We read about a couple of lesser know Pharaohs, well one was actually a woman named Hatshepsut. The girls were pretty impressed with her declaring that she was staying on the throne, even though it was unheard of for a woman to rule in those days. She told the people to think of her as a man, dressed like one and even wore a beard when she was on the throne. Hatshepsut you rock! The girls were horrified to learn that the only positions available to women back then was as a wife/mother, a dancer or working in the temple. They understand that there is nothing wrong with those occupations but they didn't like that the women didn't have a choice.
They added a lapbooking piece to their history notebooks, courtesy of The Chronicle of the Earth blog.
We also read online that apparently all Egyptians wore makeup, and that included children. Black kohl which was used to outline the eyes as it wasn’t only makeup; it protected the eyes from the blinding Egyptian sunlight. Green and blue eyeshadow, along with red lipstick and blush was worn for special occasions by the ladies. So of course ...
Yes, I even logged onto YouTube and played them "Walk Like an Egyptian" by the Bangles. Again a pretty impressive "female" band ... there seemed to be a theme, but I assure you it was by accident.
And then cause I am just weird like that, I had them pretend they were mummies ... took AGES for The Fashionista to stop giggling for me to get a shot! Agent Smelly is such a good little actress and can immediately get into the mood for any shot.
If I had of been more prepared, cause we decided to dress up at the last minute, I would have had some of those big necklaces printed out for them to decorate and wear but instead we just settled for some of my old chunky gold jewellery that now lives in the dress up box.
In case you are wondering, yes our dress up box is HUGE! Forget spending a load of money that children outgrow, invest in lots of dress ups, doesn't have to be expensive, we have material, second-hand clothing, you name it in ours. When friends visit the kids always end up dressing up.
Some links in case anyone wants them:
Egyptian headband
http://www.firstpalette.com/tool_box/printables/egyptheadband.html
Pharoah Headdress
http://www.firstpalette.com/Craft_themes/Wearables/pharaohheaddress/pharaohheaddress.html