Ancient India

I decided to try to jump around the rest of the world during ancient times before running headlong into ancient Greece (even though I am sooo looking forward to covering Greece).  We started by moving farther east to discuss ancient India.

First, we discussed the mystery of Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus River Valley; I had the kiddoes come up with ideas why the region appears to have been suddenly abandoned.  The kids did an exploration game including an online tour of Mohenjo-Daro, which was pretty cool, especially seeing all the clues that show us the advancements these very primitive cultures had made, such as sewers and irrigation systems.

We moved on describing the caste system that developed in the Aryan culture; the kiddoes were especially interested in the Untouchables and the Unseeables lower than the lowest caste (probably since their names are WAY more fun to say than the brahmin and the soldiers).  We had a good discussion about the difference between the castes, which you are born into and cannot change, and classes in our society, which can fluctuate widely within a family and even within a lifetime.

I read a condensed version of the origins of the Buddha and the beginning of Buddhism then showed them pictures from about five years ago when Athena and Hulk visited Kamakura with their grandparents (Goblin was a newborn so we stayed home) and got to see the big Buddha statue there.  Athena was impressed that Buddha tried to stop people from being cruel to animals.  It is endearing to see what an animal lover she has become.

It looks like Buddha is part of the family!

We discussed the ruling family that united much of northern India into its first empire and how that process is historically always viewed as a good thing (so the individual cities are not warring on one another) even though it is generally accomplished by one king conquering the region.

We wrapped up our discussion of ancient India by trying out a recipe for curried rice.  I wish i could claim success, but our onions and spices got pretty burnt so the whole dish was a bit of a flop.  But the kids all got to help cook, so it was still a lot of fun to try.  And maybe next time we'll get it right!

The introduction of different cultures is one of my favorite parts of our history studies. It's amazing to see what else is out there and try something new!

--Little Miss Crazy