For Geography lessons we have been learning about Tanzania. We have a trip coming up and are looking forward to our next adventure. We have been learning quite a bit about the Serengeti, the animals of Africa, Swahili language and the customs of the Tanzanian people. We often make a meal that represents the country we are studying and this was the menu we prepared last week.
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| We found most of the recipes in this book but you can also find them on the web | |
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Our menu choices for this meal were:
Ugali - which according the everything we read is a main staple for meals in most Tanzanian households
Mchicha Na Nyama - beef and spinach like stew
Maandazi - Tanzanian Donuts
Pilau rice
We wanted to fry Plantains but I couldn't find any in our local supermarkets. So didn't have them with this meal but I am still looking for them and hope to try it out soon.
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| Kids helped with the meal prep |
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| Our completed meal |
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| Ugali is often used instead of spoons. You scoop up a bit and use your finger to make a cup in the center of the ugali and scoop out the stew with it and eat with your fingers. I am afraid my family resisted this process so it was forks and spoons for us:)!!! |
Ugali I though was pretty tasteless on its own but mixed with the stew was fine. Kids didn't like it at all. Beef and Spinach stew was good, and the kids even asked for seconds and thirds:) Kids even liked the Pilau rice.
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| Frying Tanzanian Donuts |
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| Finished donuts and they went down well with the family |
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I am still looking for a Tanzanian craft to do which will then wrap up our study just before we head out on our safari adventure.
Cool! I'm about to start a continent study with the Little Miss. I have two world cultures cookbooks, but no craft books. Finding an African craft has been challenging. I found some online that were too advanced, but would probably be fine for your kids (didn't save any links though, sorry). The crafts for preschoolers are all kind of lame though. They're like print out a savannah animal and color it or draw on a paper plate "face mask". I guess part of the problem with crafts for her age group is that schools are so safety conscious, crafts have to be super simplistic (and cheap!). I read one Amazon review of a world cultures craft book and a teacher was complaining that there was no way she would be allowed to use needles in her class and she couldn't afford leather and so on... Kind of made me really appreciate being able to homeschool!
ReplyDeleteJust another reason why to chose homeschooling:) The Tanzanian crafts I have found so far are beading with tiny teeny beads which my kids will do for less than a minute and claim they are bored. Or building a toy car out of wire and cut up soda cans which again I can see my kids lasting only a couple of minutes before I end of doing the work. But coloring a African mask or animal isn't much fun or very creative either. So I am still looking. I may have to get my inspiration for a craft once I get to Tanzania and see what is there.
DeleteI love that you are incorporating food and crafts in your world study. I think that incorporating the many different aspects of culture and education increase interest and appreciation!
ReplyDeleteHi Genevieve,
DeleteThanks for your comment. I would love to visit your site but when I click on your name it says not available:(. I always try to visit back when someone comments here, just didn't want you to think I was avoiding you:)
I love how you make learning come alive with all of your amazing projects! Wish we lived closer so we could invite ourselves over to participate with you!
ReplyDeleteThat would be fun getting together:)
DeleteAgain, you amaze me with all the different ways and things you teach your children. When we were raising our children we had a weekly culture night and would eat foods from different countries and learn about their culture. Love this adventure!
ReplyDeleteIt is a great thing to do trying new foods, my son still request Cream rice and shish kebob from our Egypt dinner:)
DeleteLooks like fun and yummy! :) My kids would love those donuts the best for sure! :)
ReplyDelete