In which we make cookie maps of Ancient Egypt

Initially this was proposed as part of a flurry of interest in Egypt, but somehow never happened. On Monday, however, we had two friends here and I was a  little concerned about the dynamic between three of them so thought it would be well to have a project to focus on in case it was awkward.

So the girls made cookie maps of Ancient Egypt.

First they made a double quantity of a basic cookie dough and baked it in flat, rectangular trays.

When the cookies had cooled,  they used a variety of coloured icing and sweets to create a map of Ancient Egypt.

Getting started

Drawing in The Nile

Adding the Mediterranean and the Red Sea

The valley of the Nile is lush and green but there must have been a flood as all the towns are *in* the river.  There are, however, some lovely Toblerone pyramids :)

Towns have made it back on to the banks and some places have been labelled

Final verdict: Egypt was a little over-cooked but still very tasty!

In which I have a moment of stress about spelling

It's no good. I've been laid back and not stressed about Hannah's spelling, but now she is of an age that her still-phonetic spelling makes her look illiterate and I hate that! I find it embarrassing that my supposedly intelligent child writes like a 5 year old.The irony is that when we had our one and only visit from the LA and I told her my own educational background (degree in English from Cambridge) she said, "oh well you're qualified to teach her English. Apparently not!

And then on top of that I feel guilty for being embarrassed by her. I worry that the mainstream community will judge home education by her inability to remember spellings because she writes things that are seen by people (family and friends), but they don't see the enthusiasm for her biology studies where she is working well ahead of her schooled peers. I worry that home educators will judge me for being stressed about it. Arrrghhh!

We've just had my niece here for 2 days. She goes to school and also does Kumon and started her 11+ tutoring while still in Year 3. There is no way I want that life for Hannah. I love her freedom to learn what she wants and to play for hours and break off in the middle of some work to climb a tree or bounce on the trampoline or make herself a snack! Rationally, I know that when she feels the need to spell properly, she will learn it. But as someone who is passionate about words and language.....and a bit of a pedant about proper usage, I am REALLY struggling with this!