Ancient Egypt for Kids (Creative Kids Blog)

This week, we're off to Egypt.

What is the fascination with Ancient Egypt? Is it the pyramids that have lasted for centuries? Or that they buried their dead with more wealth than we can imagine? Or is that they left detailed records in their hieroglyphs that have given us a glimpse into the past? Whatever it is, there's lots to learn and do when the theme is Ancient Egypt.

Some historians believe that the location was a major factor in the development of Ancient Egypt. They were relatively isolated by the desert and sea. They learned to plant crops in the rich, black soil of the Nile delta. Reliable crops fed Egyptians and gave them the time to develop their culture and even more importantly, their system of writing, hieroglyphics. Egyptian God Anubis Their writings have given us a detailed picture of their daily life, beliefs, and governance.

Ancient Egyptian religion has been described as the cult of the dead. Death was a time of testing. Anubis would weigh a person's heart. If it was lighter than a feather, they could enter the afterlife.

Craft Projects

Make your death mask like the kind that was found in Tutankahman's tomb.
Make a mummy.

Games

Egyptians enjoyed board games. Many games have been found in tombs so that the spirits wouldn't be bored in the afterlife. Make your own Mancala game.
Try to be an archeologist.
Here's a game to try and figure out what's inside a mummy without damaging it.

Field Trip

Find out if their is a museum in your city that has Egyptian artifacts that you can go see.
Contact a museum or history department at a university and find out if there are any local archeological digs that you could observe.

Activities

Plan a party with an Egyptian theme.
Find out how to write your name in hieroglyphics.
Learn about the gods and goddess of Ancient Egypt.
Build a pyramid using sugar cubes or wooden blocks.

Science Experiment

Mummifying an Apple

Symbols from Ancient Egypt

When your decorating your projects, it's interesting to understand the meaning of Egyptian symbols.

	Scarab - protection from harm. It's a symbol of eternal life. It's often pictured pushing the sun upwards into the sky. In this image, the scarab in the center is surrounded by the winged sun disk represents the sun God Re.
	Eye of Horus - protection from sickness.
	Lotus Flower - symbol of life, death and rebirth. The lotus flower opens during the day, closes at night and reopens in the morning.

Where to look for more info and ideas

Explorations 4 Kids - Ancient Egypt - links to lots of Egyptian topics.

Did you miss last week's newsletter? You can find everything you need for a fun day at the beach in our blog.

Have a fun week!

Comments (4)

Elaine:

I am so glad I found this site and blog. I love the info you have available, and I know my kids will too!!

Posted by Elaine | July 22, 2006 3:15 PM

Posted on July 22, 2006 15:15

Christine Nicholls:

Here's a comment emailed in by a visitor - Christine

I looked up 3 of the kids names on the 'write your name in heiroglyphics' site that you listed in the Egypt newsletter. Then I printed the 3 together along with the English version - but not in the same order. 2 names had 5 letters, the other had 4.

Next I asked my 5 and 7 year olds to decipher. They found it very interesting. I am going to do some treasure hunts using the h-glyphs as clues.

Thanks for the link!!!!

Juanita

Posted by Christine Nicholls | November 8, 2006 7:09 AM

Posted on November 8, 2006 07:09

Cristina:

This website is awesome!!!!!!!

Posted by Cristina | December 4, 2006 5:06 PM

Posted on December 4, 2006 17:06

kkidanu Mekonnen:

Keep it as It is

Posted by kkidanu Mekonnen | October 1, 2007 3:48 AM