Hi there,
My son is very interested in mummies and Egypt and asked to do an independent study on this since our summer tutoring is finished. If you happen to have any great homeschool-type resources or know of any fun websites which would be appropriate for a six year old to explore (with mom), I'd love some suggestions. I am doing my own Google search, but wanted to ask as surely some of you had kids doing projects on this topic in the past.
(And please, no comments on 'why not let him have his summer?' Kiddo is driving the train on this one.)
Extra bonus thanks for any ideas which include Legos. :)~
Hi Marda, yes, Kiddo has a date with his dad to go to OMSI to see the mummy exhibit on Sunday.
I'm a bit disappointed that some of you misinterpreted my motives, but oh well. Come live in our house for a week and you'd see a pretty happy kid. He loved going to tutoring-- it was special one-on-one time with his kindergarten teacher and a treat for him. As a preschool teacher, I practiced an "emergent curriculum" style, where I programmed activities based on the interests and conversation of the children. It is a more intensive work practice (no cookie-cutter curriculums... I had to generate my own and did so for years. Spent a LOT of time in the library finding materials to augment our play). I use this same practice with my son... who is patiently waiting for me to 'come read mummy studies' to him.
If it's not fun, the learning doesn't mean as much. Please, no more admonishing! Believe me, I ponder keeping the balance more than you know.
ADDED: Riley-- I've often wondered how you are doing. Thanks for the extras and such a complete list of activities/resources. We just finished making a mummy (masking tape over forms) and a cardstock sarcophagus. I think Kiddo slept with it last night. He's been making LEGO 'tombs' with booby traps, manned with mummies and skeletons. :) On par for 6, huh? I'll try out some of the bigger ideas you listed, too.
This maybe a tad little older for him (2nd & 3rd grade) but try it anyway:
The Kingfisher Atlas of the Ancient World & Usborne World History Ancient World.
When you use the word 'explore' to a child, it means fun, not work. Keep up the exploring, even if it is summer.
We homeschool and my daughter uses the awesome "Story of the World" by Susan Wise Bauer books (available on Amazon). The first grade level is "Ancient Times" and there are a few VERY interesting chapters on Egypt including mummies. The activity book has fun crafts and activities pertaining to the Egyptian chapters and good recommended reading lists. Our library has a whole section of Ancient Egypt picture books that really helped reinforce the lessons in the book and workbook. Chapter 4 is "The Old Kingdom of Egypt" and the activities are making a chicken mummy (in the kitchen), making scented oil, and making a sand-cube step pyramid. Chapter 12 is the Middle Kingdom of Egypt has monkey dolls, Making a golden bracelet, making an Egyptian chariot and horse...and several other Egyptian chapters...the Story of the World books go all over the world in Ancient times at a first grade level and are soooooooo great. He will love hearing you read a chapter then exploring books and activities with you. Then when you go to a museum or real exhibit one day, it will all come back to him and he'll know what he's seeing.
Oh I wish you lived here in the Bay Area, there is an awesome museum in San Jose which is specifically dedicated to Egyptian history and has TONS of cool artifacts! Maybe they have a website, I think it's called the Rosecrutian (sp?) Museum.
Also I bet there's a cool DK Eyewitness book on the subject, hit the library!
You can actually buy little pyramid excavations kits. that might be something fun.
we used sugar cubes to build a pyramid.
that's all I can remember right now, good luck!
Summer tutoring. First grade?
I googled "lego mummy"
Seemed to work pretty well
Have u been to the mummy display at OMSI? I think it's on until September.
My son also is one who LOVES learning. He chose to go to summer school this summer to do Measuring and Geometry. Everyone looked at me like I was nuts for signing him up, but who am I to stop his love of learning. He got done and said that summer school was "the best time" ever in school.
I don't have an answer to your question, just wanted to let you know that others have kids that love to learn also. :)
We mummified something (an apple maybe?) when my older daughter was in 2nd grade. I remember looking up the recipe on the internet because we had never had internet access at home before and the project was such a big deal that we got dial-up. Anyway, we had all of the supplies already at home except gauze to wrap the mummy.
Okay.... NEXT time frame this site is great (Greeks, Romans) and hardly anyone in the US uses it so : http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/
Back to Egypt:
Projects:
(Most of these you can find examples of online. Fr more detailed instructions, message me. I'm on sporadically, but should be on most of this week).
- Make crowns for upper Egypt & lower Egypt
- Innundate the Nile (using a baking dish and some clay creat a riverbed & irrigation canals. Line the riverbed with coffee grounds. Inundate!
- Create a pictorial Timeline (standard timeline old middle new kingdoms, Ptolemaic, & roman... But with national geographic picture blokes above major events (I did this in all historical periods, visual learner!)
- make canonic jars. Big hit for artists.
http://www.boiseartmuseum.org/education/egyptian/canopicj...
- Make papyrus scrolls (super easy, as papyrus is sold in most good art shops. Just needs cutting and attaching to dowels. GREAT tactile example for why pencils were not an Egyptian invention, and why hieroglyphs were painted).
- Make Tombs in your house
1) pyramids from sugar cubes (actually a little too close to the truth, sandstone is SOFT. They crumbled and fell at an alarming rate. Bonus points for imperfect pyramids (Egypt had far too many collapse, and the "bent" pyramid is a classic example of getting the angles wrong). Double bonus points for pouring over water and having a fan on them to simulate erosion once the facing stones were stolen. If you want soerhing a little less messy.... Cough. Cough. Legos. Cough.
1.5) do a burial chamber out of a refrigerator box. Fun to sit in for hours
2) With the SUPER obvious pyramids made, have your kiddo HIDE tombs. Shoebox size or smaller, throughout the house. Just like they did in the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens & oer places. This one's fun... Because if you make a bunch, you kind of forget where they all are. I found one a year later in my sewing stuff, and periodically had to save some from going in the wash. I just came across 2 that had been wedged into awkward places in my son's room (behind furniture) as we were getting ready to paint.
- Make something out of faience (there are kits about). A heart scarab, talismin, etc. alternatively, if he's safe with scrapers... Have him carve so e from blue soap bars, clear soap, ivory, etc. This was a bath project for us.
Websites
- http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/
- http://www.schooljotter.com/showpage.php?id=55591
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/worldhistory/...
http://www.britishmuseum.org/learning/schools_and_teacher...
- http://www.nationalgeographic.com/topics/ancient-egypt/
- http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/puzzlesquiz...
NatGeoSoc has an education website which is a mix of subscription only & free lesson plans. I think this one is free. But poke around Xpeditions for more. http://education.nationalgeographic.com/archive/xpedition...
Books
I'm not at home (on the road, hence the wifi) but when I get back Ill out up my kids book list.
ADULT book list... Nobody's better than Barbara Mertz. I'm an archeology major, and I still prefer her stuff (hilarious, easily readable, well written, in depth) over most academic materials. She ALSO wrote the mystery series Amelia Peabody (set in the 1890s-WWI in British Egypt) under the pseudonym Elizabeth Peters, but that's another adult / young adult read. And its pure fiction. For historical background of Egypt her books "Red Lamd Black Land" http://www.amazon.com/Red-Land-Black-Daily-Ancient/dp/006... & Temples, Tombs, & Heirlglyphs http://www.amazon.com/Temples-Tombs-Hieroglyphs-Popular-H.... Are invaluable for any student or person interested in Egyptology (middle school reading level, but you could read out some of the funny bits out loud).
Like I said.... I have a lot more at home... But this is a good jumping off place. Don't forget to search Amazon. There are hieroglyph stamps (doesn't work on papyrus), mummy & archeology games, etc.
Do you have an Art Museum or something like that? We have a museum downtown Dallas and it has a mummy in a glass case on display. Quite interesting and everything has documents so you can read the origin, etc.
Instead of organized tutoring for 1st grade, let him take the lead but take it in such a way to explore and learn through museums, etc., vs having studies during the summer.. You can also purchase very educational activities for kiddos this age based on their interest.
I know you commented regarding tutoring in 1st grade but as an educator, we see a lot of kids pushed with parents saying they are leading the push and then they lose interested after a while... just FWIW... not condemning or judging what you are doing. It is just something we see a lot of in this area... strong parental pushing for kids to be perfect in school. It is sad to see children as young as K being so stressed out.
