MINI-GEOGRAPHY AND MULTI-CULTURAL ED:
Foods and Mealtime Around the World
To provide a frame of reference, show children where countries are located on your classroom globe or map, and if possible, provide related pictures and books:

From Stormie:
Suggested Children's Books:
*How Do You Eat? by Floella Benjamin: This book describes ways of eating in various cultures.
*Eating, by Gwenyth Swain: Using color photos, this wonderful little book introduces children to favorite foods from around th world.

 

Afghanistan (located on the continent of Asia)

Jamaica (located on the continent of North America)
Cooking with pineapples is very popular.
 

China (located on the continent of Asia)
From Kathleen, in Nevada:
Have children drop fabric paint onto place mats that have been cut from a white sheet (or paper).  Fold the placemats, then open to see a beautiful design.  When dry, place the mats on boxes (tables) that have been covered with white butcher paper.  Set the tables with oriental tea sets and chop sticks, and create a Chinese menu.

Japan (located on the continent of Asia)
From Bonnie T. in Colorado Springs, Colorado:
A good book to read is "How My Parents Learned to Eat," written by Ina R. Friedman and illustrated by Allen Say.  It's about a Japanese-American girl describing her parents courtship and how they learned the other's way of eating
Follow-up Eye-Hand Coordination/Pre-Math Activity: Children try to pick up kidney beans with chopsticks, counting them as they go.

Korea (flag for North Korea) (located on the continent of Asia)
From Stormie:
When doing a unit on China, Japan, or Korea, try to have various types of chopsticks (plastic, wood, and metal, plain and decorated) available for the children to see and manipulate.  Explain that the longer chopsticks are used for cooking while people eat with short ones (very short ones are used by children).  You can show the class how Japanese chopsticks are more tapered at the end than Chinese ones, and some are stainless steel (Korean ones) instead of bamboo.
Follow-up activities:
Art project: Give children plain wood chopsticks and let them decorate them using markers or collage materials.
Fine motor: Place two trays side by side, one having several items on it (paper cup, crayon, clothespin, washcloth, sponge, bar of soap, cotton ball, etc).  Children transfer items from this tray to the other one using chopsticks.  How they use the chopsticks to move the items is their choice.

Allow children to wash dishes using a bar of soap as they do in some parts of Central and South America.

Guam (located on the continent of Australia/Oceania)
Here's an idea from an unidentified someone on an island in the Pacific, Guam:
A couple of foods we enjoy here are "red rice" and "chicken keleguen."  The rice is more of an orange-red color.  The color is from a seed locally grown or you can find it in the supermarkets here.  If you would like the recipes for these or any other information on the different types of foods we have here feel free to email me at deanna@ite.net.

Mexico (located on the continent of North America)
From Analicia Oscos in Acapulco, Mexico:
Hi Stormie, the children at our school planted lettuce, cilantro (coriander), and tomatoes a few months ago on a parcel of land.  It was so much fun!  After harvesting the vegetables, the children and teachers made Guacamole and a salad, and we invited the parents to enjoy it with us.  Everyone loved it!  Guacamole is a very popular Mexican appetizer.  Cilantro is a green plant with leaves that we use alot for cooking in Mexico.

Guacamole                                                                                                                          You will need:3-4 Avocados    3 spoonfuls of chopped Onion, to taste1/2 cup of chopped Tomato    Juice of 1 small half Lime Mash the avocatoes with a fork and then mix in the onion and tomato.  Then, stir in the lime juice.  Eat it with tortilla chips.                                                                                         You, the children, and your parents will really like it!

*Michelle from Michigan suggests:
Starting in the fall, bring foods from other countries to your classroom.  If your grocery store has an international food aisle, this can easily be accomplished."

*From Lisa: To make chopsticks easier for children to use: Rubber band two chopsticks tightly together near the top.  Roll up a strip of paper about 1/2 in. wide until it has a rolled diameter of about 3/8 in.  Stuff the paper roll just under the rubber band between the chopsticks. They will now function kind of like tweezers.  Much easier for little hands!!

Somalia (located on the continent of Africa):
From Ummibrahim in Canada:
Traditional foods are: Anjerah, (pronounced an-jer-ah -- with a short e).  This is similar to a crepe without filling that is eaten for breakfast.  The main meal of the day is eaten in the afternoon (around 2) and is called "qado" (pronounced ka-dow -- with a long o).  It usually consists of pasta or rice made with spices (clove, cinnamon, cardamom, and sometimes saffron) and is eaten with goat meat or sauce.  People take a siesta after the dinner as it gets hot around that time.  Some people even sleep outside under a tree to enjoy any breezes.  Beans, corn, or wheat are usually eaten in the evening.  This evening meal is small and is called "asho" (pronounced a-show -- with a long o).  Bananas, mangoes, papayas, and other tropical fruit grow in Somalia.  Traditional desert is "halwa," a sticky sweet made from sugar, oil, cornstarch, and spices.  And "chi" (a sweet, spicy tea) is always on hand.  Food is eaten "communally" in a big dish.  This means that everyone sits on the floor and eats with their right hand (no forks or dishes to wash!).  Men and women may eat separately.

Cooking Projects:
1. A form of "Anjerah" can be made with the children by using a recipe for plain dessert crepes, then add melted butter and a sprinkle of sugar for the topping.  Either pile them one on top of the other, each with some topping, or roll them up individually. They can also be used without the topping, as a savory dish with a meat sauce -- just break pieces off and use them to scoop up the sauce.
2. Have the children help make a fruit salad (they have watermelon too).

Creative Art/Craft Projects:
Create and /or decorate paper fans to "keep cool"
Create pictures of the Somalian flag
Create "banana trees" ( or mango or papaya trees)

Extension from Stormie: After reading what Ummibrahim has so generously shared with us, I think it would be a great idea to introduce Somalia (point it out on your classroom globe, provide pictures from the library/internet -- preferably of children), then as a cooking project, boil some rice, perhaps add some spices, and have the children (with very clean hands) practice eating "communally" with their right hands, as described above.  Then, together, go outside (if it's a nice day) and take a short siesta!

Book suggestions from Julaine, in Cincinnati, Ohio:
Yoko, by Rosemary Wells: This is the story of a little girl who eats sushi for lunch and is made fun of by her classmates and how the teacher tries to resolve the problem by having an International Food Day.
Bread Bread Bread, by Ann Morris: The back cover of this book describes it well: What kind of bread do you eat?  All over the world someone is eating bread.
Let's Eat, by Ana Zamorano: This is one of my children's favorites: Mama, who is pregnant, tries to get the family together for dinner, cooking something special each night.  There's a surprise ending.  (This book teaches some Spanish words.)   
 

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