A Staycation: Africa!

After the success of our first staycation to Australia, we decided to venture on to another continent this summer.  I finally chronicled our real vacation to Yellowstone, so next up for the blog archives is our staycation to Africa!

We checked out all the books we could on the various countries in Africa from the library.  The nonfiction books were all sort of standard, but there were some fiction books that we read and re-read.  We printed out a map of Africa and marked the setting of each book.

Best of Africa in Children’s Literature

 

 

 

Beatrice’s Goat by Paige McBrier – Uganda
One Hen by Katie Smith Milway – Ghana
Wangari’s Trees of Peace by Jeanette Winter – Kenya
Mama Miti by Donna Jo Napoli – Kenya
The Lonely Lioness – Masai Tribe
Abiyoyo – South Africa
Who’s in Rabbit’s House – Masai Tribe
My Rows and Piles of Coins – Tanzania
Lions at Lunchtime (Magic Treehouse)
Mama Panya’s Pancakes – Kenya
Head, Body, Legs – Liberia
The 3 Little Dassies – Namib Desert
Gugu’s House – Zimbabwe
What’s Cooking, Jamela? – South Africa
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters – Zimbabwe
A is for Africa – Nigeria
Honey… Honey… Lion! – Botswana

 

Best of Super Easy African Activities

We watched African Cats, The Lion King, and Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears.

 

We visited the local zoo and paid careful attention to the African animals.  The zebras, giraffes, and hyenas were favorites, but the highlight was almost getting spray-peed on by a rhino.  You can’t get that experience from a book!

The favorite piece of our unit study on Africa was visiting with a man from Kenya.  My sister knew him from college and awkwardly asked if he would share about Kenya with us.  Amazingly, he agreed.  We met at the library.

I don’t know many people who have grown up in Africa, so this was quite an opportunity!  He shared about Kenya’s flag and geography.  He brought a traditional outfit that he would have worn to a special occasion such as a wedding.  We got to hear about everything from the food and games he enjoyed as a child to his school, home, and bathroom situation.  We got to see the sadness in his eyes when he talked about not having been home for several years, due to the cost.

He talked about the community back home in Kenya.  How he would have no trouble dropping in unannounced at a neighbor’s home, even at meal time.  Others would do that at his own home, and no one found it irritating.  And here?  Even in the rural Midwest, we don’t even know all our neighbors.

So true!  I agonize over the thought of hosting events because I know neither my housekeeping nor my cooking is all that great.  In a culture where materialism isn’t completely overwhelming, that false-humility doesn’t come into play.

Our little “interview” was by far the most informative part of our unit study.

 

Grown-up Side Note:

My kids are still young, so our unit study on Africa was superficial.  I do hope one day to dig deeper into the issues of colonization, slavery, religion, environmental exploitation, and political instability.

One of the chapter books I had intended to read aloud, “Lost Girl Found,” is a fictional story based on many accounts of those displaced during the recent conflict in Sudan.  It hit hard from the beginning.

“What is an African’s biggest curse?”
“Tell me.”
“The biggest curse is discovering valuable resources on your own soil.”

This brief exchange between the narrator’s father and a chief from a nearby village happens right before the main character is forced to flee or be killed.   It turns out previewing it was a good call, because the authors are graphic in sharing the truth.  Worth the read for mature readers who can handle violence and adult themes.

 

After reading about Africa, we decided to make a donation of mosquito nets and a rabbit through Catholic Relief Services.
The kids are already talking about where we can “go” next!

 

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