Exciting Egypt!

It sounds like you guys have been hard at work, learning new things while exploring Egypt.

We discussed your question about how environment can effect the development of a culture. A few of our friends are survivors of the Holocaust. Each story is different, but their environments were very depressing. Some were prisoners of concentration camps, treated very poorly, with no food, little water, no family, and horrible things happening all around them. Because they lived through such horrible conditions, during their lives, a lot of people of Jewish faith lived their lives very frugally, saving money, making careful purchases, and appreciating the food that is put on the table.

A few of our friends are from the southern states. They remember growing a lot of their own food because the warm/hot climate allowed them to do so. Sweet potatoes, tomatoes, spices, herbs, potatoes, are just a few. Some also had their chickens they raised for meat and eggs. Food is a big part of the southern culture.

We read that you are discussing the Egypt Gods. We did a little research and decided Isis was very intriguing. She seemed to hold much power as a Goddess of motherhood, devotion, spells, and healing. But the writings about her also make her seem to be gentle and nurturing, even though she was well respected and powerful.

We look forward to hearing about how you would have ruled Ancient Egypt!

We are currently studying Ancient Egypt. We have learned that the Nile River is the source of all life in Egypt. Without it, life in Egypt would probably not exist.

We learned about Pharaohs and Queens last week. We learned that King Tut was only 9 years old when he took over the throne. The boys were asked the question: What would you do if you ruled Ancient Egypt at the age of 8 or 9? We are currently writing our responses to this question and will share them with you next week.

This week we started studying the Egypt Gods and Goddesses. We learned that there were many Gods and Goddesses in Egypt and they were important for different reasons. We also selected a God or Goddess to do a research project on.

Our essential question is: How does your environment effect the development of a culture?

In Egypt, they were dependent on the yearly flood, which deposited a rich layer of soil called kemet. That allowed the Egyptians to live a lavish lifestyle and was important to the development of their culture.

University School Third Grade

Hi Everyone at Menorah Park!

This is Mr. Hurley's class from University School. We just wanted to say hi and let you know that we look forward to blogging with you. We are just getting started and our little fingers don't type so fast so please be patient - we are fast learners.

We are all hoping for a snow day tomorrow. Mr. Hurley asked, "What superstitions are there for snow days?" Here are some of our answers,

"flush an ice cube down the toilet before you go to bed"

"make sure you wear your pajamas inside-out overnight"

"put a spoon under your pillow"

Do you have any other ideas??? We would love to hear them.

Snow Days!!!

Hello University Third Graders,

We really enjoyed your superstitions for snow days. We have some of our own to share, and the topic also sparked some reminiscing about snow days, sledding, and the ice man! Here are our superstition ideas:

1. Sandra- "Don't slide under a ladder!"
2. Carolyn- "Put a heater under the icicles!"
3. Lily- "Make a snow angel!"
4. Gilbert- "Give your parents an Eskimo kiss!"

Our group also remembered days of sledding on garbage can lids down Superior Hill, Cain Park, and Wood Hill Park. Harriet remembers the blizzard in 1953. It was so bad she took her two year old daughter out to play in it and she was completely covered over her head! Firemen had to come around and deliver milk and baby formula to families with small children because the roads were shut down.

Can you imagine having to chip your ice off a 50 pound ice block? We discussed the ice man! There were no electric refrigerators, everyone had an ice box. There was a pan underneath the container that held a huge block of ice that kept things cold. The ice would melt, and you would carefully, have to dump the melted ice in the sink. When you needed ice, you would hang a sign in your window stating 25 or 50 pounds needed, and the ice man would come to your door on his delivery route. Much different than today isn't it!

Thanks for the topic, we look forward to next week's entry!