When Iย developed the curriculum and taught African and African American history for the Wakisha Charterย School in Philadelphia, I advised parents how to help their children remember what they had learned in the class, especially when they were studying about Egypt known as Kemet.
I would advise the parents to give pets like fish, or toys like bikes and other things, even the new family car, anything that had meaning to the child, the name of Kings and Queens. This would help children to remember. Parents could also ask questions about the person these things were named after to help the students recall the information so that the history of the person would not only be memorization but would be internalized as well.
Diverse Elementary Class
As a counselor, I would use a book like “Sundiata the Lion King,” to help students to learn the importance of controlling their anger by talking about a portion of the book when Sundiata could have gotten angry and did not do so. I also used the book “Henry Box Brown,” to help children with ADHD to learn how to calm down and sit still when they would hear the name Henry Box Brown and they would get a visual of Henry sitting quietly in a small box and how important it was for him to do as he was mailed to freedom. Both of these books were very useful tools for building self-esteem.
For children now, there is Pinterest where there are recipes for foods from Ancient Kemet using foods such as figs and dates. There are also directions on how to make Kemetic necklaces, clothes, how to have a Kemetic birthday party and much more information on Africans and African Americans. Parents can also encourage their children to look up information about African and African American on Pinterest and start a page of their own.
All of these suggestions can be a fun way for children to remember who we were which will inform them on who they are and who they can become.