Spend the Day in Ancient Egypt: Projects and Activities That Bring the Past to Life (Spend The Day Series)

Spend the Day in Ancient Egypt; Projects and Activities That Bring the Past to Life (Spend The Day Series) is a superlative way to use arts and crafts to bring the past to life. Face-painting and jewelry making is only part of the fun. You can get to know an Egyptian family, dress like them, know what their life was like and much, more. What a great way to use a creative approach to education. This makes history an adventure with hands-on activities.

We checked out every Egyptian craft book from our library for a homeschool unit (grade 5, and this was among the top 3 that we actually used. The projects in this book go beyond mummies and pyramids, and some are very unique (hippopotamus statue) while others are a bit cheesy (masks out of posterboard). This would be great for a classroom teacher as most of the projects can be completed in a short time and with few materials other than posterboard. I would strongly recommend that measurements are taken for costume parts and the directions modified if needed. We made the boy's kilt following the directions and they were too small for my boys (ages 11 and 7 and athletic build). All in all, it is a good book with a lot of ideas, however there are a couple books that take it a step further and try to really bring the feel of authenticity to the projects. For anyone looking for additional resources that are more than toilet paper tube arm cuffs and construction paper collars, I suggest you also try: Great Ancient Egypt Projects You Can Build Yourself (Build It Yourself series) Make History: Ancient Egypt : Re-Create Authentic Jewelry, Toys, and Other Crafts from Another Place and Time (Make History) and if cooking is your thing, Cooking in Ancient Civilizations (The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series) is awesome (but pricey), especially if you will also be studying other ancients like the Greeks and Romans. We held a "feast day" at the end of our unit and the kids loved the food! They are now asking for these recipes again!

Not only does this book have wonderful crafts that are fun to make, it is also chock full of interesting information! It starts with a description of an Egyptian family, then describes various aspects of their daily lives. The directions for the two games you can make are a bit confusing (I had to look up Senet online to figure out how to play), but the sheer variety of projects, recipes, and background information more than make up for it.

My stepson Jacob loved this. I came home from work one day to find him dressed as a Pharaoh! He loves Egypt and says he wants to become an Egyptologist.