bake chimodho, a form of cornmeal bread common in Zimbabwe

TANZANIA
Read We All Went on Safari: A Counting Journey Through Tanzania by Laurie Krebs
Watch Tanzanian craftsmen create their batik designs
Eat gingered pineapple ice cream sundaes with toasted coconut

CAMEROON
Read The Village of Round and Square Houses by Ann Grifalconi
Eat a traditional meal from Cameroon: fried fish, corn with plantains and peanut butter croissants

NAMIBIA
Read The 3 Little Dassies by Jan Brett
Pretend you’re eating alligator (or try the real thing!) with bushmeat skewers

SOUTH AFRICA
Read Gift of the Sun: A Tale from South Africa by Dianne Stewart
Learn about the African penguins at Boulders Beach in Cape Town (more pictures here)
Eat South’s Africa’s Yellow Rice with dinner