Africa Week

Thing One and I made a list of topics he wants to study more so I could put together some unit studies. One of the things he chose at random was "South Africa." I broadened this to include all of Africa and it ended up being a really fun weekly theme!

We studied African animals, focusing on elephants, lions, and giraffes. We talked a bit about primates, too. Movies we watched were The Lion King and Elephant Tales. We made some foam animals from a kit I had (elephant and lion). We learned "elephant breath" and a "lion stretch" during yoga time. Our yoga pretzels deck was helpful with this. My kids aren't too interested in the kids' yoga videos we have, but they adore these cards!

We listened to a ton of African music cds from the library. We also listened to Uncle Remus (Brer Rabbit) stories. We discussed what makes a folk tale special, and we read a bunch of African folk tales. The Anansi tales were the favorites.

We discussed basic African geography, and talked about the seven continents. We considered how different parts of Africa are from each other. We revisisted the savannah, desert and forest habitats. We read a book about students in different parts of Africa, and how they are similar to us in some ways and different in others.

We looked at some African art and some masks. We practiced drawing faces and masks. We made a mancala game with an egg carton and some beads.

We ate chicken peanut stew, and couscous with almonds and currants (both big hits).

18 Days and Counting

My sister and I are attending a yoga, art and hiking retreat in New Mexico in a few weeks. I'm getting SOOOO excited! I've never been to that part of the country. I've never been in a desert. Our agenda includes yoga every day, plus exciting day trips.

Places we’ll be visiting:
Downtown Santa Fe www.santafe.org
Tent Rocks www.explorenm.com/hikes/TentRocks
Ojo Caliente www.ojocalientesprings.com
Georgia O’Keefe www.okeeffemuseum.org
Taos www.taoschamber.com
Kakawa Chocolates www.kakawachocolates.com

I'm a bit nervous about the elevation. Hopefully it won't affect me too much.

The trip organizer is my former yoga teacher who moved from Maryland to New Mexico last year. She still comes to Maryland regularly to teach various trainings. She is someone I try to emulate. She has such a profound aura of peace and joy about her that I envy.