Compared to the rest of Africa, I have found the most quality resources available for the country of Kenya. Your family might spend multiple weeks studying this country (perhaps with some spillover into neighboring Tanzania).
Book of the Week
He read Facing the Lion: Growing up Maasai on the African Savanna, by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton. This is a short autobiography of a Maasai child. He belongs to a traditional tribe of nomads, which must defend their cattle from the wildlife of the African savannah. When he is six years old, a government official came to his home, insisting that each family was required to send one child to school. Joseph (as he was christened by the missionaries at the school) pursued his education so he could protect the traditional lifestyle of the nomads. I appreciate that this book shows the strength of the native people, and shows that modern Kenya is a mix of the old and the new, and both should be appreciated. Parents may want to pre-read the chapter titled "Initiation," which is about becoming a man/warrior in the tribe, and includes a description of unmedicated circumcision. Within the context, it did not feel inappropriate, but some parents might hesitate before handing the book to a daughter.
I had originally planned to start our year with the new graphic novel When Stars Are Scattered, which is a slightly fictionalized autobiography of a young man (Omar Mohamed) growing up in a refugee camp in Kenya. Thanks to COVID, the library is putting my hold in quarantine for a week before I can check it out, so we will include it in next week's reading.
In retrospect, I am glad we are reading both books, as they show different sides of Kenya. I don't want to walk away from our Africa unit with my son imagining that everyone in Africa is a half-starved refugee in need of saving from European or American forces. Understanding the plight of refugees is very important, but I want him to also understand that there are strong, good, and powerful people who are native to the continent.
Another book set in Kenya that I had considered for our curriculum was Warrior Boy, by Virginia Clay. This is a fictional novel about a mixed-race boy who has been raised by his mother in London, but goes to spend time with his Kenyan family from his father's side.
Day 1: Nairobi, Kenya and DIY Atlas page
My favorite photograph this week from The Cities Book (p. 134-135) has zebras grazing in the foreground and the skyscrapers of Nairobi in the background. Kenya is a mix of man and nature, the old and the new!
After my son read the two-page spread from The Cities Book, he began his atlas page. I printed an outline map of Kenya from printableworldmap.net. We used the (slightly dated) map in the middle of Facing the Lion, but maps can be found online. He labeled the capital city (Nairobi), another major city (Mombasa), Kaiser Desert, Lake Turkana, Lake Victoria, Indian Ocean and the bordering countries. The dashed line represents the equator, which runs through the middle of the country. We should have also labeled the Great Rift Valley and Mount Kenya.
Day 2: Worldwide Church and Library Reading
Worldwide Church
He read "Kiconco: 12-year-old Home Builder," which is about a girl from Georgia, USA, whose uncle lived in Uganda (a country which borders Kenya). He had sent a photograph of a grandmother with two girls in front of a dirt and grass hut, which would turn to mud in the rainy season. Kiconco raised money to build a home for this family.
Wangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted Millions of Trees, by Franck Prevot.
This week I had pulled books about Kenya from the "junior nonfiction" section of our library. He read them all in one sitting. Next week we will try some nonfiction from the adult section.
Day 3: Art and Music
Rather than doing all of the following activities, your family might prefer to choose what looks most intriguing or loop the subjects (i.e.-art this week, music next week, poetry the third week, then art again).
Art
Contemporary art in Kenya. I found a news article with nine images of contemporary Kenyan art (as opposed to "traditional" art, like masks and textiles). One of the images includes some naked-ish people. We skipped them.
Music
I searched to find both traditional and contemporary Kenyan music. Kenya has two official languages: English and Swahili. Both are heard in their music videos. My apologies if anything inappropriate is being said in Swahili in any of the following videos. I previewed them to the best of my abilities.
Click on the song title to see the video.
Short clips of music and dancing from many different tribes in traditional dress. Watching this you get the feeling that music was a community thing.
The voices and drums are as beautiful as the scenery is enchanting. So many images of so many different parts of Kenya!
This song, true to its name, is about dealing with coronavirus. There is a catchy chant in the song: "Mask. Keep distance. Sanitizer." And a female preacher tells us we need mercy and the poor kids are out of school. Half a world away, yet so close to home. It was so funny to hear my child's exclamation, "They make COVID songs in Africa?" Yes. Yes, they do. It's called a pandemic because it's worldwide.
This song features Kenyans who went through a rough period of their lives and were defined by a menial job (as shown through English signs held up in the video): orphaned, house-servant, homeless, dishwasher, hawker, etc. By the end of the video we see that these same people have experienced success in their careers: journalist, chef, model, etc. The video footage feels like you're seeing the "real" Kenya (and you probably are).
This is a gospel song inspired by 1 John 3:17. The footage includes Kenyans helping Kenyans: an amputee gets a prosthetic limb, juice boxes are given to the hungry, and so on. The repeated "Wema Wako" is catchy in a soothing way.
I hesitate to include this video, which, while shot in Kenya, does not represent Kenyan musical talent. But if you have any Lindsey Stirling fans in your house, they will love Lindsey's trip to Kenya. Be sure to watch the behind-the-scenes video about her trip.
Read pages 30 and 136 from The National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry: “Moody Guy” and “The White Rhinoceros,” “The Greater Cats,” “You’ve Got Male,” and “Lion.”
Have poetry snack or tea time (everyone shares a poem. Song lyrics and nursery rhymes count).
Day 4: Documentary or Movie
Disney+
Disney Nature: African Cats. In this documentary-story, the lions and cheetah are named, and an adversary is identified. Thank you, Disney, for doing nature.
National Geographic: Man Among Lions
Queen of Katwe (Movie. A girl in Uganda discovers she has a talent for chess)
Black Panther. I wasn't planning to include this, but the children picked it for movie night this week (it's set in Africa, Mom!).
Day 5: Puzzle and Current Events
Puzzle
This was the first time we got out the puzzle map. Before opening the box, we discussed the map on the cover. Where were most of the little countries grouped? Where were the countries with a "z" in their name (they all touch)? Then I set a stopwatch (on my phone) while my son completed GeoToys puzzle-map of Africa and the Middle East. We made a quick-and-dirty bar graph, and will add to it each Friday during our Africa unit.
Current Event
While he completed the puzzle I went to the world section of my favorite online news-source. One of the top stories of the day was about a private school in Kenya which is closed due to COVID. The owner of the school still needed to make money, and has turned the school into a chicken farm!
Now that's a piece of the school day worth retelling when Grandma comes over.
Extra: Recipe
Kenyan Mashed Potatoes. These mashed potatoes are green! The recipe doesn't call for it, but I made gravy, too.
Here I share what we plan to do on each day of a typical homeschool week. My son is 12 turning 13 this year, but this could be easily adapted to suit children of other ages.
Each week we will focus on one country (like Kenya) or region (like West Africa). This year-long unit study includes geography, people of the world, literature, and the arts.
Book of the Week
There will be a special book chosen for that week to be read from each day (divide the number of chapters or page numbers by five to finish in a week). Many books are available as audiobooks, and some have junior reader editions, so if you have a struggling reader you can use those resources. The books I will be listing are "middle grade" which is fancy for saying the target age is 8-12, and the protagonist is twelve. If it suits you, a longer book could be stretched over two weeks.
If you have younger children, there are many picture books available (probably at your local library!). Do a quick Pinterest search, or use the book Give Your Child the World as a reference.
While you're picking up your focus book, I recommend getting a few nonfiction books about the country (or animals native to that country) for your reading basket. There will be time each week for him to choose books from the library basket to read more about the country.
MONDAY: Mapwork
We begin the week by reading any corresponding pages in The Cities Book. This book has 2-page (and occasionally 4-page) spreads for 86 cities all around the world. It is a rare week that a country we are studying will not have a city featured in this book. If you don't want to buy a book, explore the city on Google Earth.
Next is an atlas page. I'm sure I could have found worksheets to kill the joy out of our year's study, but instead he will be making his own atlas. What do I mean by that? I printed blank maps (mostly from Printable World Map online--they're free). I bought a 1" binder that I filled with sheet protectors. His job is to take the blank map and fill it with important geographic and political details. How do we know what to put there? A quick Google search should answer that question, but our nonfiction library books about the country will likely have a map with major cities, mountains, rivers . . . that sort of thing.
There are two kinds of reading for Tuesday: Worldwide Church and Library Basket.
Worldwide Church
I have been researching articles from our church magazines (Latter-day Saint) that are set in places all over the world. While I have been compiling them into a binder, they are all available online for free. With no ads. Whatever article(s) we have for our country-of-the-week will be assigned reading, then he can move on to the library basket.
I have also been admiring the biographies of famous missionaries (Christian Heroes Then and Now) that I've seen online. I haven't bought any yet, but I've been thinking about it.
Deseret Book has pre-orders (though no publication date) for Standout Saints: Church History Heroes from Around the World. This book features pioneering Latter-day Saints from all over the world. I look forward to seeing the published book so I can see which countries are represented. Judging by the sample pages, it appears to be for youth in the middle grades (8-12ish).
Library Basket
This should be fairly self explanatory. The idea is to select several library books--nonfiction country guides, books about animals, a short biography, maybe even a picture book or two. Due to COVID, I have been running solo library trips, but if not, I could give him a short list of books or topics and let him go find the books. As it is, during reading time he can pick and choose any of these library books to look at or read. He is not required to finish any of them. I will not even require a book report or worksheet. One of my biggest goals this year is to encourage my son to read more books.
While I plan to have a poetry snack/tea time each Wednesday afternoon when the school day is done, the other subjects will not each happen each week. We could loop them, but I think which subjects we do will depend on the resources I am able to find for each country.
Poetry
We absolutely love The National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry. Gorgeous photographs of so many animals, and a great range of poetry--from the serious to the silly. This is one book the whole family will enjoy.
After school will be our family poetry time. Read about Poetry Teatime here.
Art
I had originally hoped to find an art appreciation packet for each continent. I imagined myself posting an art print on the chalkboard each week. Unfortunately, most art appreciation resources out there overlook Africa, Latin America, Australia, and much of Asia.
This is taking more effort than I expected, but I am finding resources. Many museums have a strong online presence, allowing you to look through their collection digitally. The library has art books. There are more resources for Western art, but some effort should bring other options to light. Amazon also has art books that focus on different countries or continents. Be careful, as some of these are old text books with black and white images and inflated prices. I have a couple in my cart that I might purchase if I feel the library/online combination is not serving us well.
Music
YouTube has many music videos. When in doubt, preview before sharing with your children. The Piano Guys have been creating a series of music videos filmed at what they have chosen to be the "Seven Wonders" of the World. From the Colosseum to the Great Wall of China, these are beautiful videos that show the world.
If you want to keep your schooling offline, The Thinking Tree as an album of music "inspired by" different parts of the world, called Around the World in 14 Songs.
Whether you are using PrimeVideo, Disney+, or (to a lesser extent) Netflix, there are many documentaries available. If you are not subscribed to any streaming service, I suggest looking for travel vlogs or tourism videos on YouTube. Every self-respecting country promotes themself with a tourism video, and some adventurous individuals have made traveling the world their career.
Puzzle Map
We purchased the GeoToys puzzle maps of the continents. So far we have been using the Africa puzzle, and it has really helped with my recollection of where the various countries are in Africa. For school, I plan to set a stopwatch and graph how my son does each week, as we will spend multiple weeks on each continent, and I think it would be a practical application of graphing as well as encourage him to race against himself.
If those puzzles are cost prohibitive (I won't deny that I hesitated an entire year before I purchased the entire set) there are other options. Print a blank map and see how many blanks can be filled in before peeking. Or buy a laminated map of each continent and let them use dry-erase marker. Find a geography app (if you have a recommendation, please share below) and use it weekly. Have an old-fashioned "Geography Bee" where your children compete to be the first to point at each country you name.
Current Events
A quick search through the World section of a respected newspaper should yield recent news to read and discuss about your area of study. I would like to remind parents that dramatic world events which children enjoy studying through history lessons can become anxious and nightmare-inducing when they are studied as a current event (you don't know how it might turn out and if it might yet affect you or people you know). During the middle grades, I believe it is still prudent for parents to preview and help select the less anxiety-inducing news articles.
EXTRAS
Sometime during the week I might prepare a dish from the country we are studying (Kenyan mashed potatoes as a side dish for dinner, for example).
There are so many good documentaries, but there are also movies either produced by or set in our country of study. Our family already has expectations about Friday's movie night, so I have to offer these movies at another time, such as Sunday evening or as an option for days when schoolwork finishes early.
Early this year our family began doing a morning devotional. It is one of those small and simple things that I can't believe we didn't start sooner.
What we do (and don't do) during morning devotional
Our "real" family scripture study takes place in the evenings. This is where we read (or attempt to read) a chapter from the weekly Come, Follow Me. We do it in the evening because that is when the entire family is home.
In the morning I wake the late-sleepers and invite them into devotional. If the 5-year-old doesn't pop out of bed by himself, I will carry him into the living room where he will snuggle on the couch with a blanket. Most of my children are teenagers. Sometimes they refuse to get out of bed and come in. I finally got to the point where I would hold devotional with whoever came in, even if it wasn't everyone. Most mornings we get four out of five children. If my husband is working from home, he will typically come up and join us.
Morning Devotional
We invite the family to kneel for prayer. A boy wrapped in a blanket kneels beside the couch and buries his face in his arms. The youngest cuddles on my lap. Good enough. We pray.
I open up to the next page in Don't Miss This in the Book of Mormon. There is a scripture quote featured at the top of the page that goes along with our Come, Follow Me study for the week, then a short story or deeper thoughts related to the scripture that only take a couple minutes to read.
Some weeks we work on memorizing. For example, I printed several quarter-sheet size copies of the new Aaronic Priesthood Theme. My boys read the theme together once a morning for a couple weeks. Then we tried the same thing with the new Restoration Proclamation, using just one paragraph at a time. I've kept the old memory cards, and some weeks we pick one to review (instead of doing something new).
For about a month we tried including a hymn we were learning, but our early morning voices don't do them justice, so we haven't done that in a few months.
Recently, I began including my 5-year-old's weekly scripture story at the end of devotional (the older ones usually are helping themselves to cereal by this point). These illustrated stories have been published in the Friend magazine. I have compiled them in a 1" binder with sheet protectors. The stories are available in the Gospel Library app under Scripture Stories for Young Readers. We might read the same story for two or three days in a row, until the next morning he can tell me the name of the main character and what happened in the story. Sometimes the stories line-up with what the family is reading for Come, Follow Me. But we don't limit ourselves to that. At his age, he still needs to hear a couple of times a year about Noah's ark, David and Goliath, etc. That means we are focusing more on breadth than depth for him at this time.
"By small and simple things are great things brought to pass," (Alma 37:6). It only takes a few minutes to do morning devotional, but over time, the little things make a difference.
Book of the Week
Read pages 30 and 136 from The National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry: “Moody Guy” and “The White Rhinoceros,” “The Greater Cats,” “You’ve Got Male,” and “Lion,”
Have poetry snack or tea time (everyone shares a poem. Song lyrics and nursery rhymes count).
Additional Reading
“Kikonco: 12-Year-Old Homebuilder,” by Breanna Call Herbert, January 2019 New Era.
Dr. Wangari Maathai Plants a Forest (or a picture book biography about Wangari Maathasi. At least four titles were published. Choose whichever one your lending library has available).
The Cities Book: Nairobi Kenya, p. 134-135
Printable map
GeoToys Africa puzzle. How long does this puzzle take you to complete? Make a graph to track your puzzle time over the next six weeks.
Documentary
Disney+
Disney Nature: African Cats
National Geographic: Man Among Lions
Netflix
PrimeVideo
YouTube
Family Movie Night
Queen of Katwe, (Disney+). A girl in Uganda discovers she has a talent for chess.
Recipe
Kenyan Mashed Potatoes. These mashed potatoes are green!
Week 2: Tanzania and the other “Z Countries”
Book of the Week
N.G. Book of Animal Poetry: “A Flamingo Is,” p. 118 and various elephant poems on p. 26. Note: the elephant on the facing page is an Asian elephant. There is a breathtaking photograph of African elephants on p. 14-15.
Family poetry time.
Worldwide Church Reading
“Gaining My Faith One Step at a Time,” by Elder Edward Dube, a general authority seventy from Zimbabwe. (April 2020 New Era).
Maps
The Cities Book: Zanzibar Town, Tanzania
Printable map
GeoToys Africa puzzle. How long does this puzzle take you to complete? Make a graph to track your puzzle time over the next six weeks.
Documentary
Disney+
Disney Nature: Mystery of the Flamingoes
Disney Nature: Elephant
Disney Nature: In the Footsteps of Elephant
PrimeVideo
Windows of Change. Rated G. University students spend nearly a month with children of Mozambique.
YouTube
Tanzania Safari Trips-Serengeti, Ngorongoro . . . from PlanetD
Family Movie Night
Disney+
The Lion King
Black Panther
Recipe
Sugar Cane Smoothie
Current Events
There are many orphans in Africa. Read about one orphanage, such as this one sponsored by Mothers Without Borders.
“Using Kid Power to Light Schools,” (Brigham Young University, YouTube). 3 minutes.
Family Movie Night
Netflix
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. TV-PG. Based on a true story.
Recipe
Week 4: South Africa
Book of Animal Poetry: “The Meerkats of Africa,” p. 113; “The Argument,” p. 111 [aardvark]
Have a family poetry snack or tea time.
“Break the Soil of Bitterness: One Woman’s Quest for Healing.” A black South African woman helped calm a generation of angry youth and heal her own bitterness during the most troubling times of the apartheid (LDS Church History, YouTube).
Maps
The Cities Book:
Map worksheets
GeoToys Africa puzzle. Time yourself as you complete the puzzle. Add your time to your chart. Are you getting faster?
Documentary
Prime Video
Africa’s Hidden Kingdoms (wildlife in South Africa)
Living Hope. Rated All. The true story of three people devoting their lives to serving the poor and sick of Cape Town, South Africa.
Disney+
National Geographic Into the Okavango
National Geographic The Flood
Netflix
"Somebody Feed Phil," season 2 (a.k.a. "The Second Course"): Cape Town, South Africa. Phil eats with Nelson Mandela's grandson, tries ostrich and antelope, enjoys a barbecue and a family meal, and taste-tests coffee and flowers.
Family Movie Night
“The Color of Friendship,” (Disney+). Mahree, a girl living in apartheid South Africa, and Piper, the daughter of a congressman in Washington DC, must spend a semester together at Piper’s house.
Recipe
Bobotie. This delicious casserole is surprisingly sweet, due to the diced apricot.
Bunny Chow. Such a fun food name! For kid-size bread bowls, cut the tops off dinner rolls and eat some of the fluffy white insides to make room for the curry. I couldn't find reasonably priced cardamom seeds, but it tasted so good without them that I'm a little afraid to add them in the future.
Week 5: West Africa (from Senegal to the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Book of the Week
This is a "flex week," so no new book is assigned. You may make up reading time from a previous week, or get a head-start on next week’s book A Long Walk to Water. Or encourage your child to choose a novel at their reading level to read for fun. If you are loving the Africa theme, you might try Warrior Boy, by Virginia Clay (set in Kenya), books based on the movie Black Panther, or The Shadow Speaker (a YA sci-fi set in futuristic West Africa). Parents may want to preview these books before handing them to their children.
Poetry
“Mountain Gorilla” and [cover poem] from National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry.
Have a family poetry snack or tea time.
Worldwide Church
“You Cannot Freeze What’s in My Heart,” (New Era February 2018). A teen from Ghana stands up for her beliefs during the “freeze” when the government had banned her church.
“Unwavering Commitment to Jesus Christ,” (Elder Renlund, October 2019 General Conference). Shows the painting of Congo Falls that hangs in the Kinshasa Temple and tells about how (Congo) Africans who first converted to Christianity threw their idols into the great waterfall.
"Hello from the Democratic Republic of the Congo!" (October 2019 Friend).
"Just a Prayer Away," (October 2019 Friend).
"Anthony's Dream," Nigeria. (March 2020 Friend).
"A White Cap for Florence," Set in Nigeria. (July 2019 Friend).
"Modern Pioneers," (July 2019 Friend). Illustrations of a family in Nigeria joining the church.
"Be Ready to Serve Him Soon," (New Era August 2020). Scroll down to the third article.
Current Events
Research fair trade cocoa.
Read and discuss a current event from Africa. The Guardian, a British-run news agency, tends to have good articles on Africa in their “World” tab. https://www.theguardian.com/world/africa
Maps
The Cities Book: Dakar, Senegal and Timbuktu, Mali (Mali is pronounced like the girl’s name Molly).
Map worksheets.
What is the largest statue in Africa?
Documentary
Disney+
DisneyNature: Chimpanzee
YouTube
“Des rues de Kinshasa aux tapis rouges des Oscars,” Rachel Mwanza. TEDxParis. English subtitles. 10:36. 18-year old Rachel tells her own life story: as a young girl growing up in Congo she was accused of being a witch and therefore blamed for her own family’s misfortunes and sent to live on the streets. Instead of going to school, she has to work for food. Eventually, she gets cast in a movie, which led to her being able to return to school.
Family Movie Night
Idemuza (Prime Video). Rating: All. Idemuza is a drama set in Nigeria. A girl is forced to enter an orphanage with her younger siblings. Currently this has five stars out of nine reviews.
Lionheart (Netflix). Rating: PG. After her father’s heart attack, a woman tries to save the family business in a male-dominated business. This Nollywood (Nigeria produced movie) was nominated for an Oscar—then disqualified because the dialogue is primarily in English (Nigeria’s official language). The Oscars specify that for a film to win in an international category, it must be in a language other than English.
Recipe
"Congo Chicken Stew," (October 2019 Friend).
Week 6: North Africa
Book of the Week
Poetry
N.G. Book of Animal Poetry
“The Ostrich,” and “The Ostrich Is a Silly Bird,” p. 106.
N.G. Book of Animal Poetry
“The Crocodile,” and “Dark Meat,” p. 101
Worldwide Church
“Shepherds of Israel,” by Elder John R. Lasater, March 1989 Friend (a personal story from Morocco).
“Seven Tender Miracles Along the Way,” by Ephem Smith, June 2016 Liahona.
Current Events
The Grand Renaissance Dam
“The Grand Renaissance Dam on the Nile with 360’ Video.”
Maps
Documentary
Prime Video
The Most Dangerous Ways to School: Season 2, Episode 4: Ethiopia
Ethiopia Rising. Ages 7+. A man who has witnessed the deforestation of his community due to war saved his environment by planting one tree a day.
Extreme Constructions: Season 1, Episode 1: The Suez Canal (52 minutes)
Nile: 5000 Years of History. A modern woman travels up the Nile, exploring ancient ruins along the way. (4 episodes about 45 minutes each).
Netflix
Somebody Feed Phil (Season 3): Marrakesh, Morocco. Phil savors lamb, gets a pop quiz on spices, and commits a couscous faux pas over a family dinner.
Family Movie Night
Lamb (Prime Video. Subtitles). Ethiopia.
Zarafa. Ages 7+. An animated film based loosely on the historic event that brought a giraffe from Africa to Paris about two hundred years ago.
Recipe
The Lost Property Office, by James R. Hannibal. Set in modern London with some magic. Main character has synesthesia (his brain re-interprets sensory elements). As the author himself has synesthesia, he does an effective job incorporating it into the novel and making the description even more interesting. Good as a stand-alone book, but you might consider buying the whole trilogy.
Lexile: 730L
