AFRICA: Akhwari--Greatest Last Place Finish Ever

Have you ever heard of John Stephen Akhwari? If not, you should find out who he is, and you should share his story with your children. Let me help you.

John Stephen Akhwari is a marathon runner from Tanzania. He was the African champion runner and he competed in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Even though Akhwari had previously beaten the man who would win the gold medal in the men's marathon that year, Akhwari is mostly known for having the worst marathon finishing time in the history of the Olympics. But really, the time isn't the important part--the finishing is. 

Here is the quote he is most famous for:

"My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles to finish it."

Akhwari's Olympic marathon finish is nothing short of heroic given all the circumstances and given his tenacious grit. He is an amazing example! I like everything about the following video except that at the end it categorizes Akhwari's finish as one of the "strangest." I disagree. I think it's one of the best and most inspiring.

Years later, Akhwari was called upon to be honored and participate in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, carrying the torch. Here is a good follow up article on Akhwari's life since his famous finish. 

Whether you're studying Africa, the Olympics, focusing on biographies, working on character development, or need a story for a Family Home Evening lesson on enduring to the end, John Stephen Akhwari from Mbulu, Tanzania, Africa is someone to talk about.

AFRICA: The Sahara

It's not like my kids don't know anything about the Sahara. Much of what we've read and watched has included it. But I did want one specific activity regarding it. And because it's good to mix things up, I created a crossword puzzle on the Sahara.

There are many puzzle generators on the internet; some are free, some are not, and some are more user friendly than others. I tend to use Puzzlemaker at Discovery Education most often for creating puzzles. I also tend to copy/paste what's on the screen to Microsoft Publisher so I can manipulate things better for printing, too.

For this particular puzzle, I had the kids read a Live Science article on the Sahara first and then gave them the puzzle. All the answers were inside the article. It was quick and informative.

Here is my Sahara Crossword if you'd like to use it.

AFRICA: Literary Comparisons and Essays

Even though we are doing a unit on Africa for the sake of geography and social studies, I am going heavy on the writing with this unit, learning and/or refining (depending on the child) the writing process and different types of essays. Two picture books have been tools for writing comparison essays. 

The Egyptian Cinderella is obvious:  compare the traditional "Cinderella" with this African cultural version.

After reading Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, which some people call an African Cinderella tale, I felt there were more possibilities with this book. I left it wide open with no suggestions whatsoever. I told my kids to independently read the story and then think of some other story they knew that was similar and write a comparison essay on the two stories. I was pleased with how that assignment turned out. One compared it to "Cinderella," one to The King's Highway, and one to "The Princess and the Pea."

In my opinion, you're never too old for picture books. I love them! Also, I like introducing concepts with picture books, like comparison essays. Rather than beginning with two huge literary works that may be overwhelming, it's good to start building those writing muscles with something smaller where kids can be clear and successful before tackling something bigger.

Musical Perfection - Additions to My November Playlist

You may recall that when the autumn colors come out, so does my November Playlist. (I've pretty much made all of autumn my peaceful, reflective, especially grateful time of year.) I wanted to share this year's additions to this personal playlist.

First is an entire album:  David Tolk's Impressions. With pieces titled "Grateful," "October," and "Autumn Sky" you can't go wrong. I consider myself a tough critic, though, of musical selections purporting to represent ideas or, as the title suggests, impressions, as each of us has our own experiences and perspectives. I actually put this music in, closed my eyes, and tried to see if the music conjured images and feelings synonymous with the titles and, for me, they did. I have listened to these songs over and over this fall. I especially love "Old North Bridge" and "Evening on the Seine." And "Nothing Like the Sun" expertly calls to mind beams of light as they flash, flit, filter, and flare on an autumn day.

Here is the album in its entirety:

Now, if you want to experience, truly, a little bit of what Heaven must be; if you want to hear musical perfection; if you want to feel your soul weep and soar at the same time, listen to this. I cannot get enough of Karl Jenkins' Benedictus, performed by 2 Cellos.

The Benedictus, or Song of Zechariah, is a song of thanksgiving and praise in Luke 1:68-79 sung by Zechariah at the birth of John the Baptist. It is called Benedictus because the opening line in Latin is, Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel."

Here is a 2 Cellos performance of Benedictus. Theirs is my favorite.

The Thankful Tree

It's that time of year again! One of my favorite traditions in November is the family Thankful Tree. 

It's so simple but adds a daily contemplative activity and a visual reminder of all the many wonderful blessings in life. It also keeps brilliantly colorful leaves in sight even after autumn winds have blown them away outside.

I just get a roll of banner paper, cut it to fit my coat closet door, and tape it on, then I draw a  tree trunk and bare branches with a crayon. I make colorful copies of a variety of leaf shapes for everyone to write their blessings in, cut out, and tape to the tree. 

Perfect addition to each day of November.