Story of the World, Vol. 1, Chapter 24

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We spread the study of The Wars of the Greeks or Chapter 24 over two weeks. It just happened that way. I read this chapter to them but we did not do the map work right away. We were reading recommended books from previous chapters at the time. I like reading the lesson and the extra books in an offset fashion. It keeps reminding us of previous chapters, where we came from. We also got busy with other projects and a week went by.

Soap Bar Sculpture Supplies

Soap Bar Sculpture Supplies

When we got back to it, it was all about the craft project: carving our first Greek “stone” sculpture… out of a soap bar. 

We gathered the supplies and went to work. Shaving was a new technique for us. I used these children’s knives from Amazon (affiliate link). We use them in the kitchen when they want to help me cut up fruits and vegetables. They work for bread, too. And, apparently, they can also be used for carving into soap.

My daughter was caught up in her play with felts – we had just finished a Bible story about the sheep and goats and there were several modern-day felts. So she decided I should make her sculpture. Since art is a growth area for me, I chose to follow Susan Wise Bauer’s instructions to make a simple fish design.

My son decided he was going to make a king standing in front of a city he recently conquered. Then, he noticed there was not enough room for the king. So he drew the building on the soap and started carving. It was harder than he thought, but he did not give up. When he finally got tired of carving, I suggested that he keep more of the soap and just enlarge the building. I helped him a bit and then we washed off the marker lines.

Soap Castle Gate

Soap Castle Gate

We re-read the story of the battle of Marathon and I made it a point to tell them about the word marathon we use today. Etymology is one of my favorite linguistic fields. I find it fascinating. Thus ended another history lesson.

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