When I wrote this post about our Montessori-inspired
African-themed playroom back in January, I promised to do regular posts about
all of the different themed units we'd explore throughout the year.
Now, I'm sitting here A) Trying to figure out how it’s September
already and B) Determined to catch up on all of the posts I’ve planned but not
actually gotten around to this year.
So, I’m introducing Montessori Monday. Yep, each week I’m
going to share a Montessori-inspired post and I’m starting with a little
themed-activity we did at the end of last year. (If you look closely you'll see Halloween decorations in the background of one photo!)
I get so much inspiration from online – other blogs,
especially, but also the wonderful, creative people I’ve come to know on
Instagram. My friend, Melanie, posted a
photo of some Egyptian activities they were doing (their Homeschooling
constantly inspires me) and I got really, really excited about the idea of making pyramids
with my boys. This was my first attempt at a themed series of activities.
So, I present to you our Montessori-inspired Egyptian
Studies...

I set up a little section in the playroom as our cultural
studies area. We made an Egyptian flag, located Egypt on our mini-globe and
collected a range of related, interesting items.
These included: the photograph Liam’s Godparents
took of Abu Simbel, some painted parchments Uncle Nick bought for us on his
visit, some pictures we found online, Egyptian-themed alphabet cards and a few
African animals.
I also printed a hieroglyphic alphabet and set up a sand
tray for the boys to trace the shapes of the hieroglyphics in. The pyramids are
from Uncle Nick too.
We visited the library and borrowed a few books about the
country, the pyramids and mummies. Discussion of mummification can be a little
overwhelming for little ones. I kept the
talk basic but factual and simply explained that different cultures have different ways
of saying goodbye to those who have died and preparing them for the afterlife.
The library books helped us to colour in Tutankhamun too.
The finally activity in our studies was to plan and prepare for an International Food Night. We researched traditional Egyptian recipes and then made Bamya – an Egyptian Meat and Okra Stew, Ful – a
national dish of broad beans that can be cooked in a tomato or garlic sauce, Koushari – which is an
interesting mix of lentils, macaroni, rice, and chickpeas.
Had I wanted to arrange all of these activities in Montessori categories it would have been like this:
Math
Pyramid construction using paper templates
Pyramid construction with Crazy Forts
Language
Stories & Guidebooks about Egypt
Alphabet cards with related terminology
Hieroglyphic alphabet and letter decoding
Geography/Culture
Globe
Geography/Culture
Globe
Flag
Objects from Egypt
Food research
Science
African animals
Objects from Egypt
Food research
Science
African animals
(Mummification)
Sensorial
Recipes & International Food Night
Photographs
Colouring In
African animals
African animals
Pyramid construction with Crazy Forts
We finished the unit really hoping we'll all get to visit Egypt some day. Have you been?
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