History, Pinterest & Pyramids

We have started formal lessons in history this year.  I have been a bit surprised by just how much we all are enjoying learning together.  I have new eyes for this, as history was never a favorite growing up.  I guess it's interesting learning things I never knew and discovering stories from primary sources.

We are using SOTW as an outline, along with an actual timeline and many reference books (Usbourne & Kingfisher) and other primary sources.  I have definitely modified just how we're using SOTW and how we're tracking the globe.  We have taken a stop in Ancient Egypt to go further in depth.  The children are really enjoying making things, watching documentaries (another surprise, as they're rather lengthy and not so 'child' friendly) and reading books on the subject.

We checked out the entire selection of books on Ancient Egypt from our library.  Hopefully no one else in our community needs them for a while.

Last week, during my planning time, I went through my Pinterest board designated for Ancient History.  I must say again, that it's great to find things and know that there all in one place for when I need them!  If you're not on Pinterest, or some other board, I would recommend it as it's definitely a great way to keep things organized.

I found this idea on Pinterest and made plans for my children to do it as well.  Today ended up being the day.  We made pyramids using marshmallows and tooth picks.  Simple, as the supplies were easy to secure. A bit of a challenge, as the children had to figure out just how to create it.  I gave a few suggestions and them let them go for it. Fun, because they got to eat a few as they figured out just how to make it work.

Here are some photos of our time:

Getting Started

Making the base--we found out it should be a square.

Building up in a pyramid shape was a bit challenging, at first.

The Boy finishing his.

Pretty Girl making a larger one.

Sweetie-pie straightening her up a bit.

Finished!

Finished

Finished! (She added an extra tip on top.)

Afterwards I made some hot chocolate (yes, it's that cool here now) to use up the 'extra' marshmallows.  We'll keep them up for Daddy to see once he comes home and then, I guess, I'll let them eat those as well.  SMH. Hopefully they'll remember what we've learned and it won't all be washed away with all that sugar. (smile)

Happy Home Learning!