This post was sponsored by The Women Bloggers and Kendal King Group, who gave Christian and I the opportunity to try Bush’s #HummusMadeEasy and share my honest opinions with you.
Here’s something that you may not know about me: I’m a history buff. Or at least, I love learning about people, events, and cultures from the past. I am especially interested in ancient civilizations. Now that Christian is older (he officially starts Kindergarten in the Fall – what?!), I think it’s time that we can start diving into learning some interesting things about other cultures. We’ve touched on some cultures a bit, but this week, we explored a civilization that has always fascinated me – Ancient Egypt.
Throughout the week, we read a variety of books (some were from the library and others were ones I have been hoarding ever since I decided to homeschool). We watched a few videos (mostly on Netflix and Youtube, but I did manage to find one at the library that was interesting. We also tried some crafts and a few recipes. (Note: All of the resources below are clickable if you want to check them out.)
Books
If you know me, you know that reading is at the top of my list of things I would do forever if I could. So obviously the first thing I did when I decided to do a study on Ancient Egypt was to peruse my bookshelves (I started hoarding educational books as soon as I decided to homeschool – which was when Christian was still a baby) and then head to the library. I am pretty sure we cleared out almost all of the books on Egypt (I left some behind out of guilt, lol). We didn’t read every page of each one, but here are the ones we checked out:
Ancient Egypt: The People and the Culture
Ms. Frizzle’s Adventures: Ancient Egypt by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen
Adventures in Ancient Egypt by Linda Bailey
Ancient Egyptian Daily Life by Leigh Rockwood
Your Travel Guide to Ancient Egypt by Nancy Day
Living in Ancient Egypt by Norman Bancroft Hunt
Voices of Ancient Egypt by Kay Winters
Pharaohs
Tutankhamun: The Mystery of the Boy King by Zahi Hawass
Pharaohs and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt by Kristine Carlson Asselin
Egyptian Landmarks
Secrets of the Sphinx by James Cross Giblin and Bagram Ibatoulline
An Egyptian Pyramid by Jacqueline Morley, Mark Bergin, & John James
Pyramids of Ancient Egypt by Christopher Forest
The Great Pyramid of Giza by Anne Millard
Videos
I know that some parents are anti-electronics. I am not. I love electronics. I love the internet. They are my friends. Except when they stop working. Then I feel betrayed. Anyways, I incorporate a lot of technology into our studies and this was no exception. I found several interesting videos to watch throughout the week. Here are some of the notable ones:
Time Life’s Lost Civilizations Volume 1 (We got this volume from the library)
The Prince of Egypt (We watched this Disney movie on Netflix.
National Geographic’s Destination: Egypt, Pyramids
Kid’s Animated History with Pipo: Ancient Egypt Part 1 & 2
Arts & Crafts
I must admit – as much as I love being creative, I typically don’t do a ton of arts and crafts activities. Unless you count coloring and drawing. We do lots of that. However, every now and then, I will see a project that actually seems manageable and decide to give it a go. This weekend, we will be doing the following arts and crafts activities.
Ancient Egypt alt Dough Cartouches
Ancient Egyptian Collars with Paper Plates
Recipes
When studying a different culture, I like to find out what types of food they ate. Partially because I am just curious, but mostly because I love to eat. Turns out that hummus is a food that is believed to have originated in Egypt. Thank you, Egyptians! Hummus is essentially mashed up chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) that are blended with tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and salt. With ingredients like that, it can’t help but be delicious. It is no secret that I love hummus. It is one of my favorite snack foods. I tend to keep hummus and sweet peppers in the house. Christian and I often tussle over the last bit of hummus dip, lol.
Hummus was first made (as far as history can tell) in 13th century Cairo. Since then, it has spread across the world, becoming popular in many regions, including the Middle East and North Africa. It is very versatile. It can be prepared with a variety of beans, spices, and veggie. It can also be eaten in a variety of ways. It can be scooped as a dip with flatbread (such as pita bread), chips, crackers, or veggies. It can be used as a spread on sandwiches and wraps. It can be served as an accompaniment to grilled meat, falafel, or eggplant. It can be garnished with a variety of veggies, oils, herbs/spices, and nut. The possibilities are amazing!
When I was given the opportunity to try Bush’s new Hummus Made Easy product, I was all over it. I am all about whatever is quick and easy. The instructions sounded pretty simple. I also love that the ingredients are all natural and don’t contain any preservatives. Though I am known to cheat a bit in the food area, I do prefer that our diet be mostly healthy and natural. The product is affordable, too! Much cheaper than buying all of the ingredients (especially tahini, which is hard to find where I live). It is also easy to access. They sell it at Walmart right in the canned beans section.
Now, I know that it would be easy to make, but I wasn’t expecting for it to taste so good! It is officially the replacement for the brand that I used to buy. I have now tried all of the different varieties (original, red pepper, and Southwest) and love every single one of them. Below, you will find a few of the ways we have tried our hummus.
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus with Pita Chips
Making the hummus is so easy, even a five-year-old can do it!
Step 1: Buy the ingredients at Walmart (in the canned beans section).
Step 2: Pour the beans (drained & rinsed) into your food processor.
Step 3: Add the contents of the Hummus Made Easy pouch.
Step 4: Blend to your desired consistency.
Step 5: Enjoy!
The hummus was so good that I had to try it a couple of different ways. Below you will find a couple of recipes we tried. If you would like to find out how you can make them yourself, click on the recipe title or the picture.
Garlic Hummus Pastry Puffs
Mexican Pizza with Southwest Black Bean Hummus
These are just some of the way you can make hummus at home. Check out more recipes at www.hummusmadeeasy.com.
Have you done an Ancient Egypt homeschool unit study? Which resources and activities did you include?
