Usborne Internet-Linked Books
Our program
from My Father’s World is based on “real books” (as opposed to traditional
textbooks – this is a Charlotte Mason concept, whose educational model we try
to follow), and one of them is what’s called an internet-linked book from Usborne publishers.
The book we’re
using, Ancient World, is currently
teaching us about mummies and pyramids in ancient Egypt. We can read the
material in the book, then log on to www.usborne.com/quicklinks to
learn more online.
We simply
type “Ancient World” in the search box, find the book, then browse by page number
to view links to pictures, articles, videos, and activities that relate to the
pages we’ve just read from the book.
Today,
after finishing pages 12-13 in the book, we logged on to watch a video about
the tombs of ancient Egypt from National Geographic. Then, we played a game in
which you had to properly embalm a mummy in order to send him to the
afterlife.
No password or purchase is necessary to view the Quick Links pages, so
take a look around!
There are
several print and electronic magazines available to homeschoolers and their families,
and many have at least some material available for free. Here are a few that
we like:
Homeschooling
Today:
The Old
Schoolhouse:
Practical
Homeschooling:
Homeschool
Magazine:
Home
Education Magazine:
Home School
Enrichment:
Heart of
the Matter:
Field Trip to Aunt Ann’s House!
Lego Land
http://kansas.legolanddiscoverycenter.com/kansascity
(...and then, I got lazy with the camera...)
Kansas
City Aquarium
Deanna
Rose Children’s Farmstead
Fiorella’s
Jack Stack BBQ Restaurant
Cinzetti’s
Sunday Brunch
The Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt
Did you know
that in ancient times, Egypt was separated into two distinct nations, Upper
Egypt and Lower Egypt? I had no idea.
Did you know
that Upper Egypt was in the south and Lower Egypt was in the north? Me –
totally clueless.
Did you
further know that Upper and Lower Egypt were so named because the Nile River
flows from south to north, terminating in the Mediterranean Sea? Again, I was
unaware. Who even knew rivers could flow from south to north?
Isaac,
Simon, and Esme are pictured above re-enacting the unification of Upper and
Lower Egypt. Isaac portrayed Menes, the victor over Simon, and Esme was a
queen. There were no actual queens in our lesson, but we tried not to dwell on
that. Or on the fact that Isaac won and Simon lost. Or on the tragedy of Grace ripping Esme’s crown in half shortly
after this photo was taken.
