No unit study is complete without adding a little pixie dust. What do I mean by pixie dust? Well, the fun parts of learning: the hands-on, creative, get dirty parts. These are the parts your kids love and the parts that cause you to secretly cringe when thinking about the mess they will create. But, today you’re going to let go of your ideas of a clean house and enjoy the messy fun of Ancient Egypt Subscription Boxes and Kits, because this momma is all about having all the supplies shipped to my door.
Ancient Egypt Subscription Boxes and Kits
Pharoah’s Unboxed by History Unboxed
NOTE: This box has changed since we used it and has different items included.
I purchased two of these kits. The Pharaohs Unboxed (for 5-9-year-olds) for my 8-year-old and the Pharaohs Unboxed (for 10-15-year-olds) for my 11-year-old. We definitely needed a box for each child, as they weren’t able to share the products. However, there was very little difference in the kits. The Pharaohs Unboxed (for 5-9-year-olds) had a papyrus drawing of Nefertiti to paint versus a papyrus drawing of King Tutankhamen for the older kids (which they each spent hours painting). The introductory materials were also slightly different.
The kits also included a neat sundial project. All materials were included (even the pencil!). We had to use a little geometry and learn protractor skills to make our sundial. Then we took them outside to test them out. And they worked!
Other items included in the kit were stickers that we used on our timeline, a hieroglyph bookmark, a family tree of the gods and a full-color booklet with instructions and additional information.
Handmade Paper and Journals
NOTE: This box is no longer available from Doodle Crate. I have linked to an alternative kit.
We are a family of subscription box addicts (at last count we were at 5!). But the Kiwi Crate line is most definitely a favorite here. We not only have a subscription to all the lines, but we purchase them to give as gifts as well.
Strictly speaking, the Paper Journal Kit isn’t an ancient Egypt project. However, we had just finished our study of papyrus and how the early Egyptians used it to make a type of paper. And we had discussed that the origins of our word paper actually come from the word papyrus. And, well, it looked like a lot of fun.
The crate came with enough supplies to make approximately three paper journals. It also came with colored paper, but we have specific color tastes in this family and opted to shred our own.
The most difficult part of the whole process was stuffing all the paper into the bottle and then getting all the paper “mush” out of the bottle and onto the tray.
The girls shaped and pressed their paper into rectangular shapes and then let them sit out to dry overnight.
When it was time to make the covers for the journals, we opted instead to cut out shapes from our “homemade paper” and glue them onto the provided cardstock.
The last step was to sew the covers and filler paper together. This was a huge hit. The girls have now vowed that they will be making several more of these for family members.
Ancient Egyptian Excavation Kit
NOTE: This kit is no longer available. I have linked to an alternative kit.
This was great fun. The girls excavated their mummies and then mummified them. I know, a little backward, but the girls loved it. Watch all the fun in the video.
Join me tomorrow on our last day of the How To Teach Ancient Egyptian History In A Way Your Kids Will Love Series, where we will add some more pixie dust in the form of feasting! Subscribe below so you don’t miss any posts.
Hi, I’m Dachelle. I’m a homeschooling mom of 3 in the South. I love chocolate and have been known to hide it from my children. I can often be found reading a good book (or even sometimes just an okay book) and enjoying a jar of Nutella — don’t judge. I blog, here, at HideTheChocolate.com when I’m not creating book clubs and making lists…lots and lots of lists (it’s an addiction). Learn more…
The excavation kit sounds like so much fun! I had no idea there were subscription boxes for Ancient Egypt. It sounds like the perfect way to get kids involved in history and learning.
Thanks, Brooke. It was so much fun. It was our first History Unboxed. Now I’m curious to try others.
Such wonderful resources! And great memories you are making with your kids. 🙂 Thanks for sharing at Literacy Musing Mondays.