ancient civilizations

Geronimo Stilton The Curse of The Cheese Pyramid Barbie Mummy

July 25, 2022 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Geronimo Stilton The Curse of The Cheese Pyramid is another fun book in the series of Geronimo Stilton books. It is the second book in the series.

Elementary students will love taking their favorite Geronimo Stilton book and turning it into a mini unit study with a few hands-on activities.

The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid is another adventure for Geronimo Stilton. He is off to Egypt to the Great Cheese Pyramid.

Geronimo Stilton The Curse of The Cheese Pyramid Barbie Mummy

So, this hands-on activity I am sharing with you today, mummifying a Barbie gives kids a little bit more understanding of the mummification process.

And you can easily tie in science and history perfectly with the fun book The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid. Matter of fact most of the books highlight some kind of geography or history.

Even if your kids are older like middle or high school the same activity can be altered to make it a bit more challenging so that the whole family can join in.

Books Of Geronimo Stilton

If you don’t know about Geronimo Stilton books let me give you a quick little overview. The fun series is aimed at early readers or ages 7 to 10 years old

And they follow the many and varied adventures of Geronimo Stilton editor and publisher at The Rodent’s Gazette.

Too, they read similar to a graphic novel.

Geronimo Stilton Four Cheese Box Set (Books 1-4)

For instance, the words are highlighted in different fonts, sizes, and colors. The series make it an engaging read for kids.

They are silly and outlandish which makes it especially great for reluctant readers.

Another point about the different fonts and colors of words are that some are for emphasis.

However, quite a few make great lessons for vocabulary, spelling words, and introduction to the eight parts of speech.

So be sure to make note of the words for several chapters.

And have your child look up the words and make flashcards to round out this mini lesson.

You certainly can use this fun book as a spine for language arts. Too, you can use this spine as independent reading or for a read aloud.

Ancient Egypt Mummifying a Barbie Craft

However, one of the best parts of each book is that you can add hands-on activity as Stilton is always on a globe-trotting adventure.

Today, since Stilton is off to Egypt, we learned about mummies in Ancient Egypt

Look at this short list of supplies to make a Barbie mummy.

A Barbie or similar doll (we grabbed a cheap one from Dollar Tree)
Gauze
Cooking oil
Salt (we used Epsom since we had that)
large dish big enough for the body to lay in
Essential oils
Scissors and construction paper

First, we made a death mask from construction paper and laid it aside.

Your kids can get elaborate with this part or keep it simple.

Then we made simple canopic jars by drawing them on paper.

After drawing the jars, we cut them out and taped them into a tube shape.

A quick google search will show you what each of the four gods, Hapy, Imsety, Duamutef and Qebhsenef looked like and which housed which organs.

We also used our TOOB Organs to examine the organs closely,

Then, we laid them out and talked about each function as the kids pretended to extract the organ and place it in the canopic jars.

Barbie Mummy

Next, this portion of the activity can be done or finished while you read aloud.

Have your child finish the death mask. And let your child draw them with whatever art medium they choose. We used markers.

First, the brain was pulled out through the nose, but considered unimportant in ancient Egyptian times, it was just tossed out.

Then, the stomach, intestines, lungs, and liver were extracted and placed in the correct jar.

The heart stayed in place in the body. Use tweezers for this part and let them pretend they are extracting each part.

Next, Egyptians would cover the body in salt to remove all moisture, this would take weeks but for the sake of time we waited just a few minutes.

We used Epsom salt as we had a ton on hand already.

And then we placed our prepared body in a large tupperware container and covered it in salt as well as we could.

Finally, the body would be anointed with oils and wrapped,.

If you have some on hand add essential oils to a little bit of cooking oil to add to the sensory experience, pour over the entire body.

We tightly wrapped our Barbie head to toe and then affixed her death mask with a bit of tape.

Obviously, you know your child best and can include the parts that you would choose and gloss over those that might be too much for a younger child.

For example, for older children you can add ideas like labeling the organs, give them spelling and vocabulary words like sarcophagus, hieroglyphic, and etc.

Too, you can extend the lesson by having them give a presentation in front of the whole family on the mummification process.

Geronimo Stilton The Curse of The Cheese Pyramid covers everything from mummies to pyramids as well as mentions of camels, pharaohs, and the eye of RA, giving you a large base for a unit study.

I can’t wait to dig in a little deeper and share more hands on activities with you! What do you think? Are you going to add this to your list of hands-on activities?

Other Resources You’ll Love

Fun and Easy Hands-On Ancient Egypt Craft: Create Canopic Jars

July 4, 2022 | 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

History should be hands-on. You’ll love this Ancient Egypt craft when learning about Ancient Civilizations.

First learn about the diversity of Africa-the cultures, climates, and geography.

It’s fascinating and make for many interesting projects and hands-on fun.

Right now we are spending a little time in Egypt and the best way to learn about Ancient Egypt is doing hands-on history or crafts.

Fun and Easy Hands-On Ancient Egypt Craft: Create Canopic Jars

Egypt is located in the northeast corner of Africa and the southwest corner of Asia.

It’s connected by a land bridge in the Sinai Peninsula.

Ancient Egypt Craft Canopic Jars

It should definitely not be overlooked when working on an Africa Study or when learning about Ancient Egypt.

One hands on Ancient Egypt project that we are enjoying is making canopic jars.

This is a wonderful way to incorporate history, art, and science as well as working on those fine motor skills.

This project is best for upper elementary to middle school and is easily adapted for all skill levels.

Also, I want to remind you that homeschooling does not mean expensive curriculum and supplies.

You can teach so much just with a shelf full of great books, the internet and some basic craft supplies.

For example making canopic jar is a fun way to learn about Ancient Egypt. Canopic jars were made to contain organs that were removed during the mummification process.

They began with plain lids, then evolved to lids shaped like human heads, then Anubis , the god of death and embalming.

By the late 18th dynasty the lids for each organ were shaped like the Four Sons of Horus who protected the organs.

Ancient History Project Idea

His four sons were’

Hapi , a baboon headed god- for the lungs
Imsety, human-headed god – for the liver
Qebehsenuef, falcon-headed god- for the intestines)
and Duamutef, jackal-headed god- for the stomach.

You can choose to make all 4 or choose one.

Look at the easy list of things you will need.

Jar, can, or other container with a lid
White tissue paper
School glue
water
Craft paints/paint pens

Directions:

I have found that creating a decoupage with tissue paper is less messy and dries much faster than traditional paper mache.

So, we have used it for several projects lately.

You can create this with any lidded vessel you like.

Chip cans are often used but we wanted to make ours a little more durable and even usable.

So we used this sauce jar I already had on hand because we loved the curvier shape of it.

Be sure to wash and dry used containers well before starting

Mix together 1 part water with 2 parts glue. A couple tablespoons worth is plenty for this project.
Cut tissue paper into 2” strips of any length.
“Paint” your jar with the glue mixture and begin layering tissue strips, “painting” over each tissue strip as you go. We do 3-4 layers to give it a good coat. Allow to dry thoroughly this could take from overnight to several days depending on how thick your layers are.

Ancient Egypt Craft

We are making a jar of Duamutef the jackal-headed god, to form the top of the jar make a ball of paper into roughly the shape of the head you wish to create.

Hot glue to the top of the lid and cover it with tissue strips the same way you did the jar itself.

Also, you may find it easier to paint the strips themselves and lay them over the balled up paper to create your form.

Be sure the lid fits on your base before drying, its easier to move things around when they are wet than when it hardens.

Once your pieces are dry paint all over with the color of your choice.

Canopic Jars were made of stone, wood, pottery, and glaze. We went for a pottery look with a creamy base.

Allow the base layer to dry and then begin adding decoration and details.

We found a paint pen or very small paintbrush the easiest to work with, especially when making small hieroglyphics on our jars.

Ancient Egypt Activities for Kids

Don’t just stop with making Canopic Jars, one of the best things about unit studies is that you can incorporate so many subjects within your focus

I had these Toob Human Organs on hand.

So while we talked about what canopic jars were used for we also had a science lesson by identifying what each was and what it’s function is at the same time.

I guarantee information learned this way will be hard to forget!

While you are waiting for the jars to dry you can send your child on a quest for information and here are a few questions to get you started.

What is the official name of Egypt? Arab Republic of Egypt
What is official language of Egypt? Arabic
What is the official religion? Islam
Name several iconic landmarks in Egypt. Great Sphinx, Giza
What is are the central latitudes and longitudes of Egypt?

Ancient Egypt Lapbook

In addition, add this fun Famous Pharaohs and Queens of Egypt. lapbook on my Ancient Civilization page.

While your child is busy creating you may want to read from a chosen textbook or chapter book as a read aloud.

For most kids, when hands are busy, information is more readily retained.

Ancient Egypt Read Aloud

Finally, some great choices for read a loud are

Magic Treehouse Mummies in The Morning,
Who Was King Tut,
You Wouldn’t Want to be Cleopatra,
Horrible Histories The Awesome Egyptians, and The Pharaoh’s Secret.

More Ancient Egypt Crafts you’ll like:

Ancient Civilizations Unit – Printable Minibook on Sumer

May 31, 2022 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

One of the main reasons I wanted to cover an ancient civilizations unit is because sometimes a history study can get draggy. More important, I wanted to include other ancient civilizations to add to our Ancient Civilizations II unit study.

Focusing on the details of history, can get a bit sluggish because you lose the momentum of the overview.

There are lot of kids and teachers alike that are I-have-to-see-the-big-picture-before-I-get it people.

Me? I love history, but I can get buried in all the details.

I appreciate the big picture too.

It is important to pull up and away and look at the big picture so you understand the major players of ancient history.

For us, I think after we examine the big picture and come up for air, it gives us another bunny trail to go down. You know what I mean? Often times, I end up with more units or topics than school months to learn about them.

Ancient Civilizations

Too, if you start homeschooling with older children sometimes they just get a glimpse of them in public school.

So, if you’re wanting to cover ancient civilizations, then a unit focusing on great empires or ancient civilizations is key to understanding them.

It is key to keeping history fun and relevant. Although Mesopotamia is an early civilization, it can be confusing to understand about Sumer.

So I made it a separate minibook.

Understanding that Sumer developed in Mesopotamia is the first place to start.

From there it is easier to associate the Sumerian ruler, Sargon, with the time period.

This time I made a minibook focusing more on the Sumerians invented which was a system of writing and irrigation.

Because they were farmers, irrigation was an important livelihood.

Understanding how irrigation helped them to live farther away from the rivers is an important concept in explaining how they thrived as a civilization.

Sure, it probably is not as glamorous to study about farming and irrigation as maybe studying about mummies, but it is solid; farming and irrigation is at the roots of ancient civilizations.

As usual, I try to give some accompanying facts and as always you don’t have to use them.

Ancient Sumer Printable Minibook

I provide information as I can because we do lapbooks as enrichment and my time is limited.

Also, these minibooks can be glued on pages for notebooking. You decide.

Sometimes we do a lapbook, sometimes the older boys glue the minibook on pages for a notebook.

One curriculum that we are using right now too because I am interested in getting a bird’s eye view on history is Western Civilization Study by Brimwood Press.

The reason I am excited about this one is because in a few short lessons you span several thousands of years of history. I

n fourteen lessons you span 5,000 years. A great teaching tool for getting a sweeping overview of history. We are already loving it. You have to check it out below.

I can’t wait to tell you more as we are so engaged going through it. I hope you enjoy the Sumer book. It makes it easy when you can cover civilizations, hitting the highlights and move on.

Download the next minibook on Sumer below

Sumer-Ancient-Civilizations-Unit-by-Tina-Robertson.pdf (2360 downloads )

Do you find it hard to teach the highlights of history?

Hugs and love ya,

11 Easy Hands-On Ancient Egypt Projects for Middle School

April 22, 2022 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I have gathered 11 easy hands-on Ancient Egypt project ideas for middle school. Also, look at my page homeschool middle school for more fun tips.

Learning about Ancient Egypt should be both fun and interactive during the middle school ages.

It’s not time to give up the fun at any age of learning.

11 Easy Hands-On Ancient Egypt Projects for Middle School

1. Make Mud Bricks.

Look at this fun Hands-on Ancient Egypt: Israelite Mud Bricks for Kids. With minimal material, most of which you have around the house, your middle school child will love making these mud bricks.

Ancient Egypt Projects for Middle School

2. Build a LEGO Math Calculator.

Next, look at this math slant project while studying about Ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptian Mathematics: Build a LEGO Math Calculator is a fun middle school project.

Studying about jewelry from Ancient Egypt doesn’t have to be hard. Look at this Fun Hands-On History: Ancient Egyptian Collar Craft.

3. Create an Ancient Egyptian Collar

One of the most famous forms of jewelry worn by the ancient Egyptians was the Usekh collar. Rich Egyptians often wore these broad necklaces on a daily basis and this collar craft is a fun way to understand about Egyptian necklaces.

Then to add a bit of art and drawing, your middle school child will love Ancient Egypt Civilization (Hands-on History): King Narmer Crown.

4. Mold a painting of the Ancient Egypt Double Crown

After all studying about the double crown and the significance to Ancient Egypt can be hard to understand. This easy hands-on project helps learning facts stick.

Projects for Middle School About Ancient Egypt

5. Play the Snake Game

In addition, I created this fun and Free Ancient Egypt Mehen Printable Board Game (Hands-on History) based on the popular snake game played by the Egyptians.

However, we really loved doing the Project Passport: Ancient Egypt from Home School in the Woods .

Not only did we enjoy many hands-on learning activities, but love learning about Upper and Lower Egypt, the maps and the printable activities. My post Ancient Egypt Homeschool Unit Study – Hands-on and FUN! has numerous activities in Project Passport.

6. Travel Egypt Without Leaving Your Home

Also, add in a few more hands-on fun ideas like this Birdcage Ancient Egypt Go Fish game.

7. Prepare cardboard Egyptian Pillars

And another Ancient Egypt project for middle school is to have your child prepare these beautiful smokin’ hot Egyptian cardboard pillars.

Hands-on Ancient Egypt Middle School Activities

At the end of our unit study co-op our group made these cardboard pillars; your crafty middle school kid will love doing them for a prop or drama your group has.

8. Tie in Ancient Egypt with Astronomy Notebooking Page

Furthermore, some middle school children will love a science tie in with Ancient Egypt like learning about ancient astronomy. Look at my post Exploring Space and Astronomy Free Unit Study for Multiple Ages.

Exploring Space and Astronomy Free Unit Study for Multiple Ages

These notebooking pages are subscriber freebies.

That means when you sign up to follow me, you get access to my Exclusive Subscriber’s Only Library which has these notebooking pages in the library.

This is how you get access to these pages quickly.
► 1) Sign up on my list.
► 2) Go to your inbox and confirm your email from the automatic reply I sent you.
►3) Look for the automatic reply giving you the password to the private subscriber’s area. You should have it soon.

IF you are already a follower/subscriber, PLEASE do NOT email me asking how to find it. You may not want to wait on me replying since I get bombarded with emails.

Find the MOST RECENT email from me and the password and link to the Subscribers Area are ALWAYS at the bottom of every email. Look for the most current email since I change the password frequently.

9. Study Ancient Egypt Alongside Other Ancient Empires.

This next Ancient Egypt project for middle school is to make an in depth study of Ancient Empires. We used Great Empires Activity Study by Home School in the Wood.

Some children need to see the key players or empires of history at one time and need a longer project to retain focus.

Moving too fast studying ancient history and a child may not understand key time periods. It’s important for key history hooks to be made so that all other learning can be tied to history makers.

Great Empires Activity Study by Home School in the Woods covers fourteen empires:

Ancient China
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Greece
Ancient Rome
Arab-Muslims,
English Empire
French Empire

Mongols
Russian Empire
Spanish Empire
United States and
Viking.
German Empire
Japanese Empire

Another easy activity Hands-On History: The Rosetta Stone and Breaking The Code is really a fun introduction to learning about ancient history.

10. Break the Code of the Rosetta Stone.

If you find that your child doesn’t really know anything about why we know some about ancient history, begin with learning about the Rosetta Stone. Your code breakers will love to learn about breaking the code.

As well including your young kids can be tough. So, if you want to include your younger kids or if your middle school child loves to still color, you’ll love this set of Ancient color pages to go along with your studies.

20 Ancient Civilization History Coloring Pages at Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus. You'll love adding these to your unit studies or notebooking.

We have used various museum quality history coloring books through the years that have made a big difference in how my boys understood history in the early years.

I think clip art should be as real as possible and based on real events in history.

Learning Ancient History Through Coloring

Instead of me adding titles on pages or naming the coloring pages, this allows you to use the clip art/coloring pages any way you want to.

Whether it is a cover page, notebooking page, journal page or just to enrich a topic, you have the flexibility.

Here is what the 20 page download contains. I put a few key words to explain each picture on the page. This way you can use the coloring pages as title pages too on your lapbooks.

Page 3: Ancient Egypt Court,
Page 4: Ancient Egypt Spinning,
Page 5: Ancient Egypt Life of the Royals,
Page 6: Ancient Egypt Battles,
Page 7: Ancient Egypt The Nile,
Page 8: Life Along the River – The Nile,
Page 9: Metal Workers & Crafts of Ancient Egypt,
Page 10: Egyptian Hieroglyphics,
Page 11: Egyptian Queen Cleopatra,

Page 12: Aztecs Floating Gardens
Page 13: Aztecs,
Page 14: Aztec Life,
Page 15: Mayans,
Page 16: Ancient Greece Wedding,
Page 17: Ancient Greek Galley,
Page 18: Ancient Greece Crafts,
Page 19: Ancient Greece Bank,
Page 20: Athens,
Page 21: Spartan Warrior and
Page 22: The Vikings.

Grab your fun copy below!

00. Ancient Civilization History 20 Coloring Pages
$3.50 Add to cart

Finally, you know my love for hands-on tools like lapbooks. No, they’re not just for younger children.

Middle school children really benefit from them as well. And the best part is that the lapbook can be as crafty or not as your child wants it to be.

11. Craft a Pharaohs and Queens Ancient Egypt lapbook.

And I really make it easy here for you because I have this free Famous Pharaohs and Queens of Egypt lapbook.

What do you think? Are you ready to tackle these 11 Easy Hands-On Ancient Egypt Projects for Middle School?

And be sure you visit these middle school activities:

How to Make a Kids’ Fun Ceremonial African Tribal Mask

December 22, 2020 | 3 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

This week we created our own ceremonial African tribal mask after doing some research about their uses and how they are made. Also, look at my post Free Africa Unit Study for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning | Free Continent & Country Reports.

We have been studying all about Africa, it’s customs, weather, regions, zoology, peoples, and geography.

How to Make a Kids' Fun Ceremonial African Tribal Mask

This project we are sharing with you today is perfect for mid elementary up through middle school.

Tribal masks play very important roles in many traditional African ceremonies and rituals even in these modern times.

Ceremonial African Tribal Mask

Some symbolize totem animals, others are representative of tribal mythology, they are believed to help communicate and convey messages to spirits.

Some masks are made and used in times of peace and also in times of war, and to ensure good harvests.

They are worn for weddings, funerals, and initiation rites of passage.

Mask making is an art that is passed from father to son in African culture.

Too, if you are studying Africa with any depth, this is a project that you definitely want to focus on.

How to Make an African Paper Mask

You learn history, but also the culture of certain regions; your child gets a glimpse into the artwork which these interesting peoples create and consider important to their culture.

First, gather these easy supplies. Here is what you will need to create your own mask.

Scrapbook/Construction paper
Glue
Scissors
Hole punch

Hole punch
Paint, brushes
Raffia/twine
paint/paintbrush

Directions:

Crease a full sheet of sturdy paper right down the center, this will be the main piece of your mask.

On one side pencil in a large mask shape. If you have already done some research you should have an idea of what type of mask you would like.

Masks are usually shaped like a human face or animal muzzle, but very abstract.

Kids’ African Mask

We are going with a commonly seen elongated face shape that is symmetrical and it gives me a chance to reintroduce and review what symmetrical means with the kids.

Cut out both sides at the same time following the half shape you drew.

When decorating tribal masks many elements are used like shells, horns, feathers, broken egg shells, seeds, straw, and animal hair.

Cut out your elements like the nose, ears, and eyes from neutral colored paper, which are the colors most commonly chosen in Africa.

While size and shapes are exaggerated, they are still pretty simple.

To make your features symmetrical, fold your paper in half like you did the poster board. Only draw half the shape on one side, but cut out of both side on the fold.

Start with the nose, eyes, and ears and build up with decoration from there.

Again if you are cutting one piece like a nose, fold it in half, draw the shape, and cut it out.

How to Make Tribal Masks with Paper

If you are cutting two pieces like eyes just cut through two pieces of paper at the same time so that they are the exact same size and shape.

Next, glue all your elements into place, remember to place your pencil line side face down so you don’t see it.

To create the hair and beard details, we punched holes along the edges where we wanted them and knotted twine through the holes.

If you knot it like a regular knot the ties will go out sideways.

If you want it to stick straight up and down, fold your length of string in half and push the loop through the hole you made.

African Mask Ideas for Kids

Too, if you’re looking to add Art History to your curriculum, we love Art History Kids.

Goal of Art History Kids

To introduce kids to art.
Let them come to their own conclusions.
And, encourage their own individual creativity.

Then, slide the other two ends through the loop and pull firmly but gently.

Add some final details with paint, like the dots we did here.

We used the back end of the brush to create round uniform dots to give our mask some additional texture and interest.

If your child enjoys more sensory input you can also use fingertips to add paint to the mask.

Allow your creation to dry, you can either leave it as it is or glue the mask to a sturdier piece of cardboard or poster board to display and keep it longer.

Learning the Culture of Africa Through Picture Books

If you want to make this a fun unit study topic about world cultures, you’ll love the study guide notes and coloring pictures by Beautiful Feet Literature.

Although these guides state they’re for your younger kids, I think picture books are wonderful for all ages. Who doesn’t love pictures?

Additionally, look at these picture book options below.

Part One covers Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica.

This Around the World With Picture Books Part Two covers Europe and South America.

Lastly, if you want to expand on your Africa study no matter if you are using a box curriculum or if you are doing a simple interest led study here are some ideas that you and your child can try…

African Geography and Culture Homeschool Unit Study Ideas

List the different countries with Africa in alphabetical order. This is great practice for learning alphabetical order but also geography, handwriting, vocabulary, and spelling. I am a big fan of activities that cover more than one skill.
Dig deeper by researching what various masks and their elements represent and what regions they are from.
Create several different masks representing different areas or traditions.
Families with one or more children can create an art show with African art to share with friends and family.
Research other cultures and countries that wear masks, what are they worn for?
Visit a local museum with an Africa exhibit to see relics or replicas first hand.

Watch this documentary on PBS about an African Mask Collection.

You’ll love these other hands-on activities:

Are you studying about Africa? What activities have you been doing?