Category Archives: Africa

Spring Traditions Around the World

Posted on April 12, 2013 | 8 Comments

I am part of a world-side, diverse group of bloggers called Multicultural Kid Bloggers who write about their experiences in multicultural parenting. Every month we host a different blogging carnival, which focuses on a relevant topic, and includes perspectives from (literally) around the world. For example, we discussed teaching heritage to your children, and talked about winter traditions around the world, and the importance of family traditions. Join us on facebook, Twitter or pinterest to meet other multicultural, globally-minded parents.

This month’s carnival is all about our Spring traditions. Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa, Around the World, Asia, Australia, Australia and Oceania, Canada, Celebrations, China, Europe, Malawi, Mexico, Poland, The Americas, The Netherlands, United States

Tagged spring, traditions

Top 10 Resources of Arabic for Kids

Posted on January 28, 2013 | 11 Comments

Sharing a list of resources of Arabic for kids today is Christi Madrid, a Florida based blogger. Together, she and her husband strive to rear their daughter to be a globally-minded citizen; confident and empowered in her world identity. Christi blogs about step parenting and her personal passion of Learning to be the Light at ChristiMadrid.com. You can also catch her on Facebook.

In rearing our daughter to be compassionate and globally minded, it was important to my husband and me that she be protected from stereotypes and misunderstood cultures. Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa, Algeria, Asia, Bahrain, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Language, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Somaliland, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, Yemen

Tagged Arabic

Learn about Other Countries through the 5 Senses

Posted on January 25, 2013 | 7 Comments

Often times, lessons to help kids learn about other countries are geared toward older children. This is a lesson plan to present a new country to kids as young as preschool- in a way that they will remember! They will explore and learn about other countries using their five senses: seeing, touching, listening, tasting, and smelling their way to discover a new place. I recently presented this lesson about Ethiopia in my son’s preschool class, and the kids loved it. It can be easily adapted to any country, with a bit of research.

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Posted in Africa, Around the World, Ethiopia, Food

Tagged education, international week, multicultural

Yoga for Kids: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Family Yoga Experience at Home (Part 3 of 3)

Posted on January 18, 2013 | 6 Comments

Giselle Shardlow, expert on yoga for kids, is a children’s author of Kids Yoga Stories. She hopes to inspire children by drawing from her experiences as an international primary school teacher, yoga teacher training graduate, world traveler, mother, and yogi. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and daughter. Her yoga-inspired children’s books and other creative resources can be found at www.kidsyogastories.com.

How to Learn, Be Active, and Have Fun with your Family

This is the last in a 3 part series on Yoga for Kids. In Part 1, I shared 10 Things that I Learned from Yoga Teacher Training, reflecting on the history and culture of yoga. Part 2, I shared 14 ways that Yoga is Beneficial for Children. Now let’s look at how we can bring yoga and a sense of adventure into our homes. Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa, Asia, Games and Toys, India, Tanzania

Tagged yoga, Yoga for Kids

Moroccan Food Link-Up Plus a Sweet Couscous Recipe your Kids will Love

Posted on December 3, 2012 | 3 Comments

This is our 2nd post as a part of the “Around the World in 12 Dishes” series! This month we visit MOROCCO! Can you find Morocco on a map?
As an exchange student in southern Spain, I visited Morocco for 2 colorful weeks as an adventure-hungry student. My girlfriends and I were so excited that we could enjoy the delicious, aromatic dishes typical of Morocco- without a hefty price-tag. In the tiny restaurants we visited daily, we would point to Arabic and French menus, not really knowing what we were ordering! Every time, our table was spread with an assortment of dishes: different salads, meatballs, tajine dishes cooked with lamb or chicken and vegetables and served with couscous.. Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa, Food, Morocco

Tagged Around the World in 12 Dishes, dessert

Kids Doing Community Service

Posted on November 22, 2012 | 3 Comments

Gandhi is attributed as saying “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” If one of our goals as parents is to raise compassionate and responsible children, our children need to witness empathy, kindness, and respect towards others… and put these character traits into action. Families that do community service not only offer their children a view of different perspectives, but give them the opportunity to take action, and in a sense change the world. Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa, Ethiopia, The Americas, United States

Tagged community service, compassion, service learning, volunteer

Schools Around the World

Posted on October 21, 2012 | Leave a comment

UNICEF tell us that “as of 2001 estimates around 115 million children of primary school age, the majority of them girls, do not attend school..” Kids may wonder, why don’t they, or why can’t they go to school? The main reason is that some countries do not have enough money and resources to build schools. Some families live too far away from school… other families can’t afford to send their kids to school when they could be working. Other kids aren’t allowed to go because of their background, their gender, or their citizenship.

Educating children helps reduce poverty and promote gender equality. Many organizations and individuals are coming up with creative ways to help provide an education for students in some of the toughest environmental and cultural challenges, who live some of the most unique lifestyles on Earth. I recently read the book “Off to Class: Incredible and Unusual Schools Around the World,” by Susan Hughes, which describes many of these amazing schools. Here’s a peek at four of my favorites in the book, each with a link to photos or videos from the schools: Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa, Asia, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Europe, India, Russia

Tagged schools around the world

Cinderella Story: Around the World

Posted on October 11, 2012 | 15 Comments

What do you know about Cinderella? Perhaps the blonde-haired, blue eyed, Disney princess? Maybe you’ve read the Brothers Grimm version from 1800′s Germany, or even farther back to the late 1600′s with Charles Perrault‘s version. Did you know that Cinderella stories are not limited to a Western European perspective, and in fact appear in more than 500 versions around the world? No one knows the true origin of the famous folktale and its universal theme of good versus evil- but we can enjoy all of the unique twists and learn about cultural values, as we read the diverse stories.

Kid World Citizen is proud to collaborate with some of the best multicultural and educational blogs on the web to present “Cinderella Story Around the World.” While this international project is only a small sampling of the versions of the folktale that are available, we worked together to provide a cross-cultural selection suitable for elementary classrooms. Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa, Asia, Australia, Australia and Oceania, China, Europe, Greece, Iraq, Korea, Literature, Martinique, Mexico, Thailand, The Americas, United States, Zimbabwe

Tagged Appalachian, Cinderella Around the World, Creole, fiction children's books, indigenous, Native American, Ojibway

10 Wonderful Stories Set in Countries Around the World

Posted on September 24, 2012 | 13 Comments

Today’s guest post comes from Amy Broadmore, the mother of three young children ages seven, five, and two. She spends her time teaching and learning from her children, running, and searching for great picture books. She recommends children’s literature with captivating stories and gorgeous illustrations on her blog Delightful Children’s Books.

I love the ability of good stories to both entertain and teach kids at the same time. Here are ten of my favorite stories set in countries around the world. These are, for the most part, fictional stories. Yet, they introduce kids to real places and real experiences. These stories help kids imagine what it would be like to celebrate Eid in Kuwait, go on a family road trip in Australia, wait for the Biblioburro to arrive in Colombia and more. Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa, Asia, Australia, Australia and Oceania, China, Colombia, Europe, France, India, Kuwait, Literature, Malawi, The Americas, The Gambia, Ukraine, United States

Tagged Alaska Inuit, fiction children's books, indigenous

Map the Book: “Africa is NOT a Country”

Posted on September 6, 2012 | 20 Comments

“We have kids from Nicaragua, Guam, and Africa in my class…”
“We made masks from China, Peru, and Africa…”
“He is been to England, Africa, and Italy”

I have a pet peeve. It makes my skin crawl when I hear people referring to Africa as a country, instead of an immensely diverse continent. Did you know Africa has well over 2000 languages and innumerable ethnic groups, in its 54 countries!? My goal is to help parents and teachers dispel stereotypes by teaching a variety of stories from different countries in the continent.

One great book that counters stereotypes, “Africa is Not a Country,” gets to the heart of modern Africa: rural and urban families, living contemporary and traditional lives, and children in their homes, with their families, going to school, and playing with their friends. In this activity- which touches on 25 countries in Africa- kids will be locating and coloring countries on the map as they hear them mentioned in the story. Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa, Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cote D'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Geography, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Literature, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, People, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Zimbabwe

Tagged fiction children's books, maps

Tajine from Morocco

Posted on August 22, 2012 | 3 Comments

Today’s article comes from Laura Najma in Morocco. Laura is an Italian woman, married to a Moroccan man, and homeschooling mom of a 10 year old girls and a 7 year old boy. Their multilingual house is filled with Italian, French, Arabic and English! Lucky them:).

Tajine is thick and richly spiced stew named for the round, clay dish with a cone-shaped cover in which it is prepared. It’s very common for families to eat tajine: it’s a daily recipe, not only for holidays or festivals. You can make tajine with a variety of vegetables, meats, and spices… it’s a matter of taste and everyone has their own combinations and recipes. Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa, Food, Morocco

Tagged gluten-free, main dish

Explore South Africa through Children’s Books

Posted on August 12, 2012 | 23 Comments

My husband frequently travels to South Africa for work, and skypes with us from his hotel. On one long trip, he was able to go on a safari and bring us back pictures of the animals he saw. In my children’s eyes, South Africa the country consists of a hotel, a big office building, and a national reserve with exotic animals. While the big animals are amazing, and I would love to see them, I wanted to teach them about South African culture beyond the elephants, leopards, rhinos, buffaloes, and lions. We turned to our local library, and found wonderful, quality stories and pictures in children’s literature about South Africa. This list complements a unit on South Africa, diversifies teachers’ and parents’ reading lists, and would be a wonderful lesson for kids who might be traveling there. Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa, Literature, South Africa

Tagged fiction children's books

Let’s Learn about Ethiopia

Posted on July 29, 2012 | 7 Comments

You might have read that our son was born in Ethiopia. Because we want Ricky to have a connection to his heritage, as a family we try to learn as much as we can about Ethiopia: the food, traditions, history, language, music, religion, and more. Ricky loves to learn about and talk about his birthplace! There are many ways to incorporate culture into our children’s lives, and the easiest way to start is by locating it on a map. All of the pictures are © Becky Morales unless otherwise stated. Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa, Ethiopia, Food, Geography

Tagged country units

Real Families: Attending a Traditional Malawian Wedding

Posted on July 12, 2012 | 7 Comments

I met today’s author “virtually” when I found her lovely blog- I am fascinated every time I read her adventures! Jody is a stay-at-home mom, raising two girls in a wildlife reserve in Malawi, Southern Africa. She is homeschooling her daughters and enjoys sharing her love of nature and conservation with them. She writes about her life at Mud Hut Mama.

We recently attended a traditional Malawian wedding and enjoyed comparing the similarities and differences to our own wedding. It was also fun to try to figure out which aspects of this wedding were truly ancient traditions and which aspects have been modernized. I think it’s safe to assume that the generator and PA system that were brought into a rural community that does not have electricity or running water were modern additions, but I wonder if there was always an MC directing the rituals.

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Posted in Africa, Celebrations, Malawi

Tagged real families, wedding

Real Families: Road-Trips with Kids

Posted on July 2, 2012 | 4 Comments

Today’s post is written by my friend Jayme. Jayme is the adoptive mother to twins, Isabel Tsege and Elijah Geremu, who were born in Ethiopia. She loves to explore the world with her children, and actively seeks out every opportunity to broaden and deepen their knowledge of both culture and geography. Her primary goal as a parent is to raise happy, thoughtful, compassionate, confident and creative little citizens of the world. Check out her blog “adventures of the wondertwins” to learn more about her cuties!

: Jon with the twins on a recent road trip through southern Ethiopia

Our family loves road trips, and we’ve been on quite a few since the twins were babies. Some people may think we’re crazy for spending so much time in the car with our kids, but it’s just become a way of life for us. We treat time in the car as family time, and do not rely on things like DVD players or video games to pass the time. Instead we sing songs, talk, look at maps, play the alphabet game, storytelling games, geography games, or “bury the cows” Continue reading →