The following are resources I've found related to African and African countries. Mostly it's free online resources.
I haven't used all of these resources personally. I'm not an expert on this topic, and nor do I have a cultural or ethnic heritage related to Africa, so I wouldn't be the best person for a "best of" list. This is just a "what I've come across" list. I'm compiling this because I feel like Africa is a region of the world that wasn't given enough attention in my own education, and I have tried to give my children more knowledge of Africa than I have.
When the pandemic first hit and many parents were suddenly home with their children and looking up resources to homeschool (or just do something educational with their kids until they were back in school), I made a Africa Unit Study with the idea that maybe some parents would use this while their kids were home. Since then I've collected more homeschooling/educational resources on this topic and needed a separate post to share them. Enjoy.
Note that this is a mix of secular, neutral, and Christian curriculum. I've tried to mark if the curriculum is religious, but may have missed some, so make sure to preview before using if you want to avoid religious or non-religious materials.
KEY TERMS
BOOK STUDY: These are resources intended to be paired with a book related to Africa. The book is usually not included (but libraries often have them). I will try to put more info about the book after the link.
LAPBOOK: A homemade book about a topic, often to be put together in a folder or notebook.
UNIT STUDY: A topical study, often incorporating various subjects in a way that ties them back to the main topic. Can be as short as one day, or as long as a year or more.
GENERAL
Africa Unit Study by Imaginative Homeschool (Me!)
Africa Unit by Adventures in a Messy Life
(I've included her individual country units in the Country section below, but at this link new African country studies will be shared here as she completes them).
Africa Countries Color by Number (Multiplication)
Free sample pages from Geography Through Art
These have a few African crafts. Christian curriculum.
REGIONAL
WEST AFRICA
- Book Study - Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: Unit Study and Lapbook by Homeschool Share
West African folk tale. Study covers African animals.
BY COUNTRY
Algeria
Angola
Central African Republic
- Free sample pages from Geography Through Art
(On pg 12, numbered 30, they have a craft related to butterfly art which is done in the Central African Republic and several other African nations, not mentioned. I suggest also taking a look at this page to see examples of this art.)
Benin
Botswana
- My Book About Botswana: Print Copywork by Write Bonnie Rose
- My Book About Botswana: Cursive Copywork by Write Bonnie Rose
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Cape Verde (Cabo Verde)
Djibouti
Egypt
Note: I've included some resources on modern Egypt, but am not
including resources on Ancient Egypt here because there is SO MUCH
available and it would take up too much of the page.
- Egypt Lapbook by Homeschool Share (Focuses on modern Egypt)
- Book Study - The Day of Ahmed’s Secret: Unit study by Homeschool Share
A story of a delivery boy in Cairo who has a special secret he is waiting to tell his family. - Africa Unit Study: One Day Free Sample - Egypt, by Gather Round Homeschool (part of a larger unit study, which is not included)
Eritrea
Ethiopia
- Ethiopia Lapbook by Homeschool Share
- Book Study - Faraway Home: Lapbook and Unit Study by Homeschool Share
The Faraway Home (not included) is about a child who's father is going away to visit his childhood home in Ethiopia, and the questions this spurs.
Ghana
Kenya
Malawi
- Book Study - When Africa Was Home: Unit Study by Homeschool Share
After returning back to the United States, and family misses their home in Malawi.
Morocco
Somalia
Tanzania
- Ready to Read: On the Savanna, by Gather Round Homeschool
Christian curriculum mixing geography and phonics lessons, themed around the African Savanna. This is a single sample lesson from a larger unit, and covers Tanzania, and the phonics concepts of ar vowel teams and r-controlled vowels. The Tanzania material could be used separately from the phonics material.
If you know of other resources that should be on this list, please leave me a comment about them. Thanks!
