Pharaoh Hatshepsut: An Ancient Egypt Reading List Suggested by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Pharoah Hatshepsut:  An Ancient Egypt Reading List Suggested by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

This reading list is named after one of ancient Egypt’s female rulers, Pharoah Hatshepsut. 

Movies have made Cleopatra more popular, but perhaps there is a film to be made about a ruler like Pharoah Hatshepsut who has a mountain tomb and statues to make her bust look like the sphinx.

The suggested books for high school and college students who would like to know more about ancient Egypt follow:

1-Ancient Egypt: A Social History by B.G. Trigger; B.J. Kemp; D. O’Connor; and A.B. Lloyd

2-The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt by Ian Shaw

3-Red Land, Black Land: Daily Life in Ancient Egypt by Barbara Meertz

4-Daughters of Isis: Women of Ancient Egypt by Joyce Tyldesley

5-Egyptian Hieroglyphs for Complete Beginners by Bill Manley

6-Cleopatra: Her History, Her Myth by Francine Prose

The Roscrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California offers ancient Egyptian make up, perfume classes, and sent game throughout the year.  Check with the museum for times and schedules.

There are two ancient games that summer reading participants could learn to play after reading as they discuss these books: mancala and senet.

Have fun reading!

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Dukes of Brittany (France) Touring Game Created by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Dukes of Brittany (France) Touring Game Created by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Background

Peninsular Brittany in northwestern France extends out into the Atlantic Ocean.  The Bretons are famous for their fishing fleets and solo transatlantic sailors like Florence Artaud.

On land, the Bretons are famous for the following foods:

-belon oysters

-roast salt prairie lamb with vegetables

-far Breton cake with prunes previously soaked in cognac

-sweet crêpes

-savory crêpes called galettes

-apple cider

The Dukes of Brittany are related to British nobility through Henry II of England, who invaded Brittany in the 12^th century.  After signing a peace treaty with the French Duke Conan IV, Henry II became the County of Nantes.

Henry II’s son Geoffrey became Duc Geoffrey of Brittany.

The Dukes of Brittany ruled Brittany until 1448 when the last Duke had no male descendant.

Anne of Brittany was the last descendant of the Dukes of Brittany.  She was married to an Austrian nobleman, but was forced to annul her marriage.

Anne became Queen of France twice by marrying cousins.  Brittany definitively became a part of France when Anne’s daughter Claude became Queen of France by marrying the Valois king Francis 1^st.

What Kinds of Tourists Might Like Brittany?:

People who like:

-sailing

-traveling with their families

-pristine beaches with daily water quality controls

-easy-to-buy-and-prepare produce, seafood, and lamb

-walking by the ocean

-public gardens

Traditional Souvenirs to Buy in Brittany:

Almost all towns in Brittany have souvenir stores where you can traditional products such as:

-lace doilies

-lace collars and cuffs

-bigoudin Breton headdresses

-embroidered tablecloths and napkins

-cookbooks

-gardening books

-lyric books

-Celtic instruments

-Quimper faience – heavier than porcelain with scenes of sweet couples and happy families

-CDs of French Navy music

-Alan Stivell CDs – Breton folksinger and Celtic harp player

-butter cookies in decorative tins

Home Base City: Rennes, Capital of Brittany

Travelers can take a TGV (High Speed Train) from Paris to Rennes to explore the family-friendly city of Rennes in Brittany, France.

Rennes has cathedrals, museums, chateaus, and gardens that date back centuries.  Michelin and Lonely Planet guides amply describe these places.

After families have visited all the cultural places in town, junior high school students might enjoy visiting kid-oriented sites around town or those sites that can be visited in short periods of time.

The following 5 places in Rennes look especially interesting for junior high school students:

1 – L’Espace des Sciences

Learn-by-doing site with robot presentation along with planetarium shows.

2 – Ecomusée du Pays de Rennes

This museum is located in a 500-year-old farm that shows how agriculture, business, nutrition, and technology have changed within that time span.

3 – Parc du Thabor

There is a rose garden at Parc du Thabor that has 2,000 varieties of roses in it.

There is also an aviary with many parrots, doves, and songbirds.

4 – Marché des Lices

The high-quality produce of Brittany is on sale at the Marché des Lices and makes for a colorful field trip during a trip to France.

Several items that tourists could buy for snacks include:

-Reinette apples

-baguettes (French bread loaves)

-sea salt flavored butter

-cheese from nearby Normandy

-sweet crêpes

-savory crêpes called galettes

-Breton cider

5 – Centre Alma – the big mall in Rennes

The Centre Alma sells modern souvenirs like clothing and cotton candy called “barbe à papa” or “dad’s beard.”

Day Trip Suggestions:

-Brest

-Quimper

-Lorient

-Vannes

-Saint-Malo

-Saint-Brieuc

-Nantes (I have a blog up on this city for September 8, 2018)

Lunch, souvenir shopping, and historical walks by the ocean are the main draws of these photogenic towns.

Happy Touring!!!

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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French Club: Learning to Read Braille Letters and Numbers - 6 Activities Suggested by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

French Club:  Learning to Read Braille Letters and Numbers – 6 Activities Suggested by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Military Background of Braille:

The Braille international alphabet and its ancestor of night-writing for military use were both invented by the French.

Captain Charles Barbier de la Serre (1767 – 1847) developed night-writing to communicate field orders at night to avoid revealing field positions with lanterns for reading.  As a member of Napoleon’s (1789 – 1821) army, Barbier had also seen soldiers killed for using lanterns at night for general reading as well.

The night-writing system he developed used 12 embossed dots that a single touch could not read at once according to the American Council for the Blind’s history website page.

Development of Braille for the Blind:

Louis Braille (1809 - 1852), a student at the National Institute for the Blind in Paris (France), further developed Barbier’s alphabet, which was later popularized by the French as an international alphabet for the visually impaired. 

The Braille alphabet is still in use today for the visually impaired.

Louis Braille’s alphabet used a 6-dot, embossed system that allowed a single finger touch to encompass a letter.  The blind read left-to-right in rows as sighted people at speeds that the American Council for the Blind records up to 125 words per minute.

Activities

The following activities have short instructions, but are long to master.

Activity 1 – Read about Famous Blind People

In Greek drama, the blind seer Tiresias makes appearances in Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex) and Antigone.

Helen Adams Keller (1880 – 1968) – author and first deaf-blind person to earn a bachelor of arts

Stevie Wonder (1950 - ) – singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer

Mario Bocelli (1958 - ) – singer, songwriter, and producer

Activity 2 – Letter and Number Shape Recognition – Day – English and/or French pronunciation

You need a Braille Alphabet and Numbers Panel to do this activity.  (These cost $15.99 on Amazon as of January 12, 2019.)

Place the index finger of your right hand on top of the letter “A.”  Note how it feels on the left of your finger and then the right.

Glide you index finger left to right over the character to memorize how it feels.

Note memorization cues in a notebook.

Do this for the letter “B” as well.

Not memorization cues in a notebook.

Activity 3 – Noting Differences - Day

In particular, note differences between the letters “A” and “B” in your notebook.

Then, do the letters “B” and “C” the same way until you go through the entire alphabet.

Do this until you have the alphabet memorized in daylight.

Activity 4 – Letter and Number Recognition – Night

Start somewhere in the middle of the board and try and identify a letter at night.

Take a guess.

If you are mistaken, use a flashlight and note the similarities and differences between the letters you guess wrong and the actual letter in your notebook. 

Start with the second row of letters and see if you can identify a letter. 

Go through all 26 letters and ten numbers until you can name all 26 letters and 10 numbers at night.

Going left-to-right should help with memorization, because that is how reading is set up.

Activity 5 – Easy Practical Braille Reading

There are some elementary exercises to “read” braile once you know letters and numbers to practice it.  More advanced reading should be taught by certified teachers.:

-read braille characters in elevators

-read braille character next to hotel doors

-use playing cards with braille

Activity 6 – Think of Ways to Use Braille for Fun and Life Skills

The American Council for the Blind lists some areas on their website where the visually impaired would like to have products developed that do not exist yet such as “braille” translations for:

-board games

-cookbooks

-restaurant menus

These activities might encourage students who master basic letter and number recognition to become braille teachers or special education teachers.

The following books has games to help learn Braille as well:

Guidelines and Games for Teaching Efficient Braille Reading by Myrna R. Olson in collaboration with Sally S. Mangold Ph.D by AFBPress (American Federation for the Blind Press - ISBN 978-0-89128-105-4)

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Spanish: Cookbook Photography Review by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Spanish: Cookbook Photography Review by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

The cookbook Cookbook: Over 150 Mouthwatering Step-by-Step Recipes by Pepita Arias uses 1 to 3 photos per page of most important steps in recipes to help ensure tasty results with the Spanish dishes she describes.

This book is 255 pages long and packs a ton of information into its pages.  Arias divides the recipes into 8 handy chapters and gives historical information on Spanish cuisine as well as a product education guide.

The 8 recipe chapters are divided this way:

1-tapas

2-eggs and soups

3-salad and vegetables

4-rice and pasta

5-fish and shellfish

6-pultry and game birds

7-meat and furred animals

8-desserts and baking

Arias provides product information on 20 broad categories ranging from barnyard animal products to cheese and sausage to wild game.

There is also a large section on kitchen equipment and dinnerware.

18 pages of the large-size cookbook are devoted to various influences on Spanish cuisine:

1-Moorish-North African Muslim

2-Catholicism-foods for fasts and feasts

3-Sephardim-Spanish Jewish

4-American notably in the form of produce such as peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes

5-Ancient Rome as Spain was one of the largest regions of the Roman Empire

The 4-page spread on Catholic Feast Days and Fiestas can help travelers plan their trips.

Spanish by Arias is a fun introduction to Spanish cuisine whether you plan to cook the food and/or sample it in a restaurant.

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

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