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The History of Mancala in the Garden Room

by John Benner
July/August 2004
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Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/the-history-of-mancala-in-the-garden-room/5015836/

One of the joys of teaching is the opportunity to share one’s favorite games. My personal favorite game is the ancient game Mancala. Mancala originated in Africa and can be played according to any number of rules (see insert) but essentially can be described as a game played on a narrow board with two rows of six or so palm-sized pits with two larger pits, called “Kalahs” at either end of the board. Players take turns scooping up small stones and placing them into successive pits, one after another until they run out of stones in their hand. At this point, depending on the rules you play by, it is the next person’s turn. The traditional object of the game is to be the player with the most stones; but in the course of playing Mancala with three, four, and five year olds, I’ve found that in fact the true object of the game has to do with number, relationships, coaching one another, and strategic thinking.

I’ve come to think of Mancala in the classroom in three different ways:

• As a learning material.
• As a springboard for mathematical thinking.
• As a social learning opportunity.

Mancala ...

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