Hi Everyone,
We've been looking at Egypt for Story of the World and we made a display table complete with a 3D ancient Egyptian temple kindly lent to us by a friend, a crepe paper river Nile and grassy banks, domestic animals, and a playdough pyramid.
It all looks great, and our next project is mummifying an apple. I found a really cool experiment with the Museum of Australia where there are five controlled pieces of apple with a range of variables which you can record on a table and note differences in preservation, weight etc if you wish. This will give a fair understanding of the mummification process in practical terms, and is preferable (to me and my kids) to the 'mummification of a chicken' also recommended.
We looked at the detail and symbolism in the painting above in a fantastic book called Masterpieces in Detail. There are key pieces in this well known painting which are missing or hinted at that give a very clear picture of its context within Ancient Egyptian culture (hunting, hierarchy, tradition etc) which I learned about from reading the detailed account in this book ....fascinating!
I've come across some Ancient Egyptian paper dolls, an Egyptian Cinderella story book, stencils and stickers at the Book Depository which the kiddies can enjoy when they arrive...will keep you posted.
Oh, an update on Alexandra's Cafe Project....
she is still studying business maths, as well as researching recipes and food preparation for the project. She's also decided to organise and host a Cafe Day at our house....I'll be on staff for dishes etc..of course :)
Lex will create a menu with a couple of options for food and drink, set up the house as a cafe would look, and serve her guests with a smile.
She practised on us yesterday with a toasted sandwich for dinner and spiced Vienna Coffee with home baked sponge and cream for dessert...I'm certainly enjoying this experience!!
Will update you on how the day goes with some pics of Lex's gorgeous creations.
Talk Soon, Cynthia x
