I am Alexis, World Traveler and I would love for you to join me on my many travels to different countries. Together we will learn about the children and families of these lands. We will learn it is ok to be different, that we are all God's Children.
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Alexis's mother and I feel it is important to teach Alexis about diversity and cultural awareness. We want Alexis to know that people of different cultures may be different from us but that it is ok to be different. We want her to know that if we understand their culture that the differences are not really that great. From the time Alexis was born we have been talking to her about world events, and racial tolerance. She has never heard a racial slur in her six years of life. The foundations for racial attitudes are laid as infants and toddlers and after the age of nine their racial attitudes tend to stay the same. That is why it is so important that we never let our children hear or see any form of racial intolerance. When you live in rural Indiana it makes it more challenging to teach about diversity and different cultures. We came up with the idea to have her study about a different country each month and we will do fun activities such as eating at restaurants, playing games, visiting museums, dressing , and listening to music depicting the country we are studying. Follow Alexis on her many travels around the world and feel free to join her as she learns about the many different cultures.

~Mamaw~

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Egypt

Posted in , | 9:32 PM | by Diana

Alexis is ready to go ahead and get started learning about Egypt so today we went to the library and checked out the books for this great adventure. Here are our plans for learning about Egypt. I think it would be fun for you to join us in our adventures in a far away land.


We will be getting our passports ready and landing at Cairo International Airport. Fasten you seat belts and plan for landing as we approach the magnificent splendor of Egypt.


Cairo international Airport

We will be reading the following books:

Mummies Made in Egypt by Aliki

Egypt Enchantment of the World by Ann Heinrichs

An Arab Family by Roderic Dutton

A Family in Egypt by Olivia Bennett

Pyramids of Egypt by Dan Nardo

One Green Apple by Eve Bunting

Who Built the Pyramid? by Meredith Hooper

Coming to America A Muslim Family's Story by Bernard Wolf

The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo


Crafts we will be doing: (I will go into more detail about these crafts in future post)

Make Muslim Prayer Beads

Make Muslim Prayer Rug

Make a poster covering what we have learned

We will make an Egyptian Dish (I still have to find a recipe)

Dress as a Muslim


Alexis will learn about Ancient Egypt, the Pyramids, mummies and the ancient burial customs they believed would ensure their immortality.







Alexis will learn how Egypt is about 96 percent desert and the Nile River which is the longest river in the world runs through it and most of the population lives close to the river. Most of Egypt is in the continent of Africa except for a small portion. The Sinai Peninsula lies in Asia. Egypt has two seasons summer and winter. Cairo is Egypt's capitol and also the largest city in Africa.


We want Alexis to have an understanding of other religions and to understand how important religious tolerance is in our society. She will learn to be able to be a productive citizen of the world we must realize that every person has a right to their religious beliefs without fear of prosecution. This is one reason I was happy she chose Egypt as the first country to study. In the United States today there are too many people with hatred and intolerance toward Muslims.

Alexis will learn that Muslims are followers of Islam and the Qur'an is their Holy Book. They believe in One God, Allah and Muhammad is a Messenger of God. They believe Abraham, Moses, and Jesus were prophets. They gather in Mosque to pray. Before praying they must cleanse themselves, and remove their shoes before entering the prayer hall. A prayer rug is used to keep the worshiper clean. They must turn toward Mecca to pray and they use prayer beads to help them with their prayer.

How far we delve into these subjects will depend on Alexis and how much interest she shows. These are the highlights of what we will teach her but if she shows a deeper interest then we will delve deeper. Today I read her, Mummies Made In Egypt, and was surprised at how interested she was. She even looked up on the internet words we were not sure of the pronunciation. Some people might say this will be too much information for a first grader but Alexis is always asking us to challenge her. She will also get to watch this you tube video of a Muslim call to prayer.








Other videos found on you tube. You Tube is a great source of videos that allow you to experience the sights and sounds of other countries. Just make sure that you watch them before allowing your child to watch.

Here is a short video of a Marketplace in Cairo.


Driving in Cairo looks like it would be loads of fun!

I have to admit I am also excited to learn more about this beautiful and exciting country. Several years ago I was on a tour bus with a family from the Greek Isles and they were telling me how exciting it is to visit Egypt and the Pyramids. They had a daughter that was around ten and she told me so much about Egypt. She had been there twice and she had also visited many other countries but she said Egypt was her favorite. She told me I should make sure I vacation in Egypt and since that time I have thought I would love to. Now after reading and watching videos I am sure that someday I would love to experience it first hand. But for now I will travel with Alexis to this far away land.

Images from Wikipedia

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