Old Testament Days: An Activity Guide

by Nancy I. Sanders

More than 80 projects drawn from archaeological evidence and Bible descriptions make Old Testament days come alive in this activity guide for children ages 5 to 12. Children can enjoy a desert picnic of dried figs, goat’s milk cheese, and lentil stew, or make a loose tunic like the one young Isaac wore on his family’s trek to the Promised Land nearly 4,000 years ago. They can make a painted throwing stick or a wooden paddle doll like the ones Moses might have played with in the Pharoah’s palace, and build toy instruments like those the Israelites used to celebrate their return to Jerusalem in approximately 538 B.C. Games, recipes, crafts, and just enough historical background provide plenty of educational fun for home or school.

Genres: History

144 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1999

About the author

Nancy I. Sanders is the bestselling and award-winning children's author of over 100 books. Her children's books include D IS FOR DRINKING GOURD: AN AFRICAN AMERICAN ALPHABET, AMERICA'S BLACK FOUNDERS, and FREDERICK DOUGLASS FOR KIDS. She loves to teach writers at writing conferences and teleclasses so that they can take their writing career to the next level. Her workshops are based on her groundbreaking book, YES! YOU CAN LEARN HOW TO WRITE CHILDREN'S BOOKS, GET THEM PUBLISHED, AND BUILD A SUCCESSFUL WRITING CAREER. Nancy and her husband Jeff live near Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do you make a tunic like they wore in ancient days if you don't sew? This troubled me until I found Nancy Sanders "Life in Old Testament Days." This book contains SIMPLE projects that help illuminate the time period for your children. And by simple, I mean easy enough for non-crafters who never went to Hobby Lobby until we started homeschooling!

While many projects are short on time (playing an outside game, for example) not all are. Making bricks like the Egpytians in your backyard or making a loom and weaving cloth on it might take awhile! But each project is explained in a manner that makes it seem achievable, with enough instructions and simple ingredients to walk children through. The variety outside games, inside picnics, simple recipes, jewelry, slingshots, children's toys, maps, instruments, calendars, puzzles, lego patterned homes, and customs to practice is sure to provide ideas that appeal to each student. There are so many excellent choices, we had to pick and chose!

The sections of the book indicate you can use it through your entire study of the Old Testament. Building your own Archaelogical site is followed by Living in Tents (focused on Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), Into Egypt and Out Again, Prophets and Kings, Far Away from Home, and ends with Back to the City (the return to Jerusalem in the time of Cyrus).

I should note that this book focus' on the lives of the Old Testament characters as opposed to those around them. For example, when studying Joseph and his descendents, we know they lived in Egypt and the text does allude to that. However, activities feature things the Israelites would have done: making bricks, a paddle-doll, unleavened bread, map of the Israelite camp, clothing of the priests, etc as opposed to clothing of the pharoah's, food of the Egyptians, or the symbolism and construction of mummies. Families studying Egyptian culture will need another resource. I didn't mind this as it gave concrete testimony to the reality that Egyptians and Israelites were two different cultures in the same land.

The text is mostly good, and we have read the information even for projects we didn't chose to do. However, I did do some on-the-spot editing. I am pleased with this as part of our family library.

[Mandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great activity ideas for teaching ancient history. Much like Laurie Carlson's history activity guides. My kids enjoy looking through this (and the Laurie Carlson ones) just for fun sometimes!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun...where else can you find so many cool project ideas to connect kids to the OT?

[Kelly Mize · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skimmed this one and flagged the pages to use for an Ancient Egypt unit of study for little ones. It's good enough that I think I need to return the library copy and buy one. There are crafts, but plenty of explanation about each one as well to help make the craft relevant to what the children are learning in the Bible.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contains fun, hands-on activities for young children that will enhance their understanding of old testament times.