Story of the World, Volume 1, Chapter 2

Chapter 2 of Story of the World Volume 1 is called “Egyptians Lived on the Nile River.” It would be really easy to spend three months on this chapter. We spent almost three weeks.

I read the first section to them, “Two Kingdoms Become One,” and we looked at our wall world map to locate Egypt and the Nile river. We did the map work recommended, Student Page 6. With that fresh in mind, we built a model of the Nile according to the directions given in the Activity Book. My Egyptians got very sow-happy with the grass seed, as you can see from the picture.

Nile River Model

Our Nile River Model, Day 1. I should probably take pictures in three weeks, too.

We read “The Longest River” as a substitute book for “The Nile River,” but it seemed extremely dry and boring. I’m all for nonfiction books. Yet, my children just could not get excited about this one. Not all nonfiction books are created equal, obviously. 

What I learned through this switch is that, if my library does not have a particular title, I may have to buy it. The library’s “equivalent” may be free, but we may not get anything out of it, either.

The Nile River Map

Map Work

It helps that during our Bible class/devotional we are working through Old Testament stories. Egypt gets mentioned again and again. The idolatry, the abundance of water and crops, etc.

So I made the connection for them with the Nile. I think it gives the kids a better understanding of our history lessons. I really like linking our subjects through the backbone of history.

One other craft I found cute and easy to make, relatively speaking, is a pharaoh’s headdress inspired by this blog.

Pharaoh's Headdress

My daughter wearing the headdress we put together.

I read the second section to them a few days later – “Gods of Ancient Egypt.” My son said he enjoyed the story. A few days passed before I asked him to color the Osiris and Set coloring page. He remembered the story and told me the plot in one sentence. I did not even have to ask him.

These narration exercises are interesting to me because sometimes I have to ask him questions to get him to talk about the story, while other times I don’t need to do anything. He just starts talking about it and gives me the story in a nutshell.

We also read Egyptian Gods and Goddesses and found it rather creepy. The kids were almost afraid of some of the pictures in there. We did not read it again. Usually, we read books several times. Not this one.

Osiris and Set

My son chose to color only the coffin. I thought it was a great way to summarize the story and emphasize the main idea.

As you can tell, I am still getting used to the whole teaching process. There are so many things to prepare and so many manipulatives to bring out. Then, the lesson itself happens super fast. My children move on to other things and I am left to clean up the mess. We went outside on the patio to prepare the Nile river model. The sandbox is on the patio, too. As soon as we flooded the Nile and watered the grass seed, the kids moved on to the sand box. I was happy, because my other goal was for them to play outside after we finished history. So it worked out.

I am explaining this lest my readers think I have it all figured out and brim with self-confidence. I don’t. It’s OK to tackle this homeschooling thing with butterflies in your stomach. It really is.

As you can tell from his map work and coloring page, I don’t require perfection. He is only six and I accept his best effort and praise him for it. Just because we study ancient history in the first grade and lean towards classical education does not mean we are perfectionists.

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2 thoughts on “Story of the World, Volume 1, Chapter 2

  1. Hello …

    I am looking for those exact same print outs as my workbook is missing those pages (I bought it used and didn’t know it was missed about 10 pages out of the student workbook section). Where did you find them. I need the map and the Osiris and Set coloring page link. Any help would be AMAZING! I def plan on searching your blog further when I have more time too. This is my first time homeschooling so any tips and tricks I can find I am all for. Thanks so much for your help. Have a great weekend!

    Abby

    • Hello Abby,
      I bought my workbook new, so I found the map and the coloring page in the back, under activities. Hmmm… not sure how I can help there. I am only allowed to photocopy those pages for my children. For the map, you can print out a simple map of the Middle East or just look at an atlas. As for the coloring page, I would Google the phrase “Osiris and Set coloring pages.” Or go to Pinterest and search for it. Welcome to homeschooling! Feel free to poke around at my blog by using the Categories on the right side. If you have specific questions, you can leave me a comment or drop me an email. Look under Contact.

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