This week, our studies of ancient Egypt continued. That salt dough map we started last week was finally dry and ready to paint. Did you know the ancient word Egyptians used to describe their land was Kemet? It meant “black land” – a reference to the thick, black, fertile soil that was deposited each year when the Nile flooded.
While Jonas painted his map, Susannah painted at the easel.
And Abigail played with Tupperware.
We also made a “mummy” (by wrapping linen strips around my old Cabbage Patch doll) and a pyramid (by cutting, carving, and baking Sculpy).
One of our last hands-on projects for this week was a replica of Pharaoh’s double crown. The inner, white crown (with white feathers and a “gold” disk) represented southern Upper Egypt; the outer, red crown (with royal cobra) represented northern Lower Egypt. Pharaoh wore a unified crown to symbolize his role as ruler of both regions.
Next week: a deeper look at the polytheistic culture of ancient Egypt, and how the plagues that preceded the Exodus demonstrated that the Hebrew God is the only God!