Egypt and “The Story of the World”
This year we are using “The Story of the World” Volume One as a guide for history. So far I am pleased with the flexibility of the curriculum and the variety of activities that are provided for each lesson. We are not using the assessment portion of the curriculum; for the most part I am reading a chapter or partial chapter aloud, then we explore the lesson further following the children’s interest.
In an effort to chronicle how we are using The Story of the World, I’m going to try to record our activities and resources we’re using on the blog. This is a long post, with lots of links to the resources that we’re using, so feel free to scroll to find what you're looking for.
Before I jump right in, I just wanted to tell you what the curriculum covers prior to Egypt.
*Affiliate disclaimer. There may be affiliate links in this post, that allow me to get a small portion of commission, but you are not charged an additional amount.
1. How history is recorded?
2. Archaeology
I did not want to show the children Indiana Jones looking archaeologist, it’s important to me that they know that many different cultures can be represented in many different fields of science and history. So we chose this book as an introduction to Archaeology, it helps that they have a little knowledge of Peru, since we have a Peruvian friend.
3. Family Trees
- We used the Family tree printable in the curriculum and asked members of our family to complete the form at one of our Cultural dinners.
4. Nomadic Life
- We bought a flint kit (similar to this) so we could try to start a fire, lol I could get some sparks, but never was able to get our tinder to burn. We’re going to try again.
5. Fertile Crescent
- Shaduf (Shadoof, there are various spellings) video - it’s an early form of irrigation, but still used today in some cultures.
Below I’m listing the resources we’re enjoying for Egypt and the Nile.
P.S. I try to play music softly in the background while I’m reading to them. I’ve just been typing “ancient egyptian music” into YouTube and that really sets the mood, try and let me know how it changed your reading time.
VIDEOS
Families of the Egypt - Part of the Families of the World Series. Short day in the life video of 2 children living in Egypt current day. My kids watched the DVD twice, they love it! These videos are part of a series and can be purchased through Vimeo or as individual DVDs. We just happened to find this DVD as the library, it looks like there are documentaries for nearly 30 countries.
BOOKS
Lillian Trasher: The greatest Wonder in Egypt. This resource was for me, I bought it to see if it was appropriate as a read aloud for my children. They are not ready for the content of this book, but I think in a few years they will be ready.
Lillian Trasher was a single American woman that opened an orphanage in Egypt in the early 1900s. She stayed in Egypt for 50 years, and it is estimated that nearly 10,0001 children were in her care during the course of her life. She lived by faith, and trusted the Lord to bring in the money, food and medical care to take care of her children, whom she loved so dearly. Through Bubonic Plague, The Great Depression, World War II and other great trials, the Lord kept her and the work she was doing for Him. The Assembly of God churches documented her life in a short film, you can watch it online here.
Voices of Ancient Egypt by Kay Winters, Illustrated by Barry Moser. As the title suggest, each page features a person from Ancient Egypt and the role they played in the fabric of their intricate society. Your child will “hear” from the farmer, washer of clothes and goldsmith. This book is written from first person and the prose literature will captivate young learners. Some days we just read one page from this book and then had some conversations about how we would feel about having that job.
Good Times Travel Agency Adventures in Ancient Egypt. This book is part is a historical fiction series by Linda Bailey. 3 siblings, a set of twins and their younger sister are mistakenly whisked away to ancient Egypt, when they open a book in a strange travel agency. The story has a comic book feel to it, which by son really enjoyed, and the bottom of each page featured supporting facts about the sibling’s journey through Ancient Egypt. Rest assured they do eventually make it back home, after be forced to build a pyramid, making a boat to travel the Nile and escaping from Pharaoh’s guards. This was another book we read over the course of a week.
DK Eyewitness Ancient Egypt. My love for DK books started in childhood when my mother sold DK books as a side hustle. 25 years later I am still fascinated by the quality books then continue to bring to the world. For those of us unable to travel to Egypt or visit a museum with Egyptian artifacts, these crisp photos bring us one step closer to Egypt. We use this book as a reference, and it’s on the bookshelf for the kids to flip through during quiet time.
ART AND NATURE
Deep Space Sparkle – Hippo in water art project I won’t tell you which one the 35 year old drew and which one the 7 year old drew.
We made fake passports and stamps and talked about traveling to another country. I did show the kids my husband’s expired passport so they could get a feel for why passports are needed. We made the passports using this template and purchased sticker stamps from Amazon, wouldn’t you know I bought the package that didn’t have an Egypt stamp!
We stumbled upon a stream at the beach that flowed into the ocean and it looked like a delta. We also built the River Nile in the backyard. We used leaves for houses and put them in the flood zone, when we flooded the Nile we watched the houses wash away. I added a few drop of food coloring to a large tub of water that we used for The Nile and of course that elevated the activity.
FOOD
Egyptian Spice Cookies from my daughters cookbook. We did not have the sesame seeds but we made the cookies anyway. They were not overly sweet and I am pleased or maybe ashamed to say we ate the entire batch in one day. There is a physical copy of the cookbook available and there is also a website where many (maybe all) of the recipes can be printed as well.
I hope at least one of these resources will be of value to your family and your educational journey. Happy Learning!