Ancient Egypt - End of Unit Celebration - Preparations! {BiblioPlan Year 1}

We are not Tapestry of Grace users...but something that they offer with their curriculum is an "end of unit" celebration.  I thought they looked like a lot of fun so we decided to host our own celebration about the end of our Ancient Egypt unit!  A lot of preparations went into our celebrations and here are a few of the days of hard work leading up to our party!

We experimented with paper mache.

It was a MESS. 

We decided to make some canopic jars.  We used water bottles from the Dollar Tree, aluminum foil and masking tape to start the basic shape. 

We then covered them with paper mache and began shaping the heads.

It took a long time... 

Did I mention it was a GOOEY mess? 

Almost finished!  

Once they were dry we spray painted them gold (among other treasures we created)

We also worked on making our own herbal oils. 

Cuniform Tablets

We made them out of clay...

As well as Hieroglyphics on papayrus (ok, its actually a paper bag)

We painted a couple of cat statues. 

Posters were made... 

As well as history pockets! 

Presentations were prepared !

(Kayley spoke about mummification and Maggie about Pharaoh and the 10 Plagues) 

We sent out invitations to a few neighbors and had a great night!  

I'll get some pictures up of our party soon!  Thanks for stopping by!

Risen by Angela Hunt {Book Review}

Finally!  Just in time for Easter I finished the book Risen.  I know, I know!  The movie has been out for a while, what am I waiting for??  The book Risen, by Angela Hunt, is a novelization of the motion picture and tells the Biblical story of the resurrection through the eyes of Clavius.  Clavius is a Roman military tribune (basically Pontius Pilate's right-hand man in all military matters).  During this time of "Pax Romana," peace is kept by military force and Clavius with his assistant Lucius, are overwhelmed when they hear that the Israelites so-called "Messiah" has died. When people claim that He will rise again from the grave and there is a frenzy of excitement and rebellion through the people when, on the 3rd morning the body of Jesus has vanished.  Pilate wants this whole matter cleaned up and quickly.  Jesus' body MUST be found before it causes and uprising among the people.  Clavius and Lucius are tasked with solving the mystery of what happened to Jesus in order to prove that there is no such thing as a risen Messiah and avoid upheaval in Jerusalem.  

Although she takes a back seat through though the book, I also enjoyed the parallel story of Rachel.  A widow, whose husband was killed by a Roman soldier, Rachel becomes friend and lover to Clavius, opening a door for him to consider the possibility of the truth and reality behind this person the people call Messiah.  

I don't want to tell much more because you may want to see the movie and I don't want to spoil it, but, I really enjoyed the book and following Rachel's and Clavius' conversion story was powerful.  This was a wonderful read leading up to Easter!  

Disclaimer:  I received Risen free of charge from Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group free of charge in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions expressed here are my very own.  Thanks so much!

Random Happenings...

We recently went to the KGBX Women's Show, the Lawn & Garden show and then, hit the Severe Weather Expo.  Here are some fun pictures of a few of those random happenings!

The students of SBU School of Nursing had a small training 

where they taught us how to do CPR!

Smile Zone taught us the proper way to brush our teeth!

The Butterfly Palace had a GREAT set up for learning about butterflies!

Kayley met the artist Peter Longley and they had a fascinating discussion on impressionism.  I was pretty impressed when Kayley pointed out that his art wasn't "true impressionism" because he mixed his colors on the canvas instead of just globbing it on his canvas.  He thought she was pretty clever.  LOL. 

The girls posed for a picture with Kevin Lighty's awesome storm chaser vehicle.  

THAT was pretty cool!  ;) 

Salt Dough Maps of the Nile River Delta {BiblioPlan Year 1}

I have always wanted to try our hands at creating a Salt Dough map...  We discovered that it was a LOT harder and MUCH messier than we thought it would be.  But, it was still fun!  The girls enjoyed creating a replica of the Nile River Delta with promises of flooding it at a later time!  ;)

Handicrafts: The Lucet

Recently I stumbled across a mamma on the Ambleside Facebook page that was discussing the "Lucet "and how much their kids really enjoyed making these adorable little braids with which to decorate their shoelaces, clothing, etc.  I hadn't heard of this fascinating little tool before so after some investigation, here is what I learned about this ancient tool called the Lucet.

(From Wikipedia)

A lucet is a tool used in cordmaking or braiding which is believed to date back to the Viking and Medieval periods, when it was used to create cords that were used on clothing, or to hang items from the belt. Lucet cord is square, strong, and slightly springy. It closely resembles knitted I-cord or the cord produced on a knitting spool.  

We needed one of these cool tools...!  So, a search on Amazon yielded several Lucet choices...and they were NOT cheap.  (At the time the cheapest I saw was $30! although I see some less expensive options on there now).  

What's a girl to do when she needs something made of wood?  We ask Papa of course!  Papa whipped us up 2 lovely, handmade Lucets!  

 After a little help from a YouTube video the girls were off on a Lucet making adventure.

Pretty neat and a really unique handicraft to share with friends!!  :)