January 1, 2007 - Fruity Pharaoh 1
Ok, as promised, some pictures of our embalming day.
This is Megan and Chelsea working on their pharaohs. The head is an apple, the body an orange and they are wired together. The apple has a face cut into it; this also allows for faster drying. The orange has to have it's inner organs removed in order to dry adequately. The girls are in process of doing this. When people were embalmed, they sliced into their side and removed the organs. The girls did the same with their oranges.
Chelsea removing the inside of her orange.
Megan removing her inner "organs".
The insides getting ready to be dried. The organs are placed into a container to dry. A baking soda and salt solution will help them dry out. They sit between the two layers of salt. The paper towel was then wrapped around the "organs" and placed into the "drying box".
Sprinkling the second layer of salt and baking soda.
The pharaoh was placed into a box with an inch deep layer of salt/baking soda solution. The solution was sprinkled all over the pharaoh after being cleansed by some rubbing alcohol. The solution is also placed inside of the pharaoh's belly area to dry out the inside of the body. You notice the "organs" are drying in the corner of the box.
Megan's pharaoh.
Chelsea's pharaoh.
The pharaoh's will dry for 3-4 weeks before being wrapped and buried into their coffins. Checking every few days for mold or problem areas. If mold is found the area is cleansed with an alcohol solution and then drying solution is reapplied.
January 1, 2007 - Egypt
We are studying Egypt and the girls are getting alot of interesting projects to work on. We have been using the Globetrotters Curriculum to work on ancient history this year. The Egypt section has been alot of fun for us all.
Of the parts of the study that we have enjoyed are:
Drawing Egyptian Style
The Nile River (research and making poster of what was learned)
Making Honey-Barley Flatbread
Fruity Pharaoh's (an embalming project)
Making Canopic Jars and Amlets and Shabtis
Building Coffins
Wrapping the Mummy
I will try to post pictures of our projects. The girls are enjoying reading about Egypt and the culture as well as the Bible study that is incorporated into the study. Chelsea, my 9th grader is reading Streams of Civilizations along with the study to give her a deeper understanding in ancient history. Doing both together seems to be just what she needs to get the understanding. She isn't a big reader, but her reading has expanded in the last year so much. Doing so much hands on projects takes up bigger amounts of time, but she is very kinesthetic and enjoys spending a hour making bread or an hour and a half working on the fruity pharaoh. Since it is not all bookwork, her desire to keep at it is very positive.
Warmly, ~Melissa
