For our Ibn Battuta Unit, we included a variety of resources from non-fiction books and picture books to hands-on projects to cook books. One thing we could not find were pre-made kits for our projects. I couldn’t even find a craft book (though I’m certain one is available). So we resorted to making our own projects from scratch which we do from time to time.

Our lessons are more hands-on when the students are younger as these activities serve their learning in an engaging way. Often I like to include pre-made kits to our hands-on approach. I love the options available and often kits include materials or products I cannot source otherwise. For this unit, we could not find any kits so we made came up with our own projects and interactive lessons

We love to include recipes when we do our history units as it’s a great way to experience the culture from afar. For this unit, I purchased modern yet vintage cookbook recommended to me by my friend who is married to a Moroccan. Even though Ibn Battuta spent much of his life traveling, we focused on ‘Magrib’ or Moroccan recipes.

The 1200-1400s were a vibrant time for explorers. Starting with Marco Polo in the 1200s to Ibn Battuta in the 1300s and finally Zheng He in the 1400s, the European, African and Asian continents were be explored and journeyed upon. While Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta primarily journeyed by land (occasionally by sea), Zheng He was the admiral of a fleet of Chinese ships that traveled from China to Africa.

When putting together these lesson plans, I decided to approach it differently than the way we did this unit. Now you can learn about the places and history of those places Ibn Battuta traveled to and where he lived during his multi-decade travels across the Muslim world.

We love to start our units with a chalk drawing. In this case, I was originally thinking of doing a map of north Africa and Arabia and part of Asia, but then as I was flipping through the pages of the book The Traveling Man by James Rumford, I came upon a stunning illustration of a boat with a red sail upon a pristine blue sea.

What’s the difference between a main lesson block and a unit study?
A main lesson block, from the Waldorf perspective, isn’t just about presenting daily lessons in a subject area for several weeks before moving on to another main lesson block.

How do you promote meaningful work? And what happens when the main lesson block is done but the work isn’t?

When I first read the book “The Adventures of Ibn Battuta”, in 2010, I was amazed at how thrilling Ibn Battuta’s life was. Within a few chapters he had already had several near death experiences. His journey was truly adventurous, thrilling and pious. His life reads like a live action movie, and as I read these stories, I could envision what what his adventurous life might have been like.

At the close of my Unit Studies and Main Lesson Blocks, I like to review the books we used, the ones we didn't get to and most importantly, the ones we didn't like. We rarely don't get through all the books in a unit as I typically choose far too many books than we have time for.

There are two travelers/explorers who we studied during our history units which focus on the Silk Road and the time period of about 1200-1400, and we imagine both of them carried a journal of sorts to record their travels, what they saw and how they felt. We decided to make an authentic leather journal filled with real parchment or vellum.

While working through our West Africa main lesson block, we learned about Mansa Musa and his great pilgrimage to Makkah to perform Hajj. He is reportedly the wealthiest man in recorded history and carried so much gold to give as charity that he crashed the markets in Egypt with in the influx of gold. This was in the 14th century at a time when Europe was still experiencing its Dark Ages.

The Dinosaur Excavation kit from Excavating Adventures is one of the most creative kits we used. Each month (if you are doing the monthly subscription kit), you get a different kit to excavate and explore. What's unique is that each excavation kit is in a different material.

This is one of my favorite recipes of all time! It's so warming, nourishing and healthy; it's perfect for cool autumn days or for a cozy dinner with friends. I have my dear friend, Laura, and her husband to thank for sharing this recipe for me. Though the following recipe is altered from the traditional way Noureddine made his, it still turns out pretty good, but nothing compared to the original!

This Moroccan soup became an instant favorite for my family and friends. I highly recommend you give it a try. It's an easy recipe that's harty, filling, nutritious, and delicious. You can serve it as an appetizer or as the main meal; we've done both.

This recipe, Buried Vermicelli, is from the book Arabesque A Taste of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon by Claudia Roden. I loved this recipe!! It's than the Moroccan food I typically make so I was excited to explore pairing orange water with cinnamon and sugar for a slightly sweet take on a pasta and chicken dish.

We almost always cut our recipes in half when we are trying something new. That way we can explore new cuisine without worrying if we are going to waste anything if we don't like it. For this recipe, that was a mistake!!

What a great way to end (or start) a meal than with sweet seasonal oranges garnished with dates and blanched almonds with a drizzle of lemon. The key to the success of this recipe is sweet seasonal oranges! We live in Southern California and our oranges are delicious!

I love a good salad, and while I prefer more in my salad than just tomatoes and red onions, this Moroccan salad makes the ideal side dish to a main entree. I paired it with BBQ chicken and spicy green beans.

I'm still kicking myself for overcooking this recipe. Just five minutes less and it would have been just right. So my first tip is mind the grill or oven when you are making this. I opted to broil the chicken in the oven rather than grill them or barbeque them. I was a little rushed so I also decided not to skewer them.

I've seen green beans in tomatoes in many different cuisines so I don't immediately think of these are being Moroccan, but I have to admit, while I enjoy eating this one, I have never made it before or any variation of it!

We often head to the kitchen when doing our homeschool unit studies as this adds flavor to our lessons. Sometimes we simply cook a single recipe, other times, like today, we cook up a whole feast!