Here is one of our first completed videos from our spring Ancient History tour and one of the first official Go and Tell Network videos. Below the video you will see a host of suggestions for additional resources for kids who might be interested in ancient history.
Please kids, parents and teachers share this with friends and write a comment to tell us what you love about the subject. And please feel free to suggest other books or videos, or some interesting projects you’ve done, that bring the subject to life. You can even share your own photos or maybe even a drawing related to the subject. And if you have a video related to this, let us know. We may be able to post it along with this one.
We will share your suggestions and we hope as time goes on this site can become a collection of knowledge on the subject and a place where kids can tell about what they know and love and teach other kids in the process.
All Levels
BOOKS
Pyramid by David Macauly
This is a fictionalized account of what probably went into building one of the pyramids. The story is instructive, but the sketches are the real draw. You feel as if you’re on the construction site every step of the way. We studied the book before we went to Egypt to get a better idea of the drama, the physics and the human sweat behind the pyramids.
Pyramid by James Putnam
Like all the DK Eyewitness books, this one provides an enormous amount of information succinctly through photos and short text blocks.
Ancient Egypt by George Hart
Another DK Eyewitness book. We used this book extensively while studying Ancient Egypt. We had good pictures to refer to when words weren’t quite enough. It comes with a poster that we hung on our classroom wall so that we could keep important concepts in mind as we studied.
The Kingfisher Atlas of the Ancient World
I love maps and try to share that with the boys. I love this book because it helps me visualize where the important places in ancient times were in relation to one another. Plus there are lots of geographical details, such as information on the annual flooding of the Nile and the importance of the Nubian gold mines.
Egyptology: Search for the Tomb of Osiris by Emily Sands
This oversized novelty book is supposed to be the scrapbook of a young woman on a mysterious expedition in Egypt in the 1920s. Filled with pull-out maps and colorful fold-outs, the book includes a variety of information for all ages—from the rules of the Egyptian game Senet (and even playing pieces) and an excerpt from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Moreover, it encourages a sense of exploration and adventure.
DVDs
National Geographic: Into the Great Pyramid
The next best thing to going inside the pyramid yourself is watching this video. It gives you the musty, claustrophobic sense of the interior, with narrow passages and dark nooks and crannies.
Ancient Egyptians
This fascinating series uses CGI animation to fill in the ruins of famous temples and retells stories of battles and palace intrigue in an immediate, life-like way. The actors even speak in an approximation of the ancient language
Elementary
Mummies in the Morning by Mary Pope Osborne
Part of the Magic Treehouse series, this book is an ideal introduction to the pyramids and the customs of ancient Egypt. We read this early on—before we were even thinking of a trip to the pyramids and even before we were thinking of homeschooling.
Mummies and Pyramids by Mary Pope Osborne
A factual companion to Jack and Annie’s fictional escapades in Mummies in the Morning. A good way to reinforce the information in the adventure narrative.
Spend the Day in Ancient Egypt: Projects and Activities that Bring the Past to Life by Linda Honan
The book introduces kids to a fictional family as they go about their day in Ancient Egypt, allowing the author to discuss many of the traditions and routines of life there. I bought this book years ago and we did some of the activities when the boys were little—such as writing in hieroglyphics. But by the time we were delving into ancient Egypt in earnest, preparing for our trip, the boys seemed too old for many of the projects. However, I did find interesting tidbit here that didn’t come up in other books, such as how women wore perfume cones on their heads that scented their hair as they melted.
Pyramid Blocks by Haba
The boys have loved these blocks since they got them about eight years ago. I don’t know how many times they’ve built their own pyramid with these solid wood blocks. A great introduction to the pyramid shape and how the pieces must fit together just so to get that wonderful shape. Comes with a sphinx and a few palm trees—for ambience.
Elementary and Middle School
The Story of the World: Volume 1: Ancient Times by Susan Wise Bauer
We have this wonderful series on audio tape, along with a workbook for additional activities and reading. Listening to the soothing narrator was a relaxing change of pace from having our noses in books. The story of the ancient world is told in a very approachable way, with central characters brought to life.
Middle School and up
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
Here, Riordan does much the same for Egyptian gods as he did for Greek mythology in Percy Jackson and the Olympians: weave history and legend into an exciting modern narrative. The boys ate up the book and were surprisingly well-versed in all the gods and goddesses before we even sat down to study them in earnest.
High School
Ozymandias by Shelley
The famous poem refers to the colossi in Luxor and emphasizes how Ancient Egypt has fascinated the world for centuries.
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Shiff
In this celebrated book—published in 2010—we delve into the life of Egypt’s last pharaoh, and in the process learn fascinating details about life along the Nile eons ago. Books like this are the best way to absorb history; an older student will appreciate the quality of the writing and the research.
“King Tut’s Family Secrets,” by Zahi Hawass; National Geographic, September 2010
This story discusses new genetic findings regarding the royal line, with mesmerizing photos of Tut’s mummified ancestors.
Fabulous videos narrated by the boys ! Fun to watch,, AND educational. What perfect ages your boys are to do all these adventures. Didn’t see these videos until after I emailed you the Chandlers update of Egypt yesterday.
Will watch, with interest, for more videos.