ancient egypt

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:

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.

11 Easy Hands-On Ancient Egypt Projects for Middle School

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

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 to follow me by email.
2) Grab the freebie now.
3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me!

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 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:

Hands-on Ancient Egypt: Israelite Mud Bricks for Kids

November 13, 2018 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

This mud bricks for kids activity is fun. Also, look at my Ancient Civilization page for more Egyptian activities

Stone building was reserved for monuments. But other places the ancient Egyptians wanted to last forever.

However, basic buildings were constructed of brick.

For example,homes, tombs, palaces,and protective walls in Ancient Egypt were constructed of brick.

Hands-on Ancient Egypt: Israelite Mud Bricks for Kids

Prior to making bricks soil was used. However it was not very sturdy.

Back in Ancient Egypt they couldn’t just make a run to the brickyard to pick up a pallet or ten in their trucks.

Brick making was very hard, labor intensive work.

So they used Israelite slaves to first gather the materials, make the bricks, and then use them to build with.

They needed to use resources they had on hand to create sturdy bricks for building walls.

Mud Bricks for Kids

The first thing the Israelites had to do was gather sand, clay, and silt from the Nile.

The soil from the Nile River when dried became a black hard stone like substance, making for sturdy bricks.

Since we are not able to take a trip to the Nile River to gather our supplies, we are going to improvise and use materials that we can easily get our hands on.

You are going to need: topsoil, straw, water, and clay if you can easily get some.

Oh, and something to use as a mold. You can make mini bricks with an ice cube tray if you would actually like to construct a model of something using your bricks.

Or if you want to see a full sized brick you can make molds with wood, as the Israelite slaves did, or use something like a small square or rectangle pans.

We used a silicone soap mold we had from another project for ours.

Ancient Egypt – Israelites Mud Bricks

If your straw is larger you will want to chop it into small bits. Straw was a binder. It made the bricks even sturdier.

This is straw chaff.

I found these little straw bundles at the craft store but you can also find hay or straw at a feed store, or ask a friend with livestock for a a few handfuls.

Sometimes, they even used animal droppings to construct their bricks (we are gonna skip that part with our brick making).

Next, the Israelites had to work the mud and straw together.

They did this by trampling it with their feet to mix it up consistently.

Place your soil, straw and water in a large tub and try to mix it together the same way they did.

Ancient Egypt Kids Activity

Add just enough water so that your soil will hold together.

This will help your bricks dry faster.

The average size of bricks in Ancient Egypt was 8.7 x 4.3 x 5.5,.

Larger bricks were about 15.0 x 7.1 x5.5.

You can make your bricks any size you like.Remove the mud mixture from the tub and place it in your molds, press firmly into the mold to remove air bubbles.

Then, let it sit in the full sun for 1 day or until it is mostly dry.

At this point they would remove it from the mold and let it finish drying in the sun out of the mold.

Do the same with yours. Israelites left theirs to dry in the sun for 25 days.

Hands-on Ancient Egypt: Israelite Mud Bricks for Kids. Back in Ancient Egypt they couldn’t just make a run to the brickyard to pick up a pallet or ten in their trucks. Brick making was very hard, labor intensive work. So they used Israelite slaves to first gather the materials, make the bricks, and then use them to build with. They needed to use resources they had on hand to create sturdy bricks for building walls. CLICK here to make this fun diy mud bricks!

If you make smaller bricks they will obviously dry much faster.

Later on in history the bricks would be baked in a kiln to hasten drying time.

Once your brick is completely dry it is ready to be used for construction!

Think you could make 1000 to 2000 bricks a day? That is what the ancient Israelite slaves were required to do.

You’ll also love this huge Ancient Egypt lapbook and unit study from Home School in the Woods – one of my favorite hands-on history providers.

It would take an average of 5 days of brick making in order to have enough bricks to construct a small one story home for the worker.

Here are a few more interesting facts about mud bricks and the ancient Israelites…

Houses were built using mud bricks. Then, they were whitewashed to help deflect the brutal sun’s rays and keep the inside of the home more comfortable. Windows were placed high rather than lower like in modern homes to keep sand out and covered with reed mats. The roofs were flat.
While these bricks were sturdy, they were not able to stand the test of time. And that is why most of the remaining ancient Egyptian buildings that we have been able to study were made from stone rather than these mud bricks which eventually wore away.
Mud bricks were stamped with the cartouches of the reigning pharaoh. While many were lost some bricks still bear the stamp.
Israelite slave children as young as 4 were used to help make mud bricks.
While smaller bricks were more common they have discovered mud bricks that were as large as 1 meter in length.

You’ll love these other hands-on ideas for studying about Ancient Egypt:

Hands-On History: The Rosetta Stone and Breaking The Code

November 24, 2017 | 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

We’re learning about Rosetta Stone Code breaking today. Also, you’ll love my two Ancient Greece Lapbooks. Go here to Fun Ancient Greece Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook and Free Awesome Ancient Greece Lapbook and Fun Hands-on Activities to grab both free lapbooks.

We have been studying ancient Greece this year, thanks to a mini-greek mythology obsession on the part of my youngest son.

Last week, my son asked how we are able to read all the ancient texts.

Hands-On History: The Rosetta Stone and Breaking The Code

“How do we even know how to read an ancient language if it isn’t spoken today?” he pondered.

And so, this Rosetta Stone activity was born.

We started by researching exactly what is the Rosetta Stone is.

And we learned that The Rosetta Stone is written in two languages: Greek and Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs.

We also learned that without it, we would know almost nothing about life in Ancient Egypt.

Also, add some fun history books and resources to your day.

FUN HANDS-ON ANCIENT CIVILIZATION RESOURCES

History should be hands-on and find history resources can be hard.

I’ve gathered up some here.

13 Ancient Civilization Hands-on Resources and Books

Add some of these fun resources to your unit study or study for the day of Ancient Civilizations.

The Greeks Pop-up: Pop-up Book to Make Yourself (Ancient Civilisations Pop-Ups)

Tarquin Popups are a special kind of do it yourself activity book. Not only is there the fun of making the scenes and seeing them popup but they are full of interesting information and ideas. This book contains six main scenes to make: Knossos, the Palace of Minos, the Lion Gate at Mycenae, the Battle of Salamis, the Golden Age of Athens, the Theatre, Alexander the Great and King Porus.

The Ancient Egypt Pop-up Book:

A magnificently illustrated, interactive pop-up book chronicles the history of ancient Egypt and its diverse cultural innovations, covering everything to the construction of the Egyptian pyramids and the elaborate mummification process, to the mysterious rites performed at an Egyptian god's temple and the ancient hieroglyphic writings.

Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide (Cultures of the Ancient World)

Children can try their hand at re-creating ancient Israelite culture—along with the cultures of their neighbors, the Philistines and Phoenicians—in a way that will provide perspective on current events.
The book covers a key period from the Israelites’ settlement in Canaan in 1200 B.C.E. to their return from exile in Babylonia in 538 B.C.E.
This part of the Middle East—no larger than modern-day Michigan—was the birthplace of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. More than 35 projects include stomping grapes into juice, building a model Phoenician trading ship, making a Philistine headdress, and writing on a broken clay pot. Israelites', Phoenicians', and Philistines' writing and languages, the way they built their homes, the food they ate, the clothes they wore, and the work they did, and of course, their many interesting stories.

Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters

The new National Geographic Treasury of Greek Mythology offers timeless stories of Greek myths in a beautiful new volume. Brought to life with lyrical text by award-winning author Donna Jo Napoli and stunning artwork by award-winning illustrator Christina Balit, the tales of gods and goddesses such as Zeus, Aphrodite, Apollo, and Athena and heroes and monsters such as Helen of Troy, Perseus, and Medusa will fascinate and engage children’s imaginations.

Photo Credit: store.homeschoolinthewoods.com

Activity Study: Great Empires

Included in this study are over 35 projects, games, recipes, links, and the history of fourteen empires! Generally, each empire's materials can be covered in 1-3 days

Tools of the Ancient Romans: A Kid's Guide to the History & Science of Life in Ancient Rome

Tools of the Ancient Greeks: A Kid’s Guide to the History and Science of Life in Ancient Greece explores the scientific discoveries, athletic innovations, engineering marvels, and innovative ideas created more than two thousand years ago. Through biographical sidebars, interesting facts, fascinating anecdotes, and fifteen hands-on activities, readers will learn how Greek innovations and ideas have shaped world history and our own world view.

Ancient Egypt Activity Book For Kids: Ancient Egypt

Is your child fascinated by Ancient Egypt? if so then this Ancient Egypt themed activity book is just for them. This is a great book for boys and girls who have an interest in Ancient Egypt. This Ancient Egypt themed activity book will keep them entertained and happy for hours.

Great Ancient China Projects You Can Build Yourself (Build It Yourself)

Great Ancient China Projects You Can Build Yourself explores the incredible ingenuity and history of ancient China with 25 hands-on projects for readers ages 9 and up. Great Ancient China Projects covers topics from porcelain pottery, paper, gunpowder, and dynasties, to martial arts, medicinal healers, jade carvers, and terracotta warriors.

Tools of the Ancient Greeks: A Kid's Guide to the History & Science of Life in Ancient Greece (Build It Yourself)

Sumerian Mythology: History for kids: A captivating guide to ancient Sumerian history,Sumerian myths of Sumerian Gods, Goddesses, and Monsters

What humans call “civilization” didn’t always exist. We didn’t always live in big cities, have roads to get places easier, or grow food on farms. For a long time, humans were hunter-gatherers. Hunter-gatherers wandered from place to place looking for food. They didn’t build homes or stay in one place. The Sumerians, as far as we know, were the first people to start a civilization.

History Pockets: Ancient Civilizations, Grades 1-3

The book includes the following pockets:

What Is History?
Ancient Mesopotamia
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Greece
Ancient Rome
Ancient China
Ancient Aztec World

This resource contains teacher support pages, reproducible student pages, and an answer key.

Cleopatra and Ancient Egypt for Kids: Her Life and World, with 21 Activities (69) (For Kids series)

Cleopatra has been called intelligent and scheming, ambitious and ruthless, sensual and indulgent. This unique biography captures the excitement of her life story, including portions that have been largely neglected, such as her interest in literature and science and her role as a mother, and allows readers to draw their own conclusions. Cleopatra and Ancient Egypt for Kids also includes maps, time lines, online resources, a glossary, and 21 engaging hands-on activities to help readers better appreciate the ancient culture.

DIY Ancient Egypt Box, Learn About Geography and World History, Hands on Learning for Kids

HANDS ON LEARNING: Supernow educational boxes includes an adventure box with 4 hands-on projects and interactive digital content to bring the projects to life!

INTERACTIVE PLAY: Kids get a monthly adventure box that serves as a portal to an immersive adventure. Participate in an unfolding mission by attending live, interactive classes and solving fun clues.

MYSTERIOUS CODE OF THE ROSETTA STONE

After looking at some pictures of it on the internet (thank you Google images), we set about making our own stone.

Hands-On Ancient History: The Rosetta Stone

What you’ll need for this activity:

Large white piece of construction paper
Gray washable paint (or, in our case, white and black mixed together)
Scissors
Glue
Markers
Ancient Languages Printable

To get started, we cut a rough-looking, large “stone” out of the white paper. We then cut several smaller stones as well.

Realizing our Set of 18 paints did not include a gray for stone coloring, we took matters into our own hands and mixed white with black until we got just the right look.

Then, we painted all of our cut-out stones.

(At this point, my youngest suggested painting an actual rock from our backyard for the activity as well, so we added a little dirt and a few actual stones to the mix.)

After printing up the key for Ancient Greek and Egyptian Hieroglyphs, my son cut those out as well.

Once the largest paper stone’s paint was dry, we pasted the printable key onto it and made our own “Rosetta Stone.”

This is where it got really fun! My boys each took one of the smaller, painted paper stones and used the key to create their own messages in hieroglyphs and ancient Greek.

The Rosetta Stone: Breaking the Code

Then, they swapped, and tried to de-code the ancient languages using the our own Rosetta Stone.

My youngest also did the same on his rock from outside, and although it was a little harder to read, we all agreed it was much more authentic!

Although I tried to encourage my boys to leave interesting historic messages for one another, the truth is, they had a lot more fun and got a lot more out of the activity when I backed off and allowed them to write whatever they wanted.

(Think a little bit of little boy potty humor mixed with quotes from different cartoons and movies. At least the activity was relevant to their everyday lives!)

This was such an easy and fun way to learn and understand the importance of the Rosetta Stone.

It was also a great way to get a little writing practice in, as my boys had to write the letters and words as they translated the ancient messages.

Overall, I continue to be impressed with how much a hands-on approach to history makes a difference in my children’s level of engagement and understanding in our learning.

And you can’t get any easier that coloring pages for studying history.

Check out these fun coloring pages! There are some for Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece too.

Look at this list.

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

Also, you love the activities by Home School in the Woods for learning about the Ancients.

See more hands-on history ideas below!

Hands-On History: The Rosetta Stone and Breaking The Code. If you're studying Ancient History, your kids will love making this AWESOME easy hands-on activity to learn about the Rosetta Stone. Click here to make it!

Written by Shawna at Not the Former Things.

Ancient Greece Politics and Pottery Activity

Ancient Egypt Homeschool Unit Study – Hands-on and FUN!

May 6, 2015 | 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Studying Ancient Egypt history has been anything but boring for us because I have been determined to keep it hands-on.

I have to admit though it is not always easy.

When I find homeschool history programs like Project Passport: Ancient Egypt from Home School in the Woods that fits what I think history should look like, I am always delighted to share about it.

Your kids will love this Hands-on Ancient Egypt Unit Study at Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

I was given a free copy of Project Passport: Ancient Egypt and I was paid for my time. Compensated for my time does not mean paid off. ALL opinions are my own and for sure I will always tell you what is on my mind. Your experience may vary. When I do accept a review it’s because I am excited to tell you about it. Read my full disclosure here.

Hands-on Homeschool Ancient Egypt History

Though we are history lovers in our home, I know that teaching Ancient Egypt history can be quite boring if you don’t find the right resource.

Passport Project Ancient Egypt Interactive and Hands-on Unit Study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Using Project Passport: Ancient Egypt from Home School in the Woods over the past few weeks has been by far the best curriculum we have used for studying about Ancient Egypt.

Look at some of these things that makes us swoon over this curriculum.

Hands-on activities like mapping Upper and Lower Egypt, creating post cards and preparing a newspaper and recipes.
It means a lot to me to have high quality clip art and not babyish looking quality printables for middle school kids. The printables are high quality and are all labeled so that you can match them to the correct projects.
There are a variety of activities to choose from to suit any learning style. Tiny is my strongest auditory learner of all of my boys and he really was engaged by the beautiful sounding Mp3s like Touring Down the Nile, Interview with an Embalmer and Building a Pyramid. I haven’t really used the curriculum the way they suggested by picking and choosing. We tried to cram it all in because each project sounded as fun as the next one. We just had to taste a bit of everything. Along with creating minibooks, we created a passport, created a luggage folder (so cute), a travel itinerary, prepared the scrapbook of sights and snapshots of moments in history (timeline).
It’s all laid out Stop by Stop. Even the text you need to read for each lesson is included. This makes it easy to pick up and go when you are short on time.
The teacher’s keys are very helpful and Tiny was able to check his work on his own. I love that part.
I REALLY appreciate a scope and sequence being provided so that I can plan or see what will be covered. I have to create objectives and lesson plan and the teacher in me finds this part extremely helpful.

Look at some of these things that you will want to know before you use Project Passport: Ancient Egypt.

Details are important to history when you want to analyze them. Topics are covered with an eye for details and not broad strokes. If you want details, then it’s a great fit.
It requires a good amount of time for start up because you will want to take time reading through all the directions for both laying out the projects and how to print them. The payoff is rewarding but don’t look at speeding through the set up process. This is a savor the time curriculum.
Like high quality printables should be, you will want to use high quality materials like cardstock and color printables. You can print gray scale too and have the option to color. I think it’s always an advantage to have both options of coloring or gray scale printing though. Because this curriculum is sold by CD or downloads, your printer will be busy.
Though I thrive in organization, having four sub-folders to navigate between might seem overwhelming. It took me a few minutes to figure out that the Itineraries folder in the PDFs sub-folder was the place that I needed to visit at each Stop. It has the instructions for the activities for each stop. There are a total 25 Stops.
It is important to remember that the printables cannot be shrunk, which a lot of printers do. If you do this, like the instructions specifically mentions, it throws off all the printables. An important detail that is easy to forget when you start printing at each Stop. Avoid precious ink and high quality paper by minding the details on each page.

Like a comprehensive unit study should be, you will want to let go of whatever else you are studying about so that your children can enjoy the creative writing, arts and geography weaved throughout each Stop.

Tiny is just about out of the dress up stage but he fondly remembers our hands-on activities with Ancient Egypt (fun with cartouche and Lego pyramid) as we have used Home School in the Woods products through the years.

With this unit study, my focus was on reading the content and listening to the MP3s to prepare him for high school.

Of course, doing as many of the other hands-on activities that we could cram in is also my objective.

Ancient Egypt Unit Study 8 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Because I couldn’t wait to share with you about how this unit study sparks a love for learning about Ancient Egypt and because of my love for pictures too, look at my first post Ancient Egypt and look at my second one Ancient Egypt Unit Study Part 2.

I have used many laid out unit studies.

Too, you know I have created my own lapbook printables because it has been hard to find history curriculum that has all the things I demand, which are detailed content, pristine clip art, high quality printables, an overflowing amount of hands-on activities and that can be used with multiple ages.

Project Passport: Ancient Egypt receives my highest praise and I can’t wait to grab the other projects in this series.

Thank You Home School in the Woods for the obvious time, care and detail that went into this curriculum. I am proud to be a reviewer of such an amazing product.

Ancient History Series

Company Name: Home School in the Woods Publishing
Website: Home School in the Woods
Product Name: Project Passport: Ancient Egypt
Grades: 3rd to 8th, but I found that it could be tweaked up or down because of the numerous activities. Check out their scope and sequence to see the events
Type of Format: Download
Religious perspective but can be tweaked for a more secular version if you choose.

You’ll love these other hands-on history for studying about Ancient Egypt:

Hugs and love ya,