Captain Science has finished Ancient Egypt, and because I’m always in search of a way to quiz him without really quizzing him, I made a venn diagram for him to sort out a list of people and places from Ancient Egypt into the Old/Middle and New Kingdoms. I uploaded it to Scribd. Check out my awesomeness!

Ancient Egypt Venn Diagram

This is the crossword puzzle I made to review the various Mesopotamian cultures. Much more fun than a fill-in-the-blank quiz, even though that’s essentially what it is.

Mesopotamia Crossword and Answer Key

He’s read the Kingfisher chapters on Ancient Egypt, learned Ancient Egypt-related vocabulary, wrote important Ancient Egyptian dates on the time line, and filled out maps of the Old and New Kingdoms. He read The Great Pyramid. He read The Golden Goblet and is currently reading Mara, Daughter of the Nile. We went to the Carlos Museum where he saw items from all three kingdoms firsthand. Today, he read through the section on Egyptian gods on the Children’s University of Manchester’s Ancient Egypt site. Tomorrow, on that same site (which has several great activities) I might let him use a virtual hook to scoop out virtual brains to make a virtual mummy. He did a keyword outline for each of the ten main gods listed and then wrote a short paragraph (upstairs, based only on his notes and memory) about each of the gods. Next week, we’re doing review and Officer Daddyman would like to build a pyramid with Captain Science. We’re considering Rice Krispy treats as an appropriate building block.

Is this enough? Will he learn every thing he needs to know (in this particular history cycle) about Egypt? How do I know? I know that, in theory, these are the building blocks for deeper study the next go-round, which will be 8th or 9th grade for us), but is our foundation strong enough to build upon? Will I really not know until I come around to it the next time?

I know we’ve covered it in greater depth than the public school. I know this. I really do. Captain Science had a piddlin’ little Egypt unit last year. I’m not just satisfied with “better than public school,” though. I want it to be enough. I want it all to be enough.

If it’s not, however, I’m not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to planning, at least. I’ll just build a better scope and sequence. It’ll end up rigorous enough.

Right? Right?

ETA: Considering ditching Kingfisher and replacing it with the National Geographic Almanac of World History. Or maybe History: The Definitive Visual Guide (From The Dawn of Civilization To The Present Day), because it actually uses BCE, which I prefer. Timelines of World History looks nice as a supplemental, doesn’t it? Maybe I can sell the Kingfisher.