The Phoenicians (SOTW ch. 15)

My favorite chapter so far. Traders, explorers, master builders of ports? Absolutely! Bring it on. We read the bit in SOTW, and then, as usual, we looked for supplemental videos and more detailed sources. Unfortunately we found very little in the way of either, but the following we found pretty useful.

Explorers of the Ancient World, by Anthony Brierley. A fun two page spreads of maps and other illustrations depicting the worlds and adventures of a variety of explorers from a variety of eras, including the Phoenicians and Hanno the Navigator. The written history is short, but well presented. We enjoyed this book very much.

Engineering An Empire is a History Channel series that takes a scientific look at the engineering feats of several different ancient empires. We had already seen Egypt: Engineering an Empire (volume 6), several times in fact, and loved it, so when we found out that there was entire series with an episode dedicated to Carthage, we were pretty excited. The episode on Carthage is shorter, and doesn't quite have the wow factor of the Egypt volume, but it was still very enjoyable. We'd recommend it.

Carthage and the Phoenicians is just a short, shallow look at this ancient civilization, but for those who won't sit still as long it's a great option.

Ancient Civilzations: Egypt (resource list)

Ancient Egypt, from ~3000 bce to ~1000 bce, the beginning of the Old Kingdom to the end of the New Kingdom (April-May 2012)

Topics of focus:
Timeline of Ancient Egypt and its Kingdoms
Names and dates of some pharaohs
Architectural contributions
Mummies
Mythology and religious beliefs
Writing and hieroglyphs

Books:
Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, by Henry Barker (fun list with pictures, easy reader)
The Egyptians (Crafts from the Past)
Encyclopedia Mythologica Gods and Heroes (Sabuda, a beautiful pop-up book, not just Egyptian)
Gods of Ancient Egypt (Dover Coloring Book, fun coloring plus great information)
I am the Mummy Heb-Nefert, by Eve Bunting (beautiful story and illustrations)
Life in Ancient Egypt (Dover Coloring Book, fun coloring with great information)
Ms. Frizzle's Adventures in Ancient Egypt (Magic School Bus)
Mummies and Pyramids (Magic Tree House Fact Tracker)
Mummies in the Morning (Magic Tree House)
Mummies Made in Egypt, by Aliki (wonderful children's book on the mummification process)
Pharaoh's Boat, by David Weitzman (wonderful picture book)
Senefer: A Young Genius in Old Egypt, by Beatrice Lumpkin (loved this, and it's also a living math book)
Tutankhamun (Usborne)

Web and other technology:
Ancient Egypt for Kids (web reading)
Britannica for Kids: Ancient Egypt (iPad app)
Explore Ancient Egypt (the British Museum online)
Explore Ancient Egypt (the Children's University of Manchester online)

Videos online:
The Egyptian Creation Myth (from The Big Myth, on youtube)
History of Egypt Part I (Stephen Shifflet via neok12 online)

Videos via Netflix or Amazon:
Building Pharaoh's Ship (Nova via Amazon)
Egypt: Engineering an Empire (The History Channel via Netflix, this was our favorite)
Empires: Egypt's Golden Empire (PBS via Netflix)

 
Crafts and activities:
Africa and the Middle East puzzle (GeoPuzzle)
Making a book of the dead
Draw like an Egyptian (website/art)
Making a pyramid out of Legos
Keeping a weather chart comparing weather here to weather in Egypt
Making an Egyptian feast (recipes)
Making a mummy and mummy case (clay and paper mache)

Ancient Civilizations: Mesopotamia (a resource list)

Ancient Mesopotamia, from ~3000 b.c.e. to ~1000 b.c.e. (February-March, 2012)

Topics of focus:
Civilization—why it happened, its unique opportunities and problems
Geography
Inventions
Laws
Mythology and religious beliefs
Sumerian cuneiform
Timeline of events and rulers
Ziggurats

Book/reading resources:
Archaeology for Kids (Richard Panchyk)
The Epic of Gilgamesh (pdf)
Gilgamesh the Hero (Geraldine McCaughrean)
Gilgamesh the King (Ludmila Zeman)
The Last Quest of Gilgamesh (Ludmila Zeman)
The Revenge of Ishtar (Ludmila Zeman)
The Story of the World (Susan Wise Bauer)
The Story of the World Activity Book (Susan Wise Bauer)

Websites
Ancient Mesopotamia for Kids (mrdonn.org)
Cooking ancient recipes (Archaeology.org)
The Egyptian creation story (The Big Myth)
Explore Mesopotamia (The British Museum)
Sumerian cuneiform alphabet (Calligraphylearn.com)
Sumerian cuneiform numbers (itstlawu.edu)

Videos online
Ancient Mesopotamia: A Timeline (YouTube)
Ancient Sumerian Civilization, animated (YouTube)
Ancient Ur, part 1 (YouTube)
Ancient Ur, part 2 (YouTube)
The Epic of Gilgamesh, animated (YouTube)
People and Places: Mesopotamia (National Geographic Kids online)


Videos via disc or streaming
Legacy: The Origins of Civilization, Episode one: Iraq (Michael Wood via Netflix)
Michael Wood: In Search of Myths and Heroes, Episode One: The Queen of Sheba  (PBS via Netflix)

Activities/crafts
Building a Ziggurat out of Lego blocks
Geo Puzzles (Africa and the Middle East)
Enjoying exhibits at nearby museum (DIA)
History Pockets: Ancient Civilizations (Evan-Moor activity book)
Making an ancient Mesopotamian feast
Making cuneiform clay tablets
Reading, coloring, reading, drawing, reading, writing, and more reading

Weekly book shelf 3/9/12

Weekly topic reading:

Gilgamesh the King, The Revenge of Ishtar, and The Last Quest of Gilgamesh make up this trilogy that tells the Epic of Gilgamesh in picture book format. It's a fun way to approach the epic; the illustrations really add to the feel of the era. That being said, Calvin says he enjoyed the chapter book format (listed below) even better. (History)

This one is really dense with fantastic informaton. It covers exactly what it says in its subtitle: from foraging to farming. The information is great, but we did a lot of skimming because it was pretty text heavy for a young child. (History)

Reading to himself:

Geraldine McCaughrean is known for her ability to bring archaic texts to kids without completely washing out their original appeal. If you are looking purely for authenticity, then no, this is not the book for you. And I haven't ever studied any of the texts that are considered relatively authentic so I cannot really draw comparison, but this book maintains some of the integrity of the epic while making it accessible for middle elementary readers. Beware, though—keeping its integrity means there is a bit of violence and gore. Calvin loved it. (History)

Reading out loud:

Here is another classic that probably needs no introduction. Norton Juster's award winning story of a boy who travels through a magical world full of whimsy. It is probably best known for its hilarious word play, and that is the reason it so well loved around here.