Our studies of ancient Egypt have come at a wonderful time for us...we always struggle at this time of year to find good costume ideas, and then I waste about two weeks thinking about how I should definitely get started on costumes and buy fabric and get organized, only to cram costume preparation into the last three days before Halloween.  This year...things become even more complicated as we leave for 11 days in Florida on the 20th of October...meaning that I don't even have the last two weeks before Halloween to lose my mind.  And, umm, unfortunately, I now have less than a week to pull it all together in order to have it done before we leave. 

We started looking at costume ideas yesterday.  Sigh.

One of the (many, many) things I love about My Father's World is that when you learn about a subject, especially in history, you read about it in three or four different places before you ever open a book from the book basket.  The book basket expands upon what you've read even further.  By the time you finish studying a topic, you've read it in so many different ways and from so many different perspectives, you literally have no choice but to remember it!  Don't you wish you had learned history in that way??  I hated history growing up.  I am nearly certain I hated it because I despised reading textbooks. Do you remember sitting at your desk in grade four, reading the information about...let's say, New York State...from your textbook, then answering 10 comprehension questions at the end of the section in proper question/answer form??   I truly don't remember rich literature experiences in elementary school regarding...well, much of anything...but certainly not history.  If you ask my kids what subject they love...they'll tell you history.  I am sure things have changed in the public schools in terms of how literature is used.  I can say that because I know what I did in the classroom after I started teaching.  But...I know that my kids will remember ancient Egypt from their Fifth Grade studies.  

Their Halloween costumes this year will remind them too. :)  During our research, Bryson decided that mummies are disgusting.  When you're a 7-year-old boy...that is so cool. He will be King Tut's mummy, of course.  Lainie?  An Egyptian Princess (which will look an awful lot like a Greek Goddess...but we'll get to Greek culture this year too...).  All that bling!!  And Reasa...she has been thinking Cleopatra.  Today, she saw a cowgirl costume...I'm trying to talk her out of it.  We'll see.

Can I just mention how glad I am that this year marks the first Halloween completely devoid of frilly princess or fairy costumes??!  Hooray for Creation to the Greeks!!