Rivers are incredibly powerful! They unite the continents to the oceans, help us to travel and trade, provide us food and water, hydrate and nourish the environment... Most of all rivers have brought us opportunities to discover our territory and many new worlds. The greatest thing however is that our rivers have gathered people and from this civilizations have emerged.

We started our BKC season next to the river Nile, where around 5,000 years ago, the Ancient Egyptians settled and created one of the first notable civilizations!

How do we understand as Big Kids how long ago 5,000 years was?

Did you know that we need 100 groups of 5 kids to have 5,000 toes? At least we could see that we had 50 toes when we were all together! 5,000 was a lot!

The Nile obeyed the Pharaoh. It was he who opened the way for the floods that year by year ensured Egypt’s astonishing fertility. After death too: when the first ray of sun filtered through the grate on Pharaoh’s tomb and lit up his face, everyone knew the earth would offer three harvests.

Thus it was.
Not anymore.

Of the seven arms of the delta only two remain, and of the holy cycles of fertility, which are no longer holy or cycles, all that remains are the ancient hymns of praise for the longest river:

Thou quenchest the thirst of the flocks. 
Thou drinkest the tears of all eyes. 
Rise up Nile, may thy voice resound! 
May thy voice be heard!

The Ancient Egyptian diet was based on green vegetables, lentils, onions, fish, figs, birds, dates, eggs, bread, cheese, and butter. Considering that ancient Egyptians lived with just what the environment provided, we had the chance to show the Big Kids how to cook an Egyptian recipe using the most sustainable way! We read that breads were sweetened with dates and honey and our mission was to get these ingredients in their exact amounts!

We went to a field trip to Nada Store, a package-free grocery store and with this adventure we could see what we REALLY use: 

*We brought our own containers, which we weighed before getting our products. This way we were only paying for the food that we chose.

*We were able to get what we needed

*We could also see all the different kinds of seeds, rice, nuts there were… all without any packaging.

Thank you NADA store so much once again! It was an fun, learning experience 🙂  

Pharaohs were considered to be both divine deities as well as mortal rulers. We already met the well known Cleopatra and some of her curiosities:

CLEOPATRA -  EDUARDO GALEANO
Her courtiers bathe her in donkey’s milk and honey. After anointing her with nectar of jasmine, lily, and honeysuckle [...]. On her face and neck, plasters made of ox bile, ostrich eggs, and beeswax. When she awakens from her nap, the moon is high in the sky. The courtiers impregnate her hands with essence of roses and perfume her feet with elixirs of almonds and orange blossoms. Her nostrils exhale fragrances of lime and cinnamon, while dates from the desert sweeten her hair, shining with walnut oil.[...]

"The English word civilization comes from the 16th-century French civilisé ("civilized"), from Latin civilis ("civil"), related to civis ("citizen") and civitas ("city"). ... The abstract noun "civilization", meaning "civilized condition", came in the 1760s, again from French." 

This Big Kids Club's approach is not comparing but understanding. Whether other civilizations had different tools, beliefs or facilities we want our Big Kids to see how they could manage cities and agriculture with what the environment and culture provided.

Understanding that there are different ways to do one thing gives them opportunities to imagine and create. It's important to be aware that we live in a community, that we share space and words. Big kids are big explorers with big curiosities. Showing ways to express themselves leads them notice what they like and how to build relationships.