We just finished lesson 154 in our Ancient Egypt curriculum. Overall it has been a great year and we have all learned a lot about Ancient Egypt. The two main “spine” books that we have used throughout the year are the suggested “The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt” and “Ancient Egypt and Her Neighbors”. I have the first book as a physical softcover copy and the second as the audio book. We are enjoying both but I am noticing that perhaps they overlap a bit in their timelines (for instance in lesson 145 we listened about Howard Carter’s discover of King Tutankamun in Ancient Egypt and Her Neighbors) yet we won’t get to King Tutankamun in “The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt” for a while. I am starting to feel a little confused by who came first, second, who is related to who and what set them apart, etc.
I’d like to know if anyone has something that has helped them see the overall picture of the Pharaohs to be studied so that I could see where we are going a little bit more? I’m starting to really get them muddled in my mind despite the retelling and narrations. I guess what I am looking for are some thoughts on the overall picture and goal we are going for in studying this together. I know in the future we won’t remember all the details of all the Pharaohs. Help me sort out the main points to come away with by the end of the year. Thanks!
We had the same issue with Pharaoh’s and ended up dropping it. My DC enjoyed Ancient Egypt and Her Neighbors much more. Is there a timeline in the Pharaoh’s book that could help or could you make one? We’ve done little bookmark timelines and found them helpful (you just keep them in the book you are reading).
HollyS, A bookmark timeline is a great idea, thank you! I was just thinking last night about perhaps dropping Pharaoh’s and simply continuing with Ancient Egypt and Her Neighbors. Although we are really enjoying it as a audio book I do realize how that format makes it harder to go back and “re-read” so to speak something that wasn’t clear or something we want to re-reference later if we get confused. Perhaps just following one main book will help with this and also help us to wrap up by the end of the month which was my goal anyway.
I focus less on the specific people and more on the heart issues. We use TQ so the emphasis is on the Big 2 Beliefs…Who is God (or god) and Who is mankind. The way the people answer these questions will determine their decisions. It really shows the consequences of our beliefs. I wouldn’t worry about not keeping them all straight.
In my opinion, the most important part of Egyptian history is to study it in light of the Bible. This is the history Moses would have learned in Pharaoh’s household. This is the belief system that God’s people were surrounded by during the years of their enslavement. This is the belief system that pharaoh’s daughter would have brought to her marriage with Solomon. Hagar was an egyptian. A pharaoh took Sarai from Abram. It is essential that our kids understand that the Bible is real history about real people. We need to help them make those connections.
I find it’s easier to keep track of “periods” in Egyptian history. And maybe one or two pharaohs from that time period really stand out. I wouldn’t necessarily push that on my kids, but it is good for me. It helps me keep everything straight. Well, as straight as one can keep Egypt’s history. 🙂 The egyptian timelines are still not agreed upon by all scholars so don’t worry too much about dates. Just try to get a general outline in your head about when they were powerful and when they were overtaken. Keep some personalities in mind, some of the more interesting characters in the narrative of Egyptian history.
Thank you RobinP, I totally agree, that is a great place to focus. Thank you also for the reminder of TQ, I have the teachers manual and I’ve been using it from time to time for book suggestions but I’ll have to pull it out and look at it more again :).
Yes totally, the Bible! My husband has been taking on the Bible lessons and I have loved that but I think because I haven’t been the one teaching it I kind of forgot that was all a part of this history lesson too so it helps me to remember that all of that really good truth is being learned this year as well as the historical stuff.
Thank you for the link Kathleen! I have been interested to read the book Unwrapping the Pharaohs but I have not at this point. The dating is confusing indeed. In some ways it has made me not even want to record stuff in our timelines related to Egypt because some of it seems so off from Biblical history yet I do like seeing the chronological unfolding of Pharaohs and such.