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Archaeology Day
Hello my name is Sarah and I am a children's author and teacher. Today our theme is all about Archeology! This is an exciting theme to have as it covers so many areas of history. So, let’s get digging! Grownups: It is a good idea to talk to your child about what archaeology is. These videos may help you explain.
Creating a mosaic picture
We are going to learn how to create a picture using small squares of coloured paper. The Romans and Greeks were very good at doing this but they used squares of glass, tile and clay to help decorate ceilings, floors and ornaments.
Grown Ups:
You will need to help your child with cutting the small squares of paper but they can choose what colours they would like. There are plenty of templates for you to use on the internet or you could draw a jug yourself. Why not get an older sibling to help?
Your child can identify colours and also guess how many squares they might need to complete a section!
Digging for Pebbles – Counting
This activity sees us digging for ‘artifacts’. In this case they are pebbles! Once all the numbered pebbles are found they all need to be put in order. Get your spade ready!
Grown Ups:
You will need to help your child with cutting the small squares of paper but they can choose what colours they would like. There are plenty of templates for you to use on the internet or you could draw a jug yourself. Why not get an older sibling to help?
Your child can identify colours and also guess how many squares they might need to complete a section!
Dinosaur Feet!
What would it be like to be a huge dinosaur? Archaeologists have found plenty of dinosaur bones and from this we know many things about them.
For this activity you will need two tissue boxes, glue, scissors, green paint and orange or brown paper.
Grown Ups:
Look at some pictures with your child of dinosaurs so they can see how big they were. Compare them to the size of a car or your house. What did dinosaurs eat and did they ever roam in your back garden?!
For the dinosaur ‘claws’ talk about the shape of the paper you cut. You can also join in walking like a dinosaur with your child – and don’t forget to roar too!!
Finding the Skeleton
It is the job of the archaeologist to not only find interesting artefacts but also be able to put any broken pieces together! This might be putting bones together from a dinosaur or even a clay pot!
Today we are looking for sections of a skeleton! This is not a real skeleton of course but a skeleton puzzle. Start digging!
Grown Ups:
Print off two copies of a skeleton or any other picture relevant to this activity. The one copy will be for your child to match the pieces to. The other should be cut up and ‘hidden’ in the sand or soil.
Talk about what it would be like to be an archaeologist and find something exciting!
Extension
If you love dinosaurs why not rummage through the toy box and find out a few of your plastic dinosaurs. Grab a pot of Playdoh, clay or salt dough and make some biscuit shaped pieces. Lay them all out in front of you. Next, take one of the plastic dinosaurs and press it into one of the biscuit shapes. Try different dinosaurs to make different impressions. Which ones have been more effective? If you mixed up all the plastic dinosaurs, could you match them up again with the shapes they made in the clay?
Treasure at the MuseumAn archaeologist can become really tired after a day of activities! So, now it’s time to relax and have a story about a little boy named Sydney who made a very interesting find! I hope you have had an amazing day!
Grownups: At another time rather than bedtime, talk to your child about how they could spell their name using hieroglyphics. Older siblings can take part in this too.
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