Armies may run on their stomachs, but so do kids getting ready to read! Connecting literacy and language with food is a tried and true way to make kids happy while teaching them valuable literacy lessons.
Thanksgiving is next week, and one way to use the library’s electronic resources in this way is to check out the A to Z World Foods database and find interesting foods from around the world to try alongside your traditional turkey meal. (Find it by clicking on the “Research” tab at the top of the library’s web site, then “Databases” and finding it under “A”. If you are not in a library, you’ll need to enter your last name and library card to access.)
Search for “Thanksgiving” or “autumn” and see what pops up and looks good! Just reading and talking about different foods is a literacy activity that will build your child’s background knowledge (and stimulate their taste buds!). Following a recipe also provides great opportunities for talking and reading.
What about Bimeuelos de Kalavasa – also known as Fried Pumpkin Fritters – from Israel?
It’s a traditional autumn treat that has a similar taste to our pumpkin pie but with different textures.
Or Ghana’s Kpekpele, a traditional food for their annual Thanksgiving festival of Homowo? It’s a savory mixture of fish, cornmeal, and tomatoes, and the people of Ghana who celebrate traditionally place bowls in places with spiritual significance to thank ancestors for a good harvest.
Songpyeon from Korea are gooey, sweet and semi-sweet rice cakes made for their harvest festival of Chuseok, and Romania’s Galuste cu Prune (Plum Dumplings) offer another sweet yet buttery treat to end your meal.
While you are preparing these dishes, you can also be learning about the food culture and special occasion foods from each country. For example, you can read more about the Independence Day of Ghana – and compare their foods (fufu and oto, mashed yams and hardboiled eggs) with those that are eaten for the Independence Day of the United States!
- Laura Raphael, Children’s Services Coordinator, Tulsa City-County Library