World Geography and Culture: Morocco and Northern Africa

Since sweet mint tea is often served by the Bedouin peoples of Northern Africa, we served mint tea at our Around the World night festivities.

Northern Africa includes Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Canary Islands and Western Sahara.

For our geography and world culture studies this year, we are using a book Brenda gave us, World Food Cafe, Global Vegetarian Cooking by Chris and Carolyn Caldicott. 

"An olive stall in the Marrakesh souk."-World Food Cafe, Global Vegetarian Cooking/Chris and Carolyn Caldicott

It is more than just a cookbook, with it's incredible photographs and personal stories of the people and places featured in the book. This past week we have been learning about Morocco, and tonight we had a Moroccan feast using recipes from the book.

 Yesterday we had tried Harira Soup, which is actually a spicy stew with a tomato base and includes chickpeas, white beans and pasta. 

"The atmospheric night market in Marrakesh". -World Food Cafe, Global Vegetarian Cooking/Chris and Carolyn Caldicott

"We ate this version as an early snack before dinner in the night market, where it is served from huge pans and eaten with wooden spoons. Some stalls serve nothing but harira soup, and become very busy during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, when a bowl of harira is a popular way to break the day's fast." 
-World Food Cafe, Global Vegetarian Cooking/Chris and Carolyn Caldicott

It was only fairly received at our house. My vegetarian husband loved it, but the rest of us were not crazy about it.

 Tonight we had full Moroccan feast, starring Marrakesh Tagine. A Tagine is a dish that comes from the Berbers and is named after the type of earthenware pot, which is put over coals, in which the dish is cooked. 

"The Marrakesh markets are full of every imaginable herb, spice and dried fruit... Vegetables are cooked slowly and are served very soft, almost crumbling into the sauce. They are cut into large pieces to prevent them from disintegrating completely." -World Food Cafe, Global Vegetarian Cooking/Chris and Carolyn Caldicott

Since we do not own a tagine pot, our dish had a little more liquid than it should, but that did not take away from its wonderful flavor. It has an eggplant base, sweetened by sweet potatoes, apricots, raisins and cinnamon. It is also spicy, and has a slight curry-like flavor from the turmeric, cumin and black pepper that spice it. I absolutely adored it, and we all agreed that this dish was better than the Harira Soup.

To cool the tongue, this salad and a baguette were served with it. This salad is served with almost every meal in Morocco. A sweet mint tea also accompanied the meal.

"Mint tea is drunk in all the Moroccan pavement cafes, which are mainly frequented by men...Tea is usually served in sturdy glasses, poured from a silver pot and is usually very sweet."

-World Food Cafe, Global Vegetarian Cooking/Chris and Carolyn Caldicott

Quarzazate Couscous

"The food in the desert is much simpler than that we found in the cities. We particularly liked a dish of vegetables cooked almost like a soup and served with lots of fluffy couscous to soak up the sauce. The vegetables were kept whole and simmered until really soft." -World Food Cafe, Global Vegetarian Cooking/Chris and Carolyn Caldicott

After cooking these few dishes, we could see some similarities in Moroccan cooking. They use a lot of red onions, tomatoes, lemons, olive oil, black pepper, turmeric, coriander and cumin.

World Geography Lesson 1: Morocco

World Geography and Culture: Morocco

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

Equatorial Africa and African Masks Art Project

"Equatorial Africa has Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome, Principe, Gabon, Cabinda, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Angola -Equatorial Africa, the heart of the continent."-Geography Songs, Larry and Kathy Troxel

Learning About African Masks

The first thing we did was learn about African masks in general. We learned that most of the traditional masks we think of come from either West Africa or Equatorial Africa. We learned that African mask design centers around bold patterns which tend to be geometrical and symmetrical. Subtlety is not a quality you look for in tribal masks. Parallel, zigzag, cruciform, curved and spiral lines, representing scarification marks or tattoos, are frequently used to adorn the mask face. Square and triangular checkerboard grids are often carved to decorate sections of a design. Patterns on the top of the head can also can show the complex African braided hairstyles. Stylized and simplified features are used to help express abstract qualities like nobility, integrity, courage, fear and humor. Symmetrical arrangements of line, shape and form in masks evoke a sense of integrity and dignity. Straight, simplified, linear designs are often used to contrast with the curves on the rest of the mask. Using different combinations of colored cards will affect the mood of the mask.

The Art Project

To begin with you need two similar sized sheets of thick paper or card, one light in tone, the other dark to create contrasting tones. You will also need a pencil, scissors or craft knife, and some glue. Fold the light sheet in half down its vertical length and cut along the crease. This should give you two equal halves. You can set aside one of the halves and use the other half to make the facial features.

Draw stylized parts of the face, keeping in mind some of the things about African masks that you have learned. It is best to simplify this into basic shapes that contain little detail. As you cut out each feature, flip it over and place it on the dark sheet to form a symmetrical arrangement. Don't forget hair and tribal marks. 

Now take the leftover background shape, flip it over to the other side and align it with the vertical center line. This will create the background for the negative side of the face. The remaining space will become the background for the positive side of the face.

As you glue the light shapes down onto the dark background, take care to ensure that a neat line is formed down the middle of the mask where the two halves of the design meet.

Art Techniques Learned from this Lesson:

• Basic collage techniques.
• How to simplify and stylize shapes.
• The expressive power of simple shapes.
• The balance and interaction of positive and negative shapes.
• The use of symmetry in design.
• The effects of color, pattern and texture on your design.

Sources and More Inspiration:

• The Arty Factory
• African Tribal Masks at Crayola
• Usborne Treasury of Art
• Masks Around the World at Classic Play
• Geography Songs, Larry and Kathy Troxel

Northern Central Africa

Central African Republic, Sudan (South Sudan!), Chad and Cameroon -These are the countries of Northern Central Africa. Where the Blue and White Nile Rivers join to form the great Nile River -the longest river in the world!
-Geography Songs

Cameroon and Central African Republic

Cameroon is very near the equator, so it is hot most of the time and receives very little rain. The people of Cameroon have traditionally built their houses with sun-dried mud bricks. 

Cameroon Ginger Beer Recipe from Marie's Pastiche

One of my favorite blogs, Marie's Pastiche recently posted a recipe for Cameroon-style Ginger beer, and since I love ginger and lemons, I just had to give it a try. She also has some wonderful facts about Cameroon, such as how it got its name and that it has the nickname, "Africa in Miniature."

A pygmy is a member of an ethnic group whose average height is unusually short. African pygmies live in the Central African Republic and Cameroon. They also live in Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Congo, the Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Angola, Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia. Most Pygmy communities are partially hunter-gatherers, living partially but not exclusively on the wild products of their environment. They hunt with nets and bow and arrows, sometimes using poison on the arrows. They also gather plants and honey.

Books To Read:

• The Market Bowl, Jim Averbeck
• My Heart Will Not Sit Down, Mara Rockliff
• Sense Pass King, Katrin Tchana
• The King and The Tortoise, Tololwa M. Mollel 
• The Village of Round and Square Houses, Ann Grifalconi

Sudan and South Sudan

We have just finished a thorough study of Egypt in our history and geography studies and so they were interested to find out that Nubia is a region along the Nile river, located in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. 

Sudan was the largest country in Africa and the Arab world until 2011, when South Sudan separated into an independent country, South Sudan has suffered internal conflict since its independence. 

For much of Sudan's history the nation has suffered from rampant ethnic strife and has been plagued by internal conflicts including two civil wars and the War in the Darfur region.

Introduction to Africa

We began our study of Africa by trying to get the continent in perspective. I found this map that shows just how large the second largest continent is.

Then we colored in a physical map of the continent.

As with all countries, you can learn about...

Bodies of Water-oceans and the major bodies of water located on or around the continent

Countries- How many are there? What are their names? We will be learning about each one of the countries of Africa, but regions or select countries might be all you need to learn about.

Climate- What’s the weather like?

Biomes- Are there specific habitats in Africa?

Animals and Vegetation

Natural Resources- What minerals and other natural resources are exported from Africa? How have these resources influenced the history of Africa?

Time Zones- How many time zones are in Africa? Choose a few cities and compare what time it is there with your own time.

Africa is an exciting place to study as it is home of the Sahara Desert, jungles, the Nile and Congo Rives, Egypt and the pyramids, King Tut and Cleopatra!

There are so many things to learn about when studying Africa...

apartheid

peanuts

Sahara desert

Nile River

rain forests

giraffes

Great Pyramid of Giza

Cleopatra Vii, Queen of Egypt

King Tut, Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th century

Nefertiti, queen of Egypt

And there are so many things you can do...

Make a salt dough map of the continent

Discover Africa Notebooking Packet from Balancing Everything

10 Days in Africa from Out of the Box games

African recipes 

African music

books:

• A Glorious Age in Africa: The Story of 3 Great African Empires, Daniel Chu, (2nd grade/7 and up) The account of the Africans from the 8th to the16th century, highlighted by the successive rise of three Sudanese empires.
• David Livingstone: Africa's Trailblazer, Janet Benge, (2nd grade/7 and up)
• The Rat-Catcher's Son and other stories, Carolyn London
• Journey to Jo’burg: A South African Story, Beverley Naidoo
  Any of the 14 stories from Africa in 80 Tales Around the World pp.114-134

inspiration:

• Learning about Geography Through Art at The Art Fairy
• Giraffe Scatch at The Art Fairy  
• African Pulled Beef Sandwiches in the Slow Cooker with Yogurt-Mint Sauce at Eat at Home

Medieval Africa (400-1500)

{Previous entry on this history, (the Vandals) The Barbarian Kingdoms }

Conquerors of North Africa

The Berbers of North Africa west of Egypt consisted of many differing tribes. Some Berbers were Christians some were Jewish, and some adhered to their ancient polytheist religion. The Arabs were determined to take North Africa regardless of its wealth or poverty, because there were people to be converted to Islam, and because North Africa was a gateway to Spain and on to the rest of Europe. In 702, the Muslim army invaded again and the Berber lands were quickly defeated resulting in the conversion of many Berber people to the Islam faith.

The rise of the Ghana Empire paralleled the increase in trans-­‐Saharan trade. Mediterranean economies were short of gold but could supply salt, taken by places like the African salt mine of Taghaza, whereas West African countries had plenty of gold but

needed salt. Salt was cut into blocks in the mine, making it easy to carry. We used the blocks from Don't Break the Ice game for our salt blocks. Southern Africa was filled with gold. The traders traveled north through the African kingdom of Mali. We made gold nuggets by spray painting rocks with gold spray paint. You could glue on gold glitter instead.

Moroccan Yellow Chicken 
This authentic Moroccan recipe comes from Creative Jewish Mom.

This dish was not too popular with the kids because it was spicy, but Katie loved it.

Slice garlic and place in the bottom of shallow pot. Place washed chicken pieces in the pot right side up. Either pour a mixture of about 2 tblsp. turmeric and 1/2 cup oil (olive or canola) over the chicken, or for a healthier though less authentic version, rub turmeric over the skins, using a touch of oil if necessary. DO NOT ADD WATER! With the top on the pot cook on a very very low flame for about 1 1/2 hours or until chicken looks nicely cooked. Baste with juices from the pot when possible. Once the chicken is cooked thoroughly, now is the time to add the vegetable portion of the dish. Here I used sliced fennel, but you can also use peas, peas and mushrooms, just mushrooms, or zucchini. Place the vegetables on top of the chicken, add a small amount of water to the pot (about 1/4") and bring to a boil. Turn down flame to low and cook until vegetables are tender but not overcooked! My Moroccan neighbor in Jerusalem used to add a few yellow raisins to the pot for what she called a finger licking delicious result, and I like to add some parsley at the end to make the dish more appealing. For authentic Moroccan cooking this chicken would be served together with white or yellow rice, but you can feel free to break from tradition and serve it with mashed potatoes, couscous, or even pasta! For serving family style, place the chicken pieces in the center of a platter and spoon vegetables around the perimeter of the platter.

She also gives a recipe for a North African/Middle Eastern/Turkish spice mix, Baharat. Baharat simply means "spice" in Arabic. A traditional baharat mixture is used similarly to the way Indians use garam masala, or the Moroccans use rat el hanuot, and may even apparently be used as a final flavor booster after a meal has been prepared. This blend is often used to season lamb but I read that it is an all-purpose flavor enhancer useful for fish, chicken, beef, tomato sauces and soups, and that it’s a great addition to lentil dishes, pilafs and meatloaf. Or it can be used as a rub for virtually anything on the barbeque. It can be used for meatballs, tomato sauce over pasta and grilled chicken.

Baharat
2 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom

Cities of East Africa

Batik is a technique where paint is blocked out in certain areas. Layers of Learning shows how to use rubber cement to make an easy batik. Here's what you'll need:
Water color paints
paint brushes
water
paper
rubber cement

First, paint a simple shape on the paper using the rubber cement. Let it dry. (It's quick!) Now use the watercolors and paint over the whole paper, covering every inch, including where you painted the rubber cement. You can use just one color or lots of different colors. Let the paint dry. Once it's dry, rub the rubber cement and peel it off.

photo from Seven+1

Seven +1 shows us another type of easy batik can be made with flour paste.  She has beautiful step-by-step instructions with photos, but I will outline the steps here as well. First wash your fabric and then sketch your design on the fabric. Make a paste of 3 to 1 flour and water and then outline your sketch with it. They used a plastic bag with the corner cut out to spread the flour paste. I imagine that a pastry bag would work too. This is left to dry. Once dry you can use fabric paints to make beautiful bright patterns on the cloth. Once the paint is dry, you peel off the flour paste and iron the paint to set.

Kingdoms of West Africa

The West African kingdoms became rick from the gold and salt trade. Although they had little gold and salt of their own, they taxed traders that passed through their kingdoms.

Fast Tax Game
Place 12 pieces of gold in a bowl at one end of the house. Place 12 salt blocks in a a bowl at the other end of the house. Have a older person stand half-way between the two locations with a timer. The goal of the game is to have the fewest points. Points are subtracted by successfully transporting blocks of salt and nuggets of gold.  You start with 20 points. For every gold nugget you successfully place in the salt bowl, subtract 1 point. For every salt nugget you place in the gold bowl, subtract 1 point. For every 20 seconds of time you take, add 2 points. You are only allowed to carry 2 salt /gold nuggets at a time. If you take the direct route from the gold bowl to the salt bowl, you must pay 1 gold/salt nugget to the older person. You can take a long route around the house to avoid paying the tax. Have the older person time you. When you have finished placing all the gold nuggets in the salt bowl and the salt blocks in the gold bowl, yell "stop!" Tally your points. Can you better you score? How? Which way is better?
We found them to be just about the same.

Another activity is this yummy fruit salad recipe at Talking to Myself.

Explorer Bartolomeu Dias (1457-1500)  
In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias  led the first European expedition to sail around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, leaving Tagus, Portugal in 1487. This breakthrough of circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope opened up lucrative trading routes from Europe to Asia.

map from Enchanted Learning

Postcard-Geography Album: South Africa!

This is a very special Postcard Geography Album week because we received a handmade postcard from a fellow blogger, Seven (+1), who live in Cape Town, South Africa!!

I immediately recognized the postcard from their post about making summer pictures.

We learned that the Dutch East India Company founded Cape Town in 1652. In 1806 Britain seized control of Cape Colony. Most of the people who lived there were Dutch farmers (established there by the Dutch East India Company) known as Boers. They became unhappy with the British rulers and set off to search for a different place to live. This journey, called the Great Trek, established the colonies of Transvaal and Orange Free State.
If you would like to see more of modern Cape Town, click here.
Alex made a map of Africa and labeled it, but that was all he wanted to add to this postcard-geography page. We can always go back later and add more.

visited 7 countries in our postcard album studies
Create your own visited map of The World

Our South African Dinner

We celebrated our study of South Africa with a feast. We made a South African Squash Casserole with a sauce made of peanut butter and yogurt and topped with a savory stuffing crust.

Katie made up her on recipe using ingredients found in South Africa and in a style similar to the way they eat squash there. It was SO good. Here is her recipe:

"South African" Acorn Squash2 acorn squash
1/2 cup brown sugar
1-2 teaspoons tangerine or orange peel
1-3 tablespoon tangerine or orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1-1/2 teaspoons allspice
1/2-1/4 teaspoons ground cloves
1 apple chopped
maple syrup

butter or margarine

Cut the acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds and pith. Mix together the brown sugar, peel, juice, extract, spices, and apple. Put the filling in the cavity and place the squash inside a baking dish. Brush the top of the squash with maple syrup, dollop butter or margarine on squash halfs and bake at 350 degree oven, uncovered, for 45 minutes.

And for desert we had a South African Apple-Cheese Crumble, which had an apple pie filling topped with a French Apple topping and shredded Cheddar Cheese.

How we study geography.

Other resources:

South African map activity.

South African Animals.

All About South Africa.

Some recipes, etc.

Asian or African Elephant?

Today we looked at the differences between the Asian and the African Elephant. I gave the boys cards with the features of each type of elephant on them to sort by looking at a drawing of the two types of elephants. They have differences in their backs, trunks, ears and tusks. I challenged them, when we go on our field trip, to figure out what type of elephant is at the zoo before they read the sign.