Sankofa | K | Unit 1 | 25-26

Instructor | Mama Adia | Adia Tamar Whitaker

Email | awhitaker@friendsseminary.org

The Kindergarten Sankofa curriculum introduces students to diversity on the Continent of Africa. It is anchored by the principle of Sankofa. The word Sankofa means “Go back and Get it” in Twi, the Akan language of Ghana, West Africa. The Sankofa curriculum honors practices of caring for each other and planet earth. It is designed to socially and emotionally develop the children through the lens of folklore from the African diaspora. In class, students will call and respond, enjoy picture books, learn rhythm conversations, play games, dance, and sing. The children will have many opportunities to practice socialization through the arts as they have fun exploring language, diversity, empathy, reciprocity, community, equality, kindness, gratitude, self-determination, self-control, interconnectedness, and intercultural communication. From September until now, we’ve been spending a lot of time building our classroom community, reading about, singing, and dancing in community. We’ve also been exploring non-locomotor and locomotor movements.

You may hear your children singing Funga Alafia around the house. Funga has origins in Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, West Africa. Funga is a mimed, storytelling, welcome dance that came to the United States from Liberia, West Africa. Funga is made up of gestures of welcome. It was brought to the concert stage by dance pioneer Asadata Dafora from Sierra Leone. African-American dancer/choreographer Pearl Primus traveled to Liberia after Asadata Dafora had already come to the United States. There, she learned the Funga dance and rhythm. When she returned to the U.S., she brought the Funga dance and rhythm back to the concert stage in the U.S. again. LaRocque Bey added Yoruba words and added that to the dance.
  • Fanga/Funga – Hello, Welcome | Fanga is the proper way to say and spell the word. Fanga is also the word for drum among the Vai people of Liberia.
  • Alafia – Good health | Peace
  • Ashe – Let it be so!

Unit 1 | Book list

Rain School | James Rumford

Head, Body, Legs; A Story from Liberia | Won-Ldy Paye and Margaret H. Lippert

Excerpts from Bodies Are Cool | Tyler Fedder

Sunne’s Gift | Ama Karikari Dawson | Rasad Malik Davis | Julie Paschkis

We All Went On Safari; A Counting Journey through Tanzania | South East Africa | Laurie Krebs | Julia Cairns

A Rainbow in Brown | Pavonis Giron

Black is a Rainbow Color | Angela Joy | Ekua Holmes

Danbi Leads the School Parade | Anna Kim

All Are Neighbors | Alexandra Penfold | Suzanne Kaufman

I AM YOU | A Book About Ubuntu | Refiloe Moahloli | Zinelda McDonald

KLJ

KME

KCH