Egypt Excitation: Our Educational Adventures

"Mom, can we learn about Egypt?" my kindergartner inquired in August. Absolutely! Using multifarious library books, and Susan Wise Bauer's "Story of the World: Ancient Times" curriculum, we were off. Bauer's history text and study guide start off covering archaeology, a fun subject for our house (See my posts Treasure Hunting and Archaeology Dig Day).

From building (and flooding) the Nile River to creating cuisine fit for a pharaoh, we've occasioned ourselves to many adventure over the last 2 months. My kids don't want the fun of Egypt to be over, so we're continuing. The best blessing of all came from our trip down to the Indianapolis Children's Museum this month where our friends invited us to stay. We were able to explore their phenomenal, elaborate "Take me there Egypt" exhibit, as well as their National Geographic "Treasures of the Earth" archaeology exhibit. The entire museum was incredible, and added the most amazing hands-on learning opportunities for our homeschool.






Egyptian Ful Medames
I'm actually going to keep Ful Medames in our rotation of recipes, it was so simple, nutritious and fun for the kids. Hard-boil some eggs, peel and mash them small. Add them into a saucepan of beans (I used pinto), fresh garlic and a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Heat. Serve it on a circle of lettuce (think like a leafy bowl) with bread on the side. Yum!! Thanks, Egypt! :)



^ Reed Boats made of straws





There was a passenger jet at the entrance of the Egypt exhibit in Indianapolis. It was meant to simulate our flight to Egypt where the kids could then explore Egyptian homes, marketplaces, herbalists, transportation, etc. etc. As the "flight" started, my daughter looked over at me with genuine panic and exclaimed, "I'm not buckled!!" It was epically awesome.
















It's been absolutely amazing and the fun still isn't over. Where will our home education journey take us next?
"I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." -Albert Einstein

Archaeology Adventures

We've spent the last month exploring archaeology as we start our Story of the World history studies. It's a topic my mom has always loved (see their fun treasure history hunts in my post Treasure Hunting, Archaeology and Unearthing Fun Discoveries for more ideas and links).
Along with library books and fun kits that we shared with friends where the kids dug out dinosaur skeletons (a separate day at a friend's house) and crystals from plaster bricks, we also had a really fun "Archaeology Dig Day" with friends in the backyard. I dug out an area of the yard where we will be expanding our veggie garden next year, and pre-buried coins, paperclips, giant dog bones, dinosaur skeletons, another store-bought brick to excavate, toys, etc. and the kids sifted, shoveled, strained, and raked through to find it all. It took them hours to do, complete with hats and dinosaur chicken nuggets to snack on. What fun!!











Here, too, is an episode of Magic School Bus on Archaeology and how it tells the story of life in the past. And here's a link to a kids archaeology magazine called, Dig!
Here is a really fun They Might be Giants song and video called, "I Am a Paleontologist."
I also just got in the mail an awesome kid's Bible study book I ordered from Answers in Genesis, called, "Digging up the Past." They study chapters of Genesis through the adventures of junior archaeologists, it fits in so perfectly with what we're doing and the Egypt studies we'll be continuing through September. I love when things fall into place like that.
Next month, we'll be visiting the Indianapolis Children's Museum where they have an Egypt exhibit and an awesome archaeology exhibit created by National Geographic just for kids! It's sure to be one of the best field trips ever. SO EXCITED!!

Treasure Hunting, Archaeology and Unearthing Fun Discoveries

My kids have been treasure hunting in the fields and woods with their grandma recently. My mom has a metal detector and they've been unearthing random "junk" along with a few treasures (including some pre-buried items, like a Gold Dollar coin which subsequently sparked a new interest in Sacajawea for my daugther). Along with magnetism and electricity lessons, it has my kids excited about archaeology and continuing their interest in fossils as well. Here are a couple great websites geared toward kids about archaeology. Archeology Facts- Dialogue for Kids, is a great resource, as well as Archaeology for Kids, which has loads of games and activities like Dirt Detective, sending a buried message and more! As my kids get older, I plan to do more in-depth studies into archaeology as we study and learn all about Pompeii and other fascinating sites. The book, Hands-on Archaeology: Real Life Activities for Kids, is a wonderful resource I found and intend on using in a few years as we explore the science and adventure of underground discoveries.