Ancient Egyptian Death Mask Directions

The following includes my directions for creating an Ancient Egyptian Death Mask.

Materials needed:

Foam board

Paper mache' mask (mine were from orientaltrading.com)

(I think a plastic mask, such as the ones Michael's carries, might also work)

Elastic cord for mask (if mask doesn't come with one.  Ours didn't but we had a few from another project.)

Gold acrylic paint

Blue acrylic paint

Black acrylic paint (for details)

Light blue and red acrylic paints (for female mask details) 

White card stock (for beard on male mask) 

Supplies needed:

Box cutter or large x-acto knife (box cutter was easier to use)

Large piece of cardboard (to use as cutting board under masks)

Masking tape

White glue

1" foam paint brushes

Thin paint brush (for details)

Other various paint brush sizes (for female mask details)

Pencil

Directions:

Draw an outline of the paper mache' mask in the center of the foam board.  (The paper mache' masks I used had a lip all the way around so I drew another outline about 1/4" - 1/2" in from the original outline.

Free hand the basic shape of a death mask with a pencil around the paper mache' mask outline. 

Lay cardboard under the foam board when cutting to protect your work surface.

Use a box cutter to cut around the death mask shape and smaller center area.

Use white glue to glue on paper mache' mask and secure with masking tape.

If making a male mask, make a cone shape out of white card stock.  Glue with white glue and secure back corners with masking tape.

With a pencil draw lines for sun rays.

Let glue dry overnight.

Paint paper mache' mask and every other penciled line on foam board with gold acrylic paint using a 1" foam brush.  Start painting lines at the top so that the top middle section is gold.  It may take 3 to 4 layers of gold paint to cover gold areas completely.

Fill in the remaining areas with blue acrylic paint.

Let paint dry overnight.

With a small tipped paintbrush paint on details around eyes, eyebrows, nostrils and criss cross pattern on beard (for male mask) with black acrylic paint.

For female mask use appropriate sized paint brushes to paint eyelids with light blue acrylic paint and lips with red acrylic paint.

Let paint dry overnight. 

This project probably took about three hours total, not counting drying times.  Plan for this project to be completed over a three day period due to the drying times.

Foam board with outline drawing.
(This was my second one so I was able
to trace from the first one and start at the top
to cut down a little of my cutting time.)

Foam board cut out

Foam board cut out with mask from front view

Foam board cut out with mask from back view

Foam board cut out with lines drawn - female mask

Foam board cut out with lines and beard - male mask

Painting sun rays - female mask

Painting sun rays - male mask

Painting details - female mask

Painting details - male mask

Completed masks

Kids with their completed masks

CTG Weeks 4 - 6

EDIT TO ADD --  It took me so long to post about weeks 4 and 5 that I didn't realize I added in our week 6 activities as well.

I'm finally posting about our Creation to the Greeks weeks 4 & 5 activities.  We completed some fun and interesting projects those two weeks.

We did two Nile River projects.  One was a lapbook piece from homeschoolshare.com listed under 'Ancient Egypt'.  We are completing different pieces of this lapbook as they fit into our studies.

We also completed a cute Nile River project that included an alligator from the Evan-Moor History Pockets book Ancient Civilizations.  The kids really enjoyed letting their alligators roam up and down their 'Nile'.

I purchased a kit called Lift the Lid on Mummies.

The Mummies kit was more difficult than I anticipated.  There was barely enough gauze that came with the project so we ended up using gauze from our second mummy project.  And the canopic jars were supposed to be glued but that was impossible.  After much frustration from me, Beau finally said, "Mom, why don't you just use tape?"  Why didn't I think of that!!

It was still an interesting project.  The mummy opened into two pieces and we removed the vital organs, except the heart.  We then wrapped the mummy, putting (sticker) charms between the layers.  We cut out and assembled the cardboard canopic jars and placed the plastic tops on them.  We then laid the mummy back into the case (Sarcophagus) and placed on the paper death mask.  I did NOT make the enclosed cardboard cat mummy.

We also completed a simple mummy project that the kids really enjoyed.  I got the idea from the Countries Around the World project book I got from Michael's this past summer.  My modified directions are listed below.

Materials list:

• Wood Clothespin
• All Purpose Glue
• Wiggle Eyes
• Scissors
• Sticky gauze

Directions:

Wrap 1" sticky gauze over clothespin and press down with fingers. Glue on two wiggle eyes.  Done!

Yet another mummy project we completed was called "Where's My Mummy?" from our Ancient Egypt History Pockets projects book.   The kids decided to add foam 'amulets' to the toilet paper covered mummy.  You can see a couple peaking out from under the toilet paper on one of the mummies.  

I also added an Egyptian Tomb Dig & Play project that the kids really enjoyed.  We have completed dinosaur digs in the past and they are always a hit around here so I knew they'd like this one.  This kit was a little different in that it was a dig AND a game. 

Having done similar projects in the past we had some extra digging tools so that both kids could work at the same time.  The kits we've done in the past had safety glasses.  This one did not but the kids felt they needed them so they pulled out their sunglasses.  lol   When we got about half way through the project I was able to break the 'brick' in half so that each of them was able to work a little more independently.

After the dig was completed and cleaned up, the game began.  :)

Two more projects we completed from our History Pockets Ancient Egypt project books was 'The Great Pyramid at Giza' and 'Inside a Tomb'. 

 

We viewed a cool online panoramic view of the Sphinx and the pyramids at Giza.  There is also a quiz at the end.  The kids loved it.  If this link works you can view it here:   http://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/interactives/history/egypt/pyramid_panorama.asp 

We also completed some activities and created a lapbook page from homeschoolsare.com listed under Ancient Egypt.  See below.

A favorite book we found for this unit was a find at our local library.  It is a pop up/pull tab type of a book entitled Tutankhamen's Tomb.  The kids have really enjoyed referring to this book over and over again.  Each time we learn something about mummies or tombs they pull the book out again and refer to what it was that they learned.

We completed death masks that came out really cool. 

I'll be adding directions to these very soon.  I hope.   :)

CTG Week 4 Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt

I took pictures of our dramatization of the Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt but I couldn't get our picture program to produce a slide show so I'm just going to add them here anyway.  You'll just have to scroll down for the 'slide show effect'.  ;)

Presenting a dramatization of:

The Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt 3100 B.C.

 

King Menes prevails!!

CTG Weeks 2-3 Continued

I got around to loading the pictures of our cuneiform cookies and shofars onto our computer so I thought I'd add them here.

Our cuneiform cookies didn't turn out so well but they were fun and yummy all the same.

The kids enjoyed blowing their shofars waaaaay too much!

Weeks 4-5 coming soon and will include our version of pharaoh's death masks.

CTG Weeks 2-3

We have completed weeks 2 and 3 of MFW Creation to the Greeks.

We are not including the feasts right now.  We are learning about the feasts and doing some of the crafts but  life is a bit crazy for us right now and our weekends are very busy.  But school goes on.  :)

We have been working on the Homeschool in the Woods Old Testament Pak lapbook pieces.  We have completed Jubal and Tubal-Cain, learning that they were both descendants of Cain.

We also completed Noah and the Flood wheel.

In addition we completed the Tower of Bable slide activity.

We have also been learning the books of the Old Testament.  Due to writing and spelling issues around here, the kids have not been writing their own Old Testament flash cards as suggested in the TM.  Instead, I found a free online source here:  http://sundayschoolsources.com/classmat/OT-flashcards.pdf.  (I think I got this info from the MFW Message Board Archives.)  These are the size of business cards when cut out.  I printed and cut out two sets, one for each child.  I mix them up and have each child put them in order starting with Genesis.  I have been following the grid in the TM and add in new books as they are listed.  For instance, day one of week three started out with only Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus so those were the only cards they had to sort.  By day four of week three they were up to 2 Chronicles.

There are also a couple of free mp3 files available at this same site with music to the books of the Old and New Testament sung to the tunes of 'Ten Little Indians' and 'Turkey in the Straw'.  http://sundayschoolsources.com/books-of-the-Bible.htm

For their handwriting practice and Old Testament names spelling practice I purchased an inexpensive Books of the Bible lapbook here:   http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=44553&it=1.  It is basically just tracing.  Both print and cursive are included so I have Roo tracing the print version and Beau tracing the cursive version.  These would be good for younger students or students with writing and spelling issues similar to ours.

We listened to and followed along with The True Story of Noah's Ark by Tom Dooley.  The pictures in this book are amazing and beautiful.

We also went to a nearby park and measured out the Ark.  That was no bathtub, let me tell you.

We have been creating the Bible Lands maps as scheduled.

Here are our E. T. Purrs in the Red Nile Med silly sentence maps.

Here are our Migration of Noah's Desendants maps:

Here are our Fertile Crescent maps:

The kids asked if they could paint their last two maps with watercolors so after the initial fill ins were done, they painted the waters with watercolor paints.

Because we don't do a lot of notebooking, again due to writing and spelling issues, I have also added in a few projects from Even-Moor's History Pockets Ancient Civilizations activity book (for Grades 1-3).  When we studied the Fertile Crescent and how the rivers were used we did the Sailing on the River project and when we studied the Tower of Babel we did the Ziggurat Temple Pop-Up Book.  (It is believed by some that the tower of Babel may have been a Ziggurat Temple where people went to worship their gods and goddesses.  Not the true, living God.)

Here we made the crown for God is King of All (and the kids are Kings kids.  ;) )

We also made a Shofar and Cuneiform cookies.

I think that wraps up our activities for weeks 2-3 in our adventures this week.