Story of the World: Ancient Times: Chapter 9

Last week we finished reviewing all the chapters of Story of the World Vol. 1 that we did two years ago. This week we started on new material; sort of. See, when we last did ancient India, we only did about half of the chapter. We did the brick experiment the first time around, which was cool, but not something I wanted to repeat at this time. There wasn't much else in the activity guide, so inspired by the memory of Colonel Brandon whispering in Margret Dashwood's ear, "the air is filled with SPICES!" I did some quick Googling and then went off schedule.

Week 1 Wrap-Up

Our first week of the 2014-2015 school year was completed on Friday! Despite a printer breakdown right when I was trying to print out papers for this week, and a baby girl who thinks erasing the white board while I'm teaching from it is hilarious, we got school done! And I feel really good about that. Even some of the new things I tried this week worked!

History Confessions and a Decision

Confession #1: I threw away our unfinished mummy chicken when we moved. :(

I was sooooooo excited when I first learned about the mummy chicken (probably almost 2 years before we actually did it.) I started with enthusiasm, and, I thought, a realistic understanding that I would be the one doing this, and Builder Boy would be mainly a spectator, until it came time for wrapping. But somewhere around the 4th changing of the salts I ran out of my pre-made bags and I also hit a depression swing and it sat on my counter being ignored for much longer than it was suppose to be. Builder Boy forgot about it too, so I guess he's not truly missing out. And in truth, I think the Horrible Histories Mummy Song taught him the same stuff. It makes me sad, and a feel like a bit of a failure, that we didn't finish it, or get to wrap it, or decorate the sarcophagus I had prepared.


Confession #2: My last history post is from October because that's the last time we did Story of the World.

This kids got sick for over a week. Then I got sick. Then the kids got sick again. Then December rolled around. Then I got pregnant and almost immediately started puking non-stop. Not much got done. That's not to say that no history got done. On Wednesdays Builder Boy spent the mornings with Apa (his paternal grandfather) and they worked through I Love America, studying early American history based around the holidays of each month. We also watched a lot of Horrible History episodes on youtube (before they were taken down.) I made a playlist of the songs the kids liked (and that didn't have anything too crazy violent) and the kids memorized them. We can sing the entire list of Kings and Queens of England since William I all on our own.

When I realized that this pregnancy is going to be light on school until walking across the room is no longer a challenge I had to decide what to do about Story of the World. I LOVE SOTW. I love the idea behind it, I love doing history systematically, I love the plan of going through the whole of history three times through, each time at a deeper level. Not being able to do all of the fun activities that we had been doing I had to decide between two courses of action: continue reading SOTW and just having Builder Boy do the maps and coloring sheets with no extras, no dress-up, no hands-on, no activities (which many parents do with no detriment to their children's education.) Or I could wait until I am well enough to do it "all," which means schooling though the summer (which we were planning on doing some anyway) and not freaking out about the schedule (have I mentioned that I like schedules?!)  I thought about it a lot, and in the end decided to go the second route. I want to do all the fun stuff, and that's what the boys are going to remember. So when we start doing it again, I will start blogging about it again. In the meantime, I'm going to be thinking about what it is kids this age should actually know in a learning-about-the-world context, and see what I can do about that from a chair and a laptop (and a tv.) I have some thoughts about science that I'm going to try to type about tomorrow. (Assuming I can stand to sit at the computer without losing my lunch and the internet and computer work with me.)

I also have something really cool from Zaner-Bloser that I'm going to try to share on FRIDAY!

What Does It Take to Make a Brick? Part 2

Well, this turned out to take longer than I thought it would.

Before Baking

It was 86*F weather when we started the bricks, so I thought they would dry just fine. But then it got cold and damp. I brought them inside before it started raining (which, as my dear husband pointed out, it what I get for attempting this project in October.) We had read in one of our books that the ancient Indians (India, not America) backed their bricks in ovens, so after a week of the weather not getting any warmer, we tried baking the bricks. I had learned my lesson; we did not try the broil setting. We turned the brick forms upside down and tipped the mostly solid mud/dirt kept it's form. I kept it in the oven on 200*F for a few hours. I can see how this might work well if the brick mud had clay in it, but ours didn't really have any. Also, it made me wonder if the baked bricks the ancient Indians made were significantly better than the wood they had to burn to bake the bricks. Because it doesn't seem very efficient to me.

After Baking

The Winner

We only had room for three bricks, so we baked bricks 1, 2, and 3. Number 2 was the only one that didn't crumble, so Number 2 is the winner. Builder Boy declared it "absolutely perfect" and "brilliant."


(Click here for the beginning of the project.)
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The brick making idea came from the Activity Book One: Ancient Times. This activity was for Chapter Nine The First Cities of India.

What Does It Take to Make a Brick? Part 1

For Story of the World : Ancient Times Chapter Nine The First Cities India we started an experiment to see what combination of local dirt would make a good brick (I'm not sure if any of them will work, but it's worth a try.) I prepared cardboard frames ahead of time, and we lined them somewhat with plastic cling wrap.

We have local dirt that seems like it has a lot of clay in it, but it was WAY to hard where we are to try to dig up a significant amount. We did find two other types of dirt around our complex. Dirt A is sandy-ish and we had to sift small rocks out of it. Dirt B we got from the top of mole hills in the lawn area; it was darker and had grass roots in it. We also used sand from the sandbox (we bought the sand at the store) and dried pine needles instead of grass.

Dirt A

Dirt B

We wanted to be a scientific as we could, so we measured and recorded our mixtures.

Brick 1:

• 1 cup water (which turned out to be WAY too much water)
• 2 cups Dirt A
• 1 cup sand

Brick 2:

• 2/3 cup water (still too much water)
• 2 cups Dirt B
• 1 cup sand

Brick 1

Brick 2

Brick 3:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup Dirt A
• 1 cup Dirt B
• 1 cup sand
• some broken up pine needles

 
Brick 4:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup Dirt A
• 2 cups Dirt B
• NO sand
• some broken up pine needles

Brick 3

Brick 4

I am hoping they will dry out in 2 days (we had 80+ F weather today.) I'll post the results when we get them.

(Click here to see how they turned out!)

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The brick making idea came from the Activity Book One: Ancient Times.

The links are to the author's printing press website where you can buy Story of the World directly from the author. The below pictures are links to the book on Amazon.com.

Making a Cardboard Brick Frame

Chapter Nine of Story of the World: Ancient Times introduces ancient India. As an activity for this chapter we are going to experiment with different mud/sand/grass mixtures to discover what mix makes the best bricks. But for that we needed brick forms, ideally identical in size and shape for the most accurate comparison.

I started with a Carnation instant breakfast box (I got it at Sam's Club.) I measured and drew a line around at exactly the half way around point. I cut all the way around in half.

Then I measured and cut the top and bottom in half. I used the cardboard back of a pad of colored paper to make the missing side on each of the frames. I used masking tape on any edge that could possible leak.

The original box was 6 in X 11.5 in X 3.75 in. I turned it into four frames  3 in X 5.75 x 3.75.

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The brick making experiment is from SOTW Activity Book One: Ancient Times. Making the cardboard frames was from me.

The beginning links are to the author's printing press website where you can buy Story of the World directly from the author. The below pictures are links to the book on Amazon.com.

Ancient Mesopotamia Book

I realized recently that I haven't been using the encyclopedias with Story of the World. And it is good to have them, since SOTW has so few pictures. I have been trying to get good supplementary books at the library, but a lot of the book are geared for older kids. Even then there aren't many books (in my library) about the region in ancient times.

I found a treasure in Mesopotamia: Iraq in Ancient Times (Picturing the Past). It has been a perfect review for parts in chapters one (the first cities,) three (Sumerian cuneiform writing,) five (Sargon and Akkad,) six (Ur,) seven (Hammurabi's fair laws,) and eight (war with Assyria.) It has illustrations with real-artifact pictures connected to them, two-page spreads on different topics that cover the region like Irrigation and Farming (did you know date trees are only male trees or female trees? I didn't!) Crafting, Trade, Writing, etc. Each spread has an "How Do We Know?" box that applies to that topic specifically. I think this book is pretty perfect for Builder Boy's understanding and maturity level, though we did skip the "Great Death Pit" pages. It also has web links for all the topics, though I didn't try all of them, and most of them didn't work for me. The British Museum Mesopotamia website was cool.

It is simple and short enough that we read through it in two days, but there was enough review that Builder Boy could connect it all together, and enough new stuff to keep him interested. I wasn't going very in-depth with the last 4 chapters, so this was a really great. I highly recommend it!

(For sensitive/young children, please pre-read the sections on The Great Death Pit, Warfare, The King's Laws, and Empire.)


(Picturing the Past) Mesopotamia: Iraq in Ancient Times by Peter Chrisp, Enchanted Lion Books. ISBN 1-59270-024-1, Dewey # 935.

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(I don't get paid for this review.)

Hammurabi's Laws

"The man (Hammurabi) invented the year, months, and hours. When we look at a calender or a clock we are looking at those things. A lot of people were put to death when they did bad things." -Builder Boy's narration for SOTW Chapter Seven Hammurabi and the Babylonians.

This is why reading ahead of where we are in school is a good thing. I hadn't in a while, and I ended up reading a list of laws, half of which had the penalty of death at the end of each one. I understand that I can't shelter the boys forever. I understand that ancient history (actually all history in general) is bloody and sad a lot of the time. I don't know what I would have done if I'd read ahead and known that was coming up. But it was kind of sad to hear Builder Boy pick that out of what we read.

And it stuck with him. The next day we decided to come up with a new rule that everyone, kids and adults both, had to obey for a week. He chose "If you take away a toy from someone's hand you have to be in time out for 15 minutes." I wasn't planning on having a punishment for the rules, but that's what Builder Boy remembered: that the rules had punishments. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. To be silly, my rule was "You have to say 'I love you' 5 times a day or you will be tickled on your feet." (I added a punishment since Builder Boy thought it was necessary.)

We put the rules up on the wall for all to see since we didn't have a monument to put it on. Builder Boy, when he heard the word "monument" said "oh, like the hieroglyphics!" It's really cool to know that he is learning and retaining. I just hope "a lot of people were put to death" isn't one of those things.

7 Tips for Easier Chicken Mummification

 In our first week and a half of our chicken mummy project I have learned things that work and things that don't. As part of the mummification process it is necessary to replace the salt mixture; frequently in the beginning, then every 5 days for a few weeks, then every week. Having changed the salt mixture 3 times now, here are some tips on what I learned the hard way makes this go smoothly and quickly.

1. Set up everything you will need to make the change ahead of time, including pulling off multiple paper towels.
2. Make several batches of the salt/baking soda/baking powder mixture ahead of time. Keep it in the gallon sized freezer bags you will be putting the chicken in, one bag inside the other. This will make it so you have the bags ready, and you don't have to deal with measuring out the salt mixture every time you have to change it.
3. Add spices to the salt mixture (before adding it to the chicken.) I wasn't planning on adding the spices until the end, but the chicken is a bit stinky, and just a few shakes of spices covers it up completely. I used cloves and cinnamon.
4. Keep the chicken (in the freezer bags) in a casserole dish. The sides help support the chicken and salt and prevents the Ziploc seals from opening due to pressure. It also supports the bag when you are moving the chicken to a new bag.
5. Put the chicken in the bag before you add the salt mixture to the inside. Mine leaks salt if I fill it up first, and it makes it more awkward trying to get the chicken into the bag if I fill it first.
6. Almost 6 year-old boys aren't much help in the process. Especially ones who have new teeth coming in and are constantly putting their fingers in their mouths. 
7. Label the bag with the date of the last change. I used sharpie on masking tape.

No extra pair of hands needed!

The dish holds it up for you

No burst seams

Joseph's Coat of Many Colors

This activity is for Story of the World One: Ancient Times, Chapter Six The Jewish People. The activity guide offers instructions for making Joseph's coat with butcher/construction paper or a more realistic coat made with a button down shirt. I didn't want to go to the effort of the fabric coat because I didn't think the boys would wear them very many times. So I made the paper coat, but I used a paper grocery bag instead of taping paper together. I wanted there to be a weaving element to it as well, so here's what I did:

1. I cut the bag in the front in the middle, starting at the bottom. I continued the cut down the middle of the top of the coat (the bottom of the bag.) 
2. I figured out the hard way (I had to toss my first attempt) that the best way to make a weaving area is to fold the front side parts in half (long open side to long other side) and cut slits to weave strips of colored paper through. Start cutting the strips on the side part where the two edges are touching, not in near the middle.
3. I folded the bag inside out so the outside looks nice (it's easier than I thought it would be, and I didn't have any tearing.)
4. I then cut out ovals at the neck and arms. 
5. Next I cut out colored paper strips for the boys to weave on the the font part. (I cut quiet a few strips because I thought Early Bird might join us, and I didn't know what kind of pattern they'd want to make.)
6. Builder Boy weaved in the colors he chose and I glued the ends to make sure they'd stick.

Sumerian Seals

Builder Boy's on the left, mine (a heart around the cuneiform letter "W")

'B" stamp on the left, Builder Boy's seal on the right

Friday we learned about Sumer/Akkadia and we made Sumerian Seals with air-dry clay. (Story of the World Activity Book One: Ancient Times Chapter Five The First Sumerian Dictator) We used popsicle/craft sticks to make the groves deep and wide enough for the seal to make a good impression. They dried over the weekend and today we reviewed what we learned and then tested out the dried seals. Early Bird's was too thin (thinner than a pencil) and broke in three pieces when we tried it on the wet clay. Builder Boy's and mine were thicker, and fine. We made holes in the stamped clay to make pendents to wear.

Then the boys got out the play-dough and tried out the seals on that. This showed how the seal could be used a lot of times, and that it was easier than writing your name in cuneiform every time. We also have letter stamps so it was a good example of stamping names/words in our time, too.

Chicken Mummy: Day 1

My 100th post turned out to be the Mummy Chicken!

I have been looking forward to this project since I first read about it over a year ago. The instructions come from Story of the World Activity Book One: Ancient Time, Chapter Four: The Old Kingdom of Egypt. I had read that a lot of people bought Cornish hens instead of chickens because they are smaller, and therefore easier. Not having a lot of experience in purchasing whole (butchered and trimmed) chickens, I went to the grocery store intending to compare prices. I found a 5 lb chicken for 98 cents/lb which looked small and a good price, so I got that and didn't look any further. It looked bigger out of the bag when I was cleaning it, but it still fit in a gallon sized Ziploc freezer bag, so I'm happy with it.

I had a problem with the directions for the baking soda/baking powder/salt mixture. The instructions say "cans" and "boxes" instead of cups. We buy in bulk at Sam's Club, which means my boxes/bags are much bigger than standard. Knowing that, I went to the grocery store to see what size cans and boxes they had there. They had them measured in ounces, which was not very helpful, especially since the internet gives varied results as to how many ounces/cup those ingredients are. But that didn't matter much because I lost the list with the measurements I wrote on it. So I had to guess. I ended up using 6 cups salt/2 cups baking soda/ 1 1/2 cup baking powder.

The kids have been having fun watching the Horrible Histories Mummy Song, so Builder Boy really got the gross factor. Because of that he was hesitant to reach in and pull out the organs (they were already been cut off, but they were still inside.) He pulled out the neck (?) and I pulled out the dark things (did I mention I don't often cook whole chicken?) The book says they will still stink even if we try to mummify them, so we put them in "canopic jars" and filled them with vinegar. 

We mixed the first batch of baking powder/baking soda/salt before hand. Having Principal Daddy there with us to take pictures and hand us stuff helped a lot. I held the chicken while Builder Boy poured in the salt mixture. Then we used the rest in the bag. It was just the right amount for filling the cavity and covering it in the freezer bag.

After finishing the chicken in the bag I mixed three more batches of the salt mix and put each batch in a gallon sized Ziploc bag. We're going to probably use all of it in the changes in the next week or so. I had a 25 lb bag of salt and we used maybe 2/3 of it. The whole bag only cost about $5, so if you can buy it in bulk it is definitely worth it.

Builder Boy decided that the name of the chicken is Pharaoh Chicken King.

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For the next steps on our mummy making journey, click here for 7 Tips for Easier Chicken Mummification.

Clay Tablet or Paper: Which Lasts Longer?

Aka: all the things not to do.

This activity was a continuation of the Story of the World Activity Book One: Ancient Times Chapter Three about the first writings.  Earlier we had made cuneiform on clay tablets and hieroglyphs on paper. I made my own along with Builder Boy because I knew we were going to do this activity and I didn't want to risk ruining his. The idea is to put the clay tablet and the paper scroll through different extreme conditions to see which lasts longer.

It started last week when we put the tablet and the scroll outside for a week. A week later they looked pretty much the same as when they started. I think the paper scroll rolled into the shade so it wasn't effected very much. Today we put the tablet and scroll in the bathtub for 5 minutes to simulate a flood. We used Crayola Air-Dry Clay for the tablet. It worked great for when we were making it, but it started dissolving in the water. Do NOT us that clay if you want to have an accurate experiment. We used the Crayola Washable Kids' Paint for the hieroglyphs on white construction paper and it actually held up pretty well for the 5 minutes.

Next we put it in the oven for 30 minutes at 200*F to simulate the hot desert over time. When I checked it at 23 minutes there wasn't much visible effect on the scroll. I thought to myself "the sun comes from above, not below" so I put it on broil for the last 7 minutes.

Oops.

Well, at least we proved that if there were a fire in the libraries of ancient Egypt and Sumer, the Sumerian records would (more likely) survive.
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This activity was brought to you by Story of the World Activity Book One: Ancient Times. The spectacular mess was brought to you by me. :)

Hieroglyphs

Today we wrote with hieroglyphs! It made me appreciate cuneiform on clay tablets. Cuneiform was simpler, logical, and if you made a mistake it was easy to "erase" and do over. Also the stick was much easier to write with than the thinnest paintbrush. It really gave you the sense that whatever the Egyptians wrote must have been very important because it took more time and effort than the cuneiform.

Builder Boy started out planning to write a sentence but after writing his name he was done. He put the border around it to show it was his name and then moved on to making his own hieroglyphs. That turned out to be instructions on how to get around a pyramid (from Mummies in the Morning (Magic Tree House, No. 3) ) Instead of letters or sounds his pictures stood for words, which was close to the original hieroglyphs, so that was okay.



















Early Bird decided to actually join us today and, all on his own and his own initiative, he wrote letters!  I thought that was pretty cool. He's been working in a dry-erase letter writing workbook when I do handwriting with Builder Boy, but he mostly does the 'A,a' and 'B,b' so I was surprised that he did 'E, t, H, & A' and I think an 'O' at the top. Or maybe a 'U.'

And I made a scroll for our comparison experiment we are going to do next week. I had a lot of fun making it, although I have come to the conclusion that whatever they used the bird for that was on my chart for 'A' they didn't use very often because it was a pain to make. And of course my English sentence had 6 of them. It says "Long ago [Pharaoh Builder Boy] built a pyramid that reached the sky."

I originally thought about having us write on parchment paper but when I got it out to write on it didn't look like it would hold up, and I believe papyrus was thicker. So we ended up using washable kid's paint with small paintbrushes on white construction paper.






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The idea for this activity as well as the hieroglyphic alphabet came from the Story of the World Activity Book: Ancient Times.



Check out this post about our "Clay Tablet or Paper: Which Lasts Longer?" investigation.