Flooding the Nile River

This week we did our second Story of the World segment which was about early Egypt.  We talked about the two kingdoms of Egypt and how they were eventually joined together under one king known as the Pharoh. We read the myth of Osiris and Isis.  Given the conversations that followed I would have been happier skipping the myth.  We may do so with future chapters.  The most significant part of the reading was devoted to explaining what made Egypt an ideal location for an early civilization, the annual floods of the Nile.

To bring home the learning, each child made a replica of the Nile that they were able to flood themselves.

We prefilled containers with dirt.  Then each child was asked to create a riverbed for the Nile.  We looked at the map focusing on the delta near the Mediterranean.

Once the riverbed was created, we lined it with foil to actually contain the water.

Then the farmers aka children planted their crops 

Then the floods came. 

 and receded leaving nicely tended fields.

 

 The patient farmers tended their crops as the waters receeded. One poor farmer had her fields totally flooded out. We told her the farm was too close to the riverbank and helped her rebuild father away (ie we pulled seeds out of the river and replanted.

As an end to our session we read A Journey Down the Nile  by one of my favorite authors, Laurie Krebs.  We love all her books and this one is no exception.  The map at the back is the one we used to draw our rivers. 

Come and share your adventures in time and space at History/Geography Exchange at Children Grow, Children Explore, Children Learn.