Our first cultural study in an African country! We received a Finders Seekers Junior Explorer Box about Mali in exchange for our honest review. It contained a booklet and fun activities, but we really missed learning about a place through living stories.
The books I found include stories of daily life, elephant migration, folklore, and biographies. We were fascinated by Mansa Musa, the wealthiest king in history, and by Timbuktu, a major center of Islamic culture and literature. We made edible mud-bricks with ingredients from the pantry to represent the building materials!
Other food explorations included learning about millet and grinding it by hand. Now the multifunctional platform is used in some villages to grind millet and do other labor-intensive tasks, allowing time for entrepreneurial activities. Millet is an ancient grain and naturally gluten-free! We love having it in porridge form for breakfast but also made gluten-free pancakes from millet flour.
Author Baba Wague Diakitè has written a few fun picture books as well as a chapter book, A Gift from Childhood. It highlights his interesting childhood in the countryside of Mali where he grew up with a large extended family under the care of his grandmother. A Gift from Childhood is free to read on archive.org.
We attended a local African drumming program and each got to play the djembe, an instrument believed to have originated in Mali. It brought me back to my college days as a music major, taking an African drumming class under master drummer Hafiz Shabazz, and performing on the djembe. Naturally, we had to return home and watch videos of master drummers in Mali.
The Mali Unit includes eleven book recommendations, carefully chosen videos, and projects relating to mapwork, science, history, food, and art. I hope you have as much fun with it as we did!
“Discover Mali: A Book A Day” guides you through a 2-week (10 day) study, using beautiful living books that include stories of daily life, elephant migration, folklore, and biographies. Each daily book study is enhanced by a carefully chosen video and activity, such as map drawing or painting bògòlan-inspired designs.
The subjects explored include geography, culture, science, biography, folk art, history, animal science, cooking, language art, and music. Listen to contemporary musicians and learn from the books and videos of Malian artist Baba Wagué Diakité. The rich cultural history of West Africa covers the Mali Empire until the Atlantic slave trade. Mapwork and Timeline cards are included.
This 32-page digital download presents organized book reviews, links, worksheets, and activity instructions. The books are not included; however, the six books that are free to read online are noted.