Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Egypt Homeschool Freebies

As I mentioned before,  Group's Holy Land Adventure VBS for next summer (2016) will once again be Egypt: Joseph's Journey.  This was the first Holy Land VBS our church did back in 2010, and I LOVED it.

As some know, I'm now a homeschooling mom, and I keep coming across great homeschool freebies about Egypt.  Some could be used at VBS too, though most wouldn't work well for that.  But if you have a homeschooler, there's a good chance that if they attend this VBS it could spark an interest in Ancient Egypt.  Below are a few homeschool freebies you might want to save, just in case.    Not sure how long these will remain free, so I'm sharing these now even though next summer is a LONG ways away.  Will add more to this page as I find them.


Homeschool Freebies 

Hieroglyphics Font
This is free for personal or classroom use (or $3 for for a commercial license). 

THE CATCH:  You have to register with Teachers Pay Teachers to download any freebies there.

Science and Ancient Egypt - The Nile
This unit by Dr. Dave's Science looks SO COOL.  There are pictures, charts, and it's just crammed with info, written just as well as any kids book I've read on the subject.   If you have a children who are into science more than history, this would be great to pull them in (or vice versus).

I could also see this being informative to your volunteers at VBS.  The Hieroglyphics shopkeeper might enjoy the part about papyrus, and the bakery shop be able to use in the info on the bread, which is probably a little more detailed than what's in the Group materials.

If you like this one he has 6 other Unit Studies about science and Ancient Egypt  (covering Kilns and Metals, Astronomy, The Animals of Ancient Egypt, Tools, Mummies, and The Pyramids).

THE CATCH:  You have to register with Teachers Pay Teachers to download any freebies there.  This doesn't necessarily come with a newsletter though (I think you can opt out in preferences).


 Ancient Egypt Lapbook by Homeschool Share
 This is a lesson plan and lapbook unit covering all sorts of Egyptian things (mummies, gods and goddesses, hieroglyphics, occupations, homes, etc.

NO CATCH - Completely free and nothing to sign up for!






King Tut - Ancient Egypt Unit (Limited Time)
This free printable is for ages 8 - 12.  It has a very pared down Egyptian timeline, a page of information on hieroglyphics and another couple pages onKing Tut, with worksheets to go along with these.  It has two math worksheets (one translating Egyptian numbers, and another with "pyramid math" doing a combination of addition and multiplication.   It also has a map of modern Egypt and some activities with that.  Not much you could use for VBS but a lot of great stuff for homeschool.


THE CATCH:  You must be a member of Educents (free) to get this freebie.  DISCLOSURE:  The link above is an affiliate linkThat means if you order something else through Educents within a certain amount of time I get a commission on it, though of course I get 0 on freebies like this. 

Hieroglyphics Secret Message
This free worksheet by Super Teacher Tactics I could see being a fun send home for kids in VBS...and of course, great for homeschoolers too.

THE CATCH:  You have to register with Teachers Pay Teachers to download any freebies there.  This doesn't necessarily come with a newsletter though (I think you can opt out in preferences).



My Book About Egypt
A copywork book with facts about modern and Ancient Egypt.  It would be great for homeschoolers coordinating a study of Egypt with VBS, but not so much for use in VBS.  Uses ball and stick print lettering.

THE CATCH:  Must subscribe to get the Freebie.




VBS Egypt Guide
I wrote this guide for our own volunteers when we did VBS.  Since Joseph's Journey has a lot of witnessing focus (encouraging kids to talk to the people in the marketplace about what they believe), I tried to include things from Egyptian religion that would be helpful to those in the marketplace.  I also included info on social structure and class (again, useful if you're playing an Egyptian) and included lots of info and pictures to help with decorating.  This guide, however, might be useful to homeschoolers too.  And the credits list at the end has some excellent resources for learning more.

THE CATCH:  No catch!  This is totally free to use.  You can print as many as you need, and if you want to change something on this you are welcomed to copy it and make whatever changes you like, BUT I do ask that you keep the credits I left at the end (the pictures were allowed to be used with the understanding that those credits would be there).  Also, of course, this is for non-commercial use (if you charge for VBS or work for a private school, you can still use this, but please don't sell it, that's all). 






Other Recommended Resources 
These aren't free, but are worth the price.


Warfare by Ducktape - Egypt  (Ends 8/3/13)
This book shows how to make 7 different Egyptian weapons using duct tape and other easy to find supplies, plus shows how to make various armor and costume items.  I downloaded this back when it was a freebie, and loved it.  It would be really helpful in making costumes for VBS. 

COST:  $15.99 for paperback book or $9.95 for a printable download. 








This post is shared on Throwback Thursday.

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

History Related Giveaways


For history lovers and homeschoolers, I wanted to share about some giveaways going on at Educents right now. They have over a dozen Humanities giveaways going on right now, three specifically related to History: One for History Box (a monthly history subscription service that looks like a lot of fun for kids), another for Bethlehem Books (which have a lot of great Christian historical books for kids) and one for a Friends and Heroes history unit (I've never been much for "Heroizing" history but the videos I've seen of these are fun. They're all on the same page...so expect a lot of load time.