African Centered Home School
- Deanna Mack
- Feb 23, 2017
- 5 min read
Hey Family,
We are having such a liberating time with our home school curriculum which meets the need and culture of our children as well as provides fun and engaging activities we all enjoy together! After trying new curriculum after curriculum and never being satisfied, we finally decided to create our own. African Centered Curriculum is perfect for the African family. Learn YOUR history, learn YOUR culture, learn from an African perspective with visuals your children can relate to.
Here's a sneak peak into what we did this week with Maelewano Motherland Curriculum!
We start our day with our African Morning Meeting building African courage, African mind-set, and African empowerment! Here is what we recite and sing daily:
Afrikan Morning Meeting
Afrikan Pledge
We are an Afrikan people.
We will remember the humanity, glory and suffering of our ancestors.
We will honor and respect our elders.
We will strive to bring new values and new life to our people.
We will have peace and harmony among us.
We will be loving, sharing and creative.
We will work, study and listen so we may learn, and learn so we may teach.
We will cultivate self-reliance.
We will struggle to resurrect and unify our homeland.
We will have discipline, patience, devotion and courage.
We will live as models to provide new directions for our people.
We will be free and self-determining.
We are an Afrikan people,
We will win, and we have won
We will win, and we have won
Ase'
Affirmations:
Who are you?
I am the seed of my Ancestors. I am the hope of today. I am the builder for those unborn. I am the promoter of our Afrikan Way.
What is your purpose?
To use my personal skills and talents for the benefit of my community. To think of others first and build Umoja—Afrikan unity.
Where are you from?
Mama Afrika is my home. Liberation is my song. You can’t steer me wrong. I’m Afrikan to the bone.
Birth is not the beginning and death is not the end. I am because we are. Together we shall win.
RBG Pledge
WE PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE RED, BLACK, AND GREEN, OUR FLAG, THE SYMBOL OF OUR ETERNAL STRUGGLE, AND TO THE LAND WE MUST OBTAIN; ONE NATION OF BLACK PEOPLE, WITH ONE CREATOR OF US ALL, TOTALLY UNITED IN THE STRUGGLE, FOR BLACK LOVE, BLACK FREEDOM, AND BLACK SELF-DETERMINATION.
Afrikan ABC's
A is for Afrika; land where our ancestors are from.
B is for Build; step by step, one by one.
C is for Create; to be like the Creator.
D is for Determination; we won’t give up ever.
E is for Example; to be what we believe.
F is for Focus; to pay attention to our needs.
G is for Growth; to change from good to best.
H is for History; we’ve been put to the test.
I is for Identity; Afrikan people are we.
J is for Journey; our Maafa on land and sea.
K is for Knowledge; to fill our minds.
L is for Love; of self and kind.
M is for Many; both young and old.
N is for Nation; our own land to control.
O is for Organize; to get it together.
P is for Power; the more the better.
Q is for Question; how, what, where, why, and when.
R is for Reliance; to be strong from beginning to end.
S is for Struggle; to fight our enemies toe to toe.
T is for Teach; to pass on to our people whatever we know.
U is for Unity; together both day and night.
V is for Values; to know the wrong from right.
W is for Work; which is our best hope.
X is for the unknown, which is the black people.
Y is for Youth; the future are we.
Z is for Zero; which is all we get free.
Here is an overview of this week's subjects and activities:
Week Overview & Schedule
Morning Meeting
African Music & Proverbs
We write and illustrate each proverb daily. This is one of their favorite parts of school so I try to include lots of drawing and art to spice up our lessons.
Proverbs of the week:
"Instruction in youth is like engraving in stone."
“The community solves community problems."
“It takes a village to raise a child."
“What you do in black hair you will eat in white hair."
Daily Exercise
Each month we study different African exercise and this month we are exercising with Kemetic Yoga. Each week we do a new video!
Reading
For reading we have a K-3 read-a-loud for the week and 4th and up has spelling, grammar, reading activities like dictation, narration, and outlining as well as individual reading assignments with book reports. Spelling, grammar, reading is also included for lower grades. See books of the week below.
K-3 also has many hands-on reading activities my children enjoy. Check them out here!
Math
Most of the math we do is through Khan Academy. For Pre-K-1 we also include hands on activities, videos, songs, and games for counting, addition, subtraction, and multiplication as well as worksheets for practice and copy work for individual work time. My children enjoy everything hands on and visual most. What about yours?
African Heritage
This week we studied Miriam Makeba and began memorizing Langston's "I've Known Rivers". We listened and danced to "Pata, Pata" and sang a song we made up about the life of Miriam Makeba for memorization and fun of course lol!
Langston's Train Ride is our African History book of the week.
Science
Tuesdays & Thursdays we follow a weekly science theme and this week we studied Laetoli Footsteps and made some of our own. We also played more with our volcano made last week =D!
Art
Wednesdays are art days and we had a blast continuing with our Afro-Centric Modigliani project. We turned our art into African Kings and Queens.
Musical Instrument of the Month
African Udu
Books of the week:
Each grade level has a book of the week. All African-Centered literature our children can relate to and learn from.
K-3-Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
1st: The song of six birds by Deetlefs, Rene.
2nd: The other side By Woodson, Jacqueline.
3rd: Fishing day by Pinkney, Andrea Davis.
4th: Circle of Fire by Coleman, Evelyn
5th: World's Great Men of Color & The Mzungu boy By Mwangi, Meja
That is just a snap shot into our wonderful week in Maelewano Motherland Curriculum. If you are looking for African-Centered Curriculum check out our upcoming Maelewano Homeschool Curriculum Guide. Includes everything you see here for grades K-5th as well as African History, reading, math, science, art, and more with focus on African literature and hands on activities. Request a complete 4-week sample here. The curriculum guide will be available for purchase Summer 2017. And Don't forget...Connect with me on Facebook and subscribe =D! Please comment and share if this was helpful to you or if this could help some one you know!
We learn self-love African Centered Home School! #strongertogether
Ase,
Deanna
Disclaimer: Some of the links you find in this post may contain affiliate links which means I am paid when you purchase through my affiliate links. Thank you in advance for your support!
Comments