Find Joy. Seek Truth. Be Kind.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Egypt, King Tut, and I LOVE THE WEB

Today we went to see the King Tut exhibit at the Denver Art Museum. It's a bit of drive from here to there, especially since, after an exceptionally mild winter, this morning we woke to a blowing snow storm. We had already bought our nonrefundable tickets, so off we went, despite the weather. It was a long trip, especially for my husband who drove (thanks honey!), but it went by fast for us.

On the way we listened to Peeps at Many Lands: Egypt, by R. Talbot Kelly. I found it at My Audio School, and down loaded it at LibriVox. When we got to the exhibit, my kids had already had a taste of what Ancient Egyptian life was like. The whole exhibit was so much more enjoyable because of this knowledge.

It's an older book (~1910, which is why it's in the public domain) and so it was written before King Tut's tomb was found. It was also written from an Anglican British perspective for British school children. This let us talk about bias in books, both because of cultural bias and the limits of existing knowledge. I was glad to have the chance to explain again why we should always examine our sources.

We finished the book on the drive today, and after we got home tonight I thought I'd see what else I could find. Just at LibriVox I found these that look like they might be good for kids studying Egypt:

The Cat of Bubastes
Cleopatra
Egyptian Tales, Translated from the Papyri

Sometimes people ask me "What curriculum should I use?" or "How much does it cost to homeschool?"

It doesn't cost more than a library card, internet access (free at the library!) and some foot work. I don't buy a boxed curriculum. I save my money for an audio player and tickets to the museum. :-)

Where do you turn to for good free homeschooling resources?

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