If you’re learning about African art for children, you’ll love learning about djembe drums. Also, look at my pages Free Africa Unit Study for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning | Free Continent & Country Reports and How to Make a Kids’ Fun Ceremonial African Tribal Mask for more ideas.
African Art, whether modern or historical, covers a wide range of items from elaborate masks to colorful jewelry, to bronze structure and instruments like the djembe drums.
The art of Africa tells powerful stories of culture, people, customs, animals, clothing, and history.
The djembe pronounced (GEM-bay) is one of West Africa’s most well-known instruments.
It is a goblet-shaped drum and carved from a single piece of African hardwood.
A piece of dried animal skin functions as the drumhead.
The carvings and decorations on the djembe drums depict African designs, ceremonial tribal art, and imagery that tell stories and fables handed down through the ages.
Facts About African Art for Children
- Masks were an important part of African art. Besides the art of designing mask, they were used with dance to create a type of performance art.
- African masks are estimated to be over 20,000 years old.
- Ancient African civilizations often made their jewelry from gold, gems, shells, and other materials.
- African art is created in three dimensions.
- Rock art is the earliest form of African art.
- African art was made for more than just beauty. The art was used in everyday life like clothing, masks, jewelry, baskets, and dishes.
Also, here are more facts about Senegal and Gambia where djembe drums are more common.
Facts about Senegal and Gambia
To make a djembe drum often used in Senegalese and Gambian music, a hollow frame is carved out of a tree trunk.
Then, metal rings were used to stretch the animal skin over the top of the drum.
The sound and tone of the drums is made by twisting strings attached to the metal rings.
Drums have played an important part in West Africa societies.
Music is part of a larger ceremony which normally includes dance and storytelling.
Songs mark important stages in life.
- Gambia is named after the Gambia River. The river’s banks are covered with mangrove swamps.
- The main religion of the Gambia is Islam.
- Since Britain once ruled Gambia, the main language is English.
- Dakar is the capital city of Senegal and about 80% of the people are Muslim as well.
- Only 40% of the people of Senegal can read and write. There are no government programs to help the poor.
- Listen to the beautiful African drum music.
More Facts about the Geography of West Africa
- West Africa has 19 countries and has the largest number of nations in Africa.
- Some of the countries border the Atlantic Ocean and the countries between the Sahara Desert and coastal countries.
- Some of the landscape consists of the desert, rain forest and coastal plains.
- West Africa is famous for music and the arts.
Resources to Learn About Egypt in Northeast Africa
Additionally, you’ll love these other resources to learn about Egypt.
- 7 Fun Ways to Play Go Fish Egyptian Games for Kids
- Ancient Egypt DIY Simple and Fun Mummification Process Game
- Egypt Crafts For Kindergarten Create a Fun Kid Sized Mummy
- Fun Pharaohs and Queens Ancient Egypt Lapbook and Activities
- Hands-On Ancient Egypt Craft: Create Canopic Jars
- 11 Easy Hands-On Ancient Egypt Projects for Middle School.
- Hands-on Ancient Egypt: Israelite Mud Bricks for Kids
- Free Ancient Egypt Mehen Printable Board Game (Hands-on History)
Next, look at some of these books to add to your curriculum.
13 Resources for Children Studying About Africa
Add one or two of these books to your study about the art of Africa.
Africa For Kids: People, Places, Culture gives children not only a peek into the land and its people but the artwork of even simple everyday items like weaving and serving plates.
Here is a coloring book filled with African souvenirs to color that is soothing and a great springboard for discussion.
I found this beautiful book of African Patterned Scrapbook paper that can be used for many craft projects.
Atinuke’s first non-fiction title is a major publishing event: a celebration of all 55 countries on the African continent! Her beautifully-written text captures Africa’s unique mix of the modern and the traditional, as she explores its geography, its peoples, its animals, its history, its resources and its cultural diversity. The book divides Africa into five sections: South, East, West, Central and North, each with its own introduction. This is followed by a page per country, containing a delightful mix of friendly, informative text and colourful illustrations.
Enter into the daily life of children in the many countries of modern Africa. Countering stereotypes, Africa Is Not a Country celebrates the extraordinary diversity of this vibrant continent as experienced by children at home, at school, at work, and at play.
With its wide sky and warm earth, Princess Gie Gie’s kingdom is a beautiful land. But clean drinking water is scarce in her small African village. And try as she might, Gie Gie cannot bring the water closer; she cannot make it run clearer. Every morning, she rises before the sun to make the long journey to the well. Instead of a crown, she wears a heavy pot on her head to collect the water. After the voyage home, after boiling the water to drink and clean with, Gie Gie thinks of the trip that tomorrow will bring. And she dreams. She dreams of a day when her village will have cool, crystal-clear water of its own.
Artists Leo and Diane Dillon won their second consecutive Caldecott Medal for this stunning ABC of African culture. "Another virtuoso performance. . . . Such an astute blend of aesthetics and information is admirable, the child's eye will be rewarded many times over."
Omar and his brother Hassan, two Somali boys, have spent a long time in the Dadaab refugee camp. Separated from their mother, they are looked after by a friendly stranger. Life in the camp isn't always easy. The hunger is constant . . . but there's football to look forward to, and now there's a chance Omar will get to go to school . . .With a heart-wrenching fairytale ending, this incredible true story is brought to life by Victoria's stunning illustrations. This book perfectly depicts life in a refugee camp for 8-12 year olds.
When a terrible drought struck William Kamkwamba's tiny village in Malawi, his family lost all of the season's crops, leaving them with nothing to eat and nothing to sell. William began to explore science books in his village library, looking for a solution. There, he came up with the idea that would change his family's life forever: he could build a windmill. Made out of scrap metal and old bicycle parts, William's windmill brought electricity to his home and helped his family pump the water they needed to farm the land. Retold for a younger audience, this exciting memoir shows how, even in a desperate situation, one boy's brilliant idea can light up the world. Complete with photographs, illustrations, and an epilogue that will bring readers up to date on William's story, this is the perfect edition to read and share with the whole family.
Things Fall Apart is the first of three novels in Chinua Achebe's critically acclaimed African Trilogy. It is a classic narrative about Africa's cataclysmic encounter with Europe as it establishes a colonial presence on the continent. Told through the fictional experiences of Okonkwo, a wealthy and fearless Igbo warrior of Umuofia in the late 1800s, Things Fall Apart explores one man's futile resistance to the devaluing of his Igbo traditions by British political andreligious forces and his despair as his community capitulates to the powerful new order. With more than 20 million copies sold and translated into fifty-seven languages, Things Fall Apart provides one of the most illuminating and permanent monuments to African experience. Achebe does not only capture life in a pre-colonial African village, he conveys the tragedy of the loss of that world while broadening our understanding of our contemporary realities.
Those looking for a concise yet informative, visually breathtaking yet affordable East African safari need look no further than this spectacular field guide. Featuring full-color photos of 475 common species of bird, mammal, snake, lizard, insect, tree, and flower, Wildlife of East Africa takes us on an exquisite one-volume tour through the living splendor of the main national parks and game reserves of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Many of the species included--from pelicans to plovers, ostriches to elephants, from the daintiest of antelopes to cattlelike giants, from leopards to lions, baboons to gorillas, chameleons to crocodiles, acacias to aloes--also inhabit neighboring countries. The selection was based on the personal experiences of the authors, wildlife experts who have been leading safaris in the region for more than twenty years.
Heads up: this is a great book but there is a rite of passage and has a part about circumcision.
Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton gives American kids a firsthand look at growing up in Kenya as a member of a tribe of nomads whose livelihood centers on the raising and grazing of cattle. Readers share Lekuton's first encounter with a lion, the epitome of bravery in the warrior tradition. They follow his mischievous antics as a young Maasai cattle herder, coming-of-age initiation, boarding school escapades, soccer success, and journey to America for college. Lekuton's riveting text combines exotic details of nomadic life with the universal experience and emotions of a growing boy.
Fifteen-year-old Amadou counts the things that matter. For two years what has mattered are the number of cacao pods he and his younger brother, Seydou, can chop down in a day. The higher the number the safer they are. The higher the number the closer they are to paying off their debt and returning home. Maybe. The problem is Amadou doesn’t know how much he and Seydou owe, and the bosses won’t tell him. The boys only wanted to make money to help their impoverished family, instead they were tricked into forced labor on a plantation in the Ivory Coast. With no hope of escape, all they can do is try their best to stay alive—until Khadija comes into their lives. She’s the first girl who’s ever come to camp, and she’s a wild thing. She fights bravely every day, attempting escape again and again, reminding Amadou what it means to be free. But finally, the bosses break her, and what happens next to the brother he has always tried to protect almost breaks Amadou. The three band together as family and try just once more to escape.
Moreover, add some of these hands-on activities to learn about Africa.
Hands-on Activities to Learn about Africa
Start by having your child identify West Africa on a map, where the Djembe drums are from.
Use the map or globe to identify different areas where various art comes from.
- Make a salt dough map of Africa to learn to identify the continent and its countries.
- Create a beautifully Painted African House craft.
- Make a Kente cloth with simple paper weaving.
- How to Make a Kids’ Fun Ceremonial African Tribal Mask
- This African Sunset Art is a nice addition to your learning about Africa.
- Make and then play your own Mancala game that is native to Africa.
- Here you can build your own African Thumb piano to make native music.
- A Clay African Basket is a great activity for all ages.
Finally, let’s make some fun African art for children.
How to Make Djembe Drums With Kids
You will need:
- 2 plastic cups
- Tan tissue paper
- Twine
- School glue
- Markers or paint
- Hot glue gun/sticks
Directions:
Hot glue two cups bottom to bottom with a generous amount of glue.
Be careful not to touch the metal nozzle of your glue gun to the plastic cup or it will melt them and high temp glue guns can as well.
Hold in place until the glue cools and it is secure.
Also, let younger children tape them with masking tape. You want to involve them in the project from start to finish.
Mix 1 part water to 2 parts school glue to make mod podge.
Paint glue mixture onto the top couple inches of one of the cups and wrap a piece of tissue paper over it to cover.
Brush the glue mixture over the top of the tissue to form the drumskin. Be careful not to poke through. It will strengthen after it is dry.
Repeat the layering of tissue paper glue over just the top 2 more times.
Cover the remainder of the drum with tissue paper.
First, brush the glue mixture over the surface then pressing in tissue,and finally coat all over the top of the tissue with glue again.
Two to three coats are plenty.
Allow the glue to dry well all over the entire surface before going on to the next step.
Afterwards, once the glue is dry it is time to add the beautiful colors and patterns using either permanent markers, paint, paintbrush, or paint markers.
Markers work very well and dry quickly.
Once done, wrap twine around the top edge, center, and bottom.
Next, hold it into place with hot glue.
Your drum is ready to use.
The hardened glue makes it stronger.
Finally, it will hold up to gentle drumming. But it is meant for display.