• Home
  • Our Shop
  • About Us
    • About MKB
    • Our Shop
    • MKB Board
    • Editorial Board and MKB Administrators
    • Our Contributors
    • For Bloggers: Join MKB
    • Books and Products from Our Members
    • Cultural Resources
    • Contact Us
  • Product Promotion Services
  • Blog Hops & Series
    • Holidays Around the World
      • Martin Luther King Day
      • Chinese New Year
      • Purim
      • Passover
      • Easter Around the World
      • Ramadan
      • Hajj (Eid al Adha)
      • Rosh Hashanah
      • Day of the Dead
      • Diwali
      • Hanukkah
      • Christmas in Different Lands
    • Heritage Months
      • Black History Month
      • Women’s History Month
      • Asian-Pacific Islander Heritage Month
      • Middle Eastern and North African Heritage Month
      • Hispanic Heritage Month
      • Native American Heritage Month
    • Blogging Carnivals
    • Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop
    • Global Learning for Kids
  • Resources for Raising Global Citizens
  • Privacy Policy

Multicultural Kid Blogs

For families and educators raising world citizens, through arts, activities, crafts, food, language, and love.

8 Fun Facts about Ghana + Activities and Games to Learn More!

January 6, 2017 by Becky Morales

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Learn a little about West Africa through these 8 fun facts about Ghana. And don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of the page for exciting activities and games that will help you and your kids learn more!

Fun Facts about Ghana - Map - Kid World Citizen

1. Ghana is a West African country bordering Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. Ghana means “Warrior King” in the Soninke language.

2. In the Middle Ages, several kingdoms inhabited Ghana such as the Ashanti Empire. They had an advanced economy based on trading gold, which was found in the area. Ghana was named the Gold Coast by the Europeans, and became a British colony with the same name until it became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.

3. English is the official language in Ghana, but Ghanaians speak over 40 languages throughout its 10 regions! Twi is the most popular Akan language, spoken by about half of Ghanaians. (Listen to Twi here!).

Fun facts about Ghana - Twi Words - Kid World Citizen

4. Ghana is a tropical country with warm and wet forests to the south with mangroves, acacias, baobabs, shea trees, and mahogany. Most of the country consists of plains and low hills. Lake Volta is the world’s largest man-made lake: it’s 250 miles long and covers 3,283 square miles.

5. Ghana produces the second most cocoa beans in the world. Ivory Coast is No. 1. Cocoa fruits are harvested by hand and pried open with a machete. They are covered with banana leaves and left to ferment for a week, then dried in the sun. Check out these incredible pictures of the Ghanaian cocoa harvest!

Elmina Castle
CC Photo by Dave Ley

6. Elmina Castle, on the coast, is the oldest European building in Sub-Saharan Africa. Built by the Portuguese in 1482 as a trade post for the abundant gold in the region, it was later used to hold enslaved people before taking them to the Americas.

7. Have you ever heard of the tricky spider named Anansi? This West African god frequently takes the form of a tricky spider who is always scheming to get what he wants. It is thought that Anansi was originally found in stories from the Ashanti and Akan people in Ghana, and from there the stories spread through West Africa. During the Atlantic slave trade, the stories crossed the ocean with the slaves through oral tradition. Read and listen to Anansi stories here.

Fun facts about Ghana - Kid World Citizen

8. There are several famous textiles from Ghana. Kente cloth (kenten means “basket”) is a hand-woven cloth originally from the Ashanti Kingdom. Kente is also made by the Akans in Cote d’Ivoire. The popularity of the colors and patterns of the kente make it one of the most recognizable textiles in Africa. The distinct meaning and symbolism has been ingrained in Ghanian culture for hundreds of years. Once worn by royalty, the wealthy, or other highly respected people, now it is used by everyone, especially for special occasions such as festivals, ceremonies, and holidays. Try this kente cloth kids art project to learn more!


Now that you’ve learned some facts about Ghana, it’s time to have fun! Here are some fantastic opportunities to explore more about Ghanaian culture with your kids.

Play Ampe, a fun, outdoors children’s game from Ghana

Read the true story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah who changed the society of Ghana by empowering those with disabilities.

Listen to Highlife Music from Ghana

Learn about and make a craft inspired by adinkra, traditional print-making on fabric

Read children’s books set in Ghana

Make and eat kelewele: this delicious plantain street food dish from Ghana

Global Learning for Kids | Multicultural Kid Blogs

This post is part of our series Global Learning for Kids. Each month we will feature a country and host a link party to collect posts about teaching kids about that country–crafts, books, lessons, recipes, etc. It will create a one-stop place full of information about the country.

This month we are learning all about Ghana, so link up below any old or new posts designed to teach kids about Ghana – crafts, books, lessons, recipes, music and more!

An InLinkz Link-up


Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather
The following two tabs change content below.
  • Bio
  • Latest Posts

Becky Morales

Teacher, author, and mom to 5 bilingual/multicultural kids; we learn about the world & cultures through travel, celebrations, food, art & projects. I am passionate about global learning, empathy building, adoption, and family travel. I share my adventures at http://www.kidworldcitizen.org

Latest posts by Becky Morales (see all)

  • Malawi: 8 Fun Facts + Books to Learn More! - November 15, 2018
  • MLK Day of Service - February 2, 2018
  • 10 Fun Facts about the Maya - November 17, 2017

Filed Under: Fun Facts Series, Ghana, Learning About Culture Tagged With: Anansi, cocoa, Elmina Castle, fun facts, Ghana, global learning for kids, Kente, West Africa

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

Comments

  1. Tracey says

    January 6, 2017 at 5:25 am

    Interesting article! I will be checking out the activities to do with children!

Follow Us!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on Google+Follow Us on TwitterFollow Us on PinterestFollow Us on RSSFollow Us on Instagram

Anti-Bullying Resource FREE Download

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Grab Our Button!

grab button for Multicultural Kid Blogs
<div class="multicultural-kid-blogs-button" style="width: 200px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="https://multiculturalkidblogs.com/" rel="nofollow"> <img src="https://multiculturalkidblogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/button-take-3.jpg" alt="Multicultural Kid Blogs" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div>
Multicultural Children's Book Day Co-Host

Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Lifestyle Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT