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Kenya: Masai Necklaces, Giraffe Tales, & Curry
Do you want to know more about Kenya? Are you a lover of travel, geography teacher, homeschooling or involved parent, student, or life-long learner? In an effort to make world geography more meaningful and memorable, I've compiled all you will need to locate Kenya on a map, cook a Kenyan meal, watch YouTube clips on Kenya, color the flag, create a Kenyan craft, read a great book about Kenya, and more!
Have you ever been to Kenya?
Where is Kenya?
Locate Kenya on this map of the Africa. Use this map of Kenya to label the capitol, Nairobi. Mark other relevant features (rivers, mountains, famous locations, etc.) if desired. If you'd like to spend a bit more time researching the country, you can add the language, currency, type of government, religion, and/or famous landmarks. Write them on the back of the map. You can easily find all this information at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenya.
Fun Facts on Kenya
The dowry for marriage starts at 10 cows.
Kenyans' drink lots of chai tea and not much coffee. They drink their beverages either at room temperature or hot, but never cold.
There are more than 65 national parks and wildlife preserves in Kenya. Each zone has distinct wildlife. Its rain forests contain more birds species than the whole of Europe. Much of Kenya's native flora is not found anywhere else in the world.
Info Credit: http://emilyyoung.theworldrace.org/?filename=11-fun-facts-about-kenya
Kenya's Flag
Print and color the flag of Kenya and learn the history and meaning of it from en.wikipedia.org.
Visiting Kenya on YouTube: East Africa - National Geographic Traveler
Kenya Safari with National Geographic Expeditions
Maasai and Masai Mara Kenya
Kilmanjaro - A Lost World
The Last Ceremony - Kenyan Trilogy
Kenya Meal
Prepare and serve Kenyan Beef Stew, Ugali and/or Chapatis (Kenyan Wholewheat Flat bread), Kenyan Tomato Salad, chopped mangos (use fresh ones or buy chopped frozen ones from Dole), and hot tea (Kenyan if possible -- we got some from Barnes & Watson). If you'd like a drink other than hot tea, serve Fanta (orange-flavored soda), which is a favorite drink on holidays.
Kenyan Beef Stew
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 lb cubed beef
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 4 chopped tomatoes or 1 (12 ounce) drained can diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 cup water
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Saute the onions in the oil for 3-5 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and cubed beef and let cook over medium-high for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, water, cilantro, salt. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 15-20 minutes or until the beef is tender. Serve over rice or with chapati or ugali. (This recipe came from kenya-information-guide.com.)
Ugali
- 4 cups water
- 1 tsp. salt
- 4 cups maize meal or finely ground corn meal
Instructions
- Bring the water to a boil. Stir in the salt and corn meal. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir continuously until thickened, about 10 minutes. Serve on a plate and allow all guests to pull off pieces to eat with the meat dish. (This recipe came from kenya-information-guide.com.)
Chapatis (Kenyan Wholewheat Flatbread)
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (plus extra for kneading and rolling out dough)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt. Using a wooden spoon, slowly stir in water, until dough forms. Lightly flour a clean board and knead dough until smooth, about 10 minutes. Rest dough in bowl, covered with damp towel for 20 minutes. Preheat a griddle over medium heat. Divide dough into 8 equal balls. Using a floured rolling pin, roll balls out on floured board to 7 inches in diameter, about 1/4-inch thick. Place the rolled out dough onto griddle. Flip when raised bumps appear on the surface of the dough, about 1 to 2 minutes. Cook second side until it turns golden. Do not cook too long or flatbread will become brittle. Cover flatbread with a towel up to 20 minutes before serving. (This recipe came from food.com.)
Kenyan Tomato Salad
- 3 sliced large tomatoes
- 1 finely chopped onion
- 1 minced garlic clove
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- salt to taste
- freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Arrange sliced tomatoes and onions on a salad plate. Mix together the garlic, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Pour the dressing over the tomatoes and onion. (This recipe came from food.com.)
Masai Necklaces
Create a paper plate Masai beaded necklace by following these directions from thebestkidsbooksite.com. (We used dyed dried pasta and dried beans as our "beads.")
Read a book on Kenya
Mama Panya's Pancakes by Mary Chamberlin is a fun village tale about a boy who invites everyone in the village over for pancakes. For You Are a Kenyan Child (Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award) by Kelly Cunnane is about a young boy in a small village in Kenya who is supposed to watch his grandfather's cows, but he keeps getting distracted by everything going on around him in his village. I did note on the amazon.com review, that the author makes a number of mistakes with her Swahili translations. The amazon reviewer, Jennifer M., lists them. You can check the list if you would like to note the correct translations. It is still a delightful book nonetheless.
Pray for the people of Kenya
To find out about the religious nature of Kenya and specific ways you can pray for the country, go to operationworld.org.
Where is Nairobi, Kenya's capital city?
Other countries starting with the letter K
Would you prefer to study a different country? Try one of these.
Kazakhstan
Kiribati
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Ready to visit other countries?
Go to around-the-world-in-26-letters to find links to all the countries we "visited." Each web page features a menu, craft, books, video clips, worksheets, and more!
© 2011 Shannon