Ancient history is a popular history topic for young children. This is often the first level of a homeschool history curriculum. This year we are enjoying round 2 of BookShark’s Intro to World History curriculum. It’s little sis’s turn to enjoy these great books! This is one of my favorite history levels because there is just so much that can be turned into a field trip, hands-on project, or party school idea no matter where you live. Here are some of our favorite ancient history activities and field trips.
Use the Books
Duh, right?! Many people look outside of curriculum for ideas to expand topics, but these books have so much right in front of us! Usborne’s Peoples of the World is filled with extra hands-on activities and craft ideas with detailed instructions. Look ahead a week or two to give yourself time to gather supplies if needed. These will keep your kids busy with fun ideas to expand on the reading.
Ancient History Activities and Field Trips
Bring it home – While you’re reading about Ancient Egypt and other early civilizations around the Mediterranean Sea, seek out resources to learn about the ancient civilizations that were near where you live. Your local museums, and state and national parks should have exhibits to visit with your kids. If you’re near southern Nevada, the Valley of Fire State Park and the Lost City Museum are fantastic resources.
Ancient Egypt is a very popular museum exhibit, so there’s a good chance you can find something even if you only have a small museum near you. If you live close enough to a big city for a day trip, a visit to a large museum would be well worth the trip. Many of the larger museums have extensive information on their websites that go along with their exhibits. Here is a list of museums with major collections of Egyptian antiquities. Our small museum isn’t on that list, but they still have an Ancient Egypt exhibit that my kids really enjoyed.
We made our own hieroglyphics on scrolls. We used large dowels from the hardware store and a roll of craft paper. The girls used some of the symbols they found in the BookShark books and made up some of their own. This was a fun guessing game to see if others could read the scroll.
Archaeology Activities
Archaeology goes hand in hand with ancient history. Museums often have exhibits, and there may even be an archaeology dig site near you. We actually have several fossil areas near us that are open to the public. A few parks even allow the public to dig! Check here and here to see if there’s one near you. The National Park Service has a list of parks with paleontological resources broken down by state.
For some archaeology fun at home, my kids loved these archaeology dig kits with dinosaur bones that you can put together. Notice in the picture that they’re outside? Yes, these can be a bit messy, but they’re definitely worth it!
If you’re in southern NV, check out Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada State Museum, Valley of Fire State Park, Las Vegas Natural History Museum, and the Lost City Museum for exhibits about ancient civilizations from our area, Ancient Egypt, and archaeology sites.
Explore Regional Food
This BookShark history level will take your kids on a journey through the ancient history periods of China, Greece, Egypt, and the Middle East region. This is a great opportunity to try foods from those areas. Head to your local library for international cookbooks to gather a few new recipes to try.
History, home ec, and math in the kitchen equals YUM! Plus, this is a great way to add a few new recipes to your meal planning routine. Combine these meals with a few of the crafts from the books for a FUN party school day!
If you live in a large city, you may even have whole neighborhoods packed with authentic restaurants and shops. We spent a day in our Chinatown when my oldest did this level a few years ago. We honestly thought we’d be stopping for pizza on the way home after dinner, but they loved it! Chinatown is now their first choice when picking a restaurant for a special occasion.
Other Book Activity Ideas
For this level, the BookShark readers and read alouds don’t always tie in directly with the history. These are just great books that will encourage the love of reading. Here are some fun ideas to go along with some of these books.
Detectives in Togas – Toga party anyone? Combine a little dress up with some Greek food for a fun party school day. We made these wax tablets and practiced writing on them while pretending to be school kids in Ancient Greece and Rome.
Owls in the Family – Are you even a homeschooler if you haven’t dissected owl pellets? Head out for some nature fun to find a few owl pellets to bring home. Even if you live in a city, you can still join in the fun.
Mountain Born – Sheep are the stars of this book. Kids will get a glimpse of making clothes from the wool. Look for local events that may have people who demonstrate this skill. We always find a few at our Renaissance Faire and pioneer day events. Our girls love watching the process!
Homer Price – While my girls would love to create a mountain of doughnuts, they’re also happy with a behind the scenes tour of a doughnut shop. Many small shops love to show off their business to homeschool groups. If you’re feeling brave in the kitchen, you can try your hand at making your own doughnuts. Do you have a favorite doughnut recipe? I think I’m feeling brave this year! My girls are going to flip when they find out we’re making doughnuts. Drop a link in the comments below if you have a great doughnut recipe to share!
Related post – 2nd Grade Homeschool Curriculum Choices
Ancient history and archaeology are such fun topics for kids because there’s so much that can be found no matter where you live. It’s difficult to find field trip ideas for the American Revolution or Civil War time periods unless you’re actually in those parts of the country. Luckily, we don’t have to travel to the Mediterranean Sea for field trip opportunities to go along with ancient history studies.
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