Egypt Study

(3/26 – 3/30)  At Joe’s request we studied Egypt this past week.  I think I learned much more than Joe did!  It seemed like during the course of our reading when I would speak up in excitement as I learned interesting things here and there Joe already knew them :-).  I could have spent weeks on Egypt reading and learning.  I know we will come back to Egypt again and again in the course of our homeschool studies and I look forward to more.

A few things we learned:

• where Egypt is located on the map, what countries, seas it borders.
• about the Nile River
• about the Suez Canal
• mummies, pyramids, farming and the topography of Egypt
• how to write our names in hieroglyphics

Joe completed mapping and flag pages for Egypt.

We mummified an apple in different types and combos of salts and baking soda.  This was fun!  A highlight for Joe (and me!). 

Bless Jack’s heart, he was upset the day of the experiment because he wanted to make his sarcophagus craft instead :-).  He got to make it, but not on this day.

We concluded that plain table salt and Epsom salts preserved the apple best.

Joe learned how to write his name in hieroglyphics.

The big kids helped the little kids make Duplo pyramids and I gave them Ancient Egypt Safari Toobs to decorate and play with.  This was a fun activity and lasted throughout the whole week.  *When Hanna heard us talking about Egypt she rushed in, hair in towel and all to join in.  She LOVES Egypt!*

The biggest highlight of all for Joe and Hanna was this Thames and Kosmos Pyramid by National Geographic.  It took them two days to totally excavate it for a total of about three+ hours.  They enjoyed every single second.  I should have videoed some of it to remember the excitement in their voices as they got the top off and then started to uncover their hidden treasures.  This was worth every penny and I would love to do more hands-on activities like this in the future when the opportunity presents itself.

These are the highlights from our study.  In addition to the above we read lots of books, watched an IMAX movie about the Nile, scoured the internet for Egypt resources, links and games.  It was fun from start to finish, and we only touched the surface of this history rich country!

Next up we are hopping along with Peter Rabbit in Mr. McGregor’s garden.

Ideas, inspiration and printables for our Egypt study can be found at:

• Homeschool Creations’ Egypt study and printables
• Walking by the Way’s Ancient Egypt study
• Thames and Kosmos Egyptian Pyramid at Amazon.com
• Ancient Egypt Safari Toob at Amazon.com
• Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers Weekly Wrap-Up