This week we 'toured' Africa. Sadly, I didn't do much in the way of extras this time. I've been doing less and less. :( Would have been a great week to learn about some different animals and such, too.
The countries we focussed on were Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.
Monday and Tuesday we learned about Ethiopia. We talked about bread, and how in Ethiopia they eat a bread called injera which is large and flat. I made a sort of flatbread (used my pizza dough recipe and added spices of sorts to make something similar) and we ate it with meat we scooped... no utensils! Of course, my son decided that the one meal we didn't need utensils, he wanted to use some, haha. Usually eats with his fingers otherwise. Tuesday we talked about how there is often not enough food to eat there due to drought. We then brought some canned goods to the local food pantry, and we got to see a little of what they do there (this is to help those in our area who may not have enough to eat). We got to see a lot of cans and boxes, and were lucky enough to have arrived shortly after a local business dropped off their weekly donation of cheese... over 30 boxes, 40lbs each! And the gentleman there informed us that over 200 families come through each week (less during the summer, he said).
Wednesday and \Thursday we learned a little about Zimbabwe. We spent one evening without electricity as we learned that the people there often have no electricity, or only have it for a part of the day. It took a little for the kids to be ok with it, since we are very used to having power here. They played with lego bricks by the light of the window, we ate by candlelight (we have late suppers) and we thanked God for power and other things we take for granted (house, food, water). We also learned about how only 1 in 5 children in Zimbabwe go to school. M was thankful for school, as she is excited to go this year. We read a brand new story we haven't read before, and we thanked God for our opportunity here to learn.
Friday and Saturday we talked about South Africa. They have 11 official languages! As an activity, we attempted to show each other we loved one another without using words (or, as I did it, I spoke in French and jibberish, which got the kids laughing). I found that it quickly passed on as the kids tried to show love to others outside our home when we went away the next day. :) On Saturday we learned something that was a little more difficult. The kids learned that diseases in South Africa have made many children orphans... their moms and dads have died, and they don't have any family. Many are waiting to be adopted into a new family. M prayed earnestly that night that all the kids would find a family to have fun with. The activity for that day was to write what we loved about our family on a slip of paper and put it into a bowl, then take turns reading them (just my husband and myself did the reading for obvious reasons) at the dinner table.
And now, since I didn't have a lot of photos of things we did this week, here's a fun pic of A's first time in the Jolly Jumper. Needless to say... she loved it!
No comments:
Post a Comment