Time Travel with a Teaspoon Archaeology For Kids by Rebecca Rupp was featured in the September-October 1998 issue of Home Education Magazine. Rebecca opened the column by writing:

Caleb, our youngest son, wants (just now) to be an archaeologist when he grows up. Accordingly, he reads everything he can find on archaeological topics, surfs the Internet in search of the ancient, and subscribes to the magazine Archaeology, published bimonthly by the Archaeological Institute of America. Archaeology, which is aimed at adults, has a fairly sophisticated text, but the pictures – all in color – are great for persons of all ages. Each issue includes several feature articles about archaeological discoveries worldwide.

In this one paragraph, Rebecca explains the beauty of learning and that children do not have to be limited to age appropriate material when exploring their passions in the real world! The column was written over ten years ago, but as always, much of what she shared remains available today. Here are some of the Archaeology resources she shares:

Society for American Archaeology (SAA) http://www.saa.org. This first one offers many great resources, but I was delighted find Frequently Asked Questions About A Career In Archaeology In The U.S.

Next she offered these recommendations:

• Calliope http://www.cobblestonepub.com/magazine/CAL/
• Faces http://www.cobblestonepub.com/magazine/FAC/

I was able to find the following book suggestions at my local library:

• Dig This! How Archaeologists Uncover Our Past (Michael Avi-Yonah; Runestone Press, 1993) Also in this series; Scrawl! Writing in Ancient Times; Fired Up! Making Pottery in Ancient Times; Piece by Piece: Mosaics of the Ancient World; and Sunk! Exploring Underwater Archaeology
• The Magic School Bus Shows and Tells: A Book About Archaeology (Jackie Posner; Scholastic, 1997
• The Young Oxford Book of Archaeology by Norah Moloney (Oxford University Press, 1997)
• Gods, Graves, and Scholars by C.W. Ceram (Bantam, 1976

I could not find these at my local or statewide library, but as Becky writes, many can be found in libraries or used bookstores.

• All About Archaeology by Anne Terry White (Random House, 1959)
• Archaeology by Dennis Fradin (Children’s Press, 1983)
• The Practical Archaeologist by Jane McIntosh (Facts On File, 1986
• Archaeology: A Brief Introduction by Brian Fagan (Addison Wesley, 1996)

As always, Rebecca offers some interesting hands on resources as well.

• Prehistoric Cave Painting Kit and Rock Art Painting. Both kits are available from Ancient Graffiti, 52 Seymour St., 888) 725-6632 fax (802) 388-7104; e-mail: ancientg @ sovernet.com. (I could not find the company on line, so I’m not sure if they remain in business or not.



• Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin (AFOB)
• PIT (Passport in Time) Traveler
• The National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

In this column Rebecca also reviews some other great resources. was able to find: Reading Through the Ages By Linda Thornhill and Sally Barnard, The Game of Shakespeare, Beaver Tooth and Days of Knights and Damsels

HEM columnist Rebecca Rupp has a Ph.D. in cell biology, has written for many magazines, and has published several books. She lives in Vermont with her husband and three sons.

Of course that was just the beginning of a whole new world of gaming that they still enjoy a great deal, but we also enjoy our good old fashioned card, board or word games that allow us to relax and spend time with friends and family in today’s fast-paced world.

Here are some game resources and articles to explore.

Articles

Revelations of a Homeschooling Mom – Carol Wanagel

REVELATION #6: The pursuit of any one interest will result in a complete education.

A major portion of my kids’ education began with an interest in video games. Ten years ago, for entertainment only, we got an Atari computer and PacMan game cartridge. The system incidentally came with an operating manual and a book on programming. I didn’t know how to set the thing up but the kids figured it out in short order. Before long I heard them whispering things to each other like, “Wouldn’t it be neat to break into this program and give ourselves more power?” Soon they were looking into other computer systems and more challenging games.

Getting It Down – Ways to Encourage Reluctant Writer – Sue Smith Heavenrich

If only writing were a dice game… That’s it! I thought. A game of chance.

When we gathered, I had three sheets of paper. At the top of one I wrote “The Setting”. I numbered down six lines, and filled in six different settings: a forest, a school, a pirate ship, a castle, the ocean, and a cave. Another paper was titled, “Your Character”. On this sheet I listed: an enchanted frog, a cowardly dragon, a giant, a clever spider, a boy, an inventor. On a third paper I wrote “The Problem” and listed six topics: hunting for lost treasure, stopping aliens from invading the earth, losing a favorite object, getting stuck in quicksand, overcoming magic, and getting lost in a storm.

“We’re going to roll stories by chance,” I explained. “The cast of your die will determine who your character is, as well as the setting and problem. Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to use our wits to solve the problem…. and do it by writing.”

MATH… and Other Tales of Horror – Leslie Wilson

On and off over the years we’ve resurrected the Wonder Numbers Game, each time playing a different variation of our own. We especially enjoy imagining the board is the land of Mathematica, where interesting things can happen in different locations: side activities tied to certain squares, prime number “cities” where you draw a word problem card worth bonus points or a prize. We sometimes use felt numbers or bear counters or Cuisenaire Rods to collect as prizes. They are added up at the end of the game, or certain ones multiplied, subtracted, divided to find out the winner. Infinite variations are possible.

A Gift of Time – Sue Smith-Heavenrich

By homeschooling, you give them the gift of time to discover ideas. If you let children play around with blocks and puzzles and balances, they will discover math. I have yet to meet a child who doesn’t refer to LEGO® or DUPLO® blocks by counting the knobs on top. My children learned to call blocks by shape names so they could discuss castle architecture. They used counting frames to keep score in card games, and loved weighing things on the kitchen scale. When they discovered what rulers and tape measures were for, they went around the house measuring. How long is a shoe? How big are daddy’s ears?

How’s School Going? – Mary Kenyon

Rainy days and cold winter house bound days ensured time for math worksheets, science videos, phonics lessons, and educational games. As Beth advanced in school she chose to use textbooks for more of her learning. Her writing flourished as she wrote and edited a bimonthly newsletter for girls her age.

Resources

• ELLIOTT AVEDON MUSEUM & ARCHIVE OF GAMES

• History.com offers these interesting articles on the history of games and toys:
  • Game Timeline
  • Monopoly
  • Scrabble
• Interactive Timeline of Gaming from PBS

• Online Guide to Traditional Games

Games can bring back favorite family memories; in From Boring To Board Games Elise Griffith asked, “Do you remember Monopoly? I still enjoy acting as banker because it’s the only time I get to play with that amount of money!”

Carol Wanagel expanded on that concept in her wonderful Revelations of a Homeschooling Mom, explaining how her kids “developed astonishing mental skills, remembering the complex, three-dimensional mazes with endless hazards and rewards in hidden corners, planning many levels ahead, keeping a number of parallel factors in mind, calculating how much gold could be spent on potions and still leave enough for the magic sword three levels away.”

It has been argued that it’s almost impossible to play a game without learning something in the process, which truly makes all games educational games!

Homespun Games: Play by Your Own Rules, by Dianne Wilton – Bring out your favorite board game—Pictionary, Monopoly, Snakes and Ladders, Aggravation! You already have fun playing it. Now it can be the stimulus for an even greater learning experience. Imagine your whole family gathered together around the kitchen table, laughing and sharing as you redesign that game to make it truly yours. You will be creating your own version to reflect your interests and to include the skills that are important to you.

Time For Family Baseball, by Earl Stevens – Our modified game is a wonderful choice for community play because practically everyone is familiar with baseball, and it is physically accessible to all ages and abilities. You need only a bat, a ball, a batting tee for the young and inexperienced, some carpet remnant bases, and an open field.

An Interview Leila Giles and Celeste Land, by Mary Nix – I’ve always loved board games. At the time, my mom was writing an article for the VaHomeschoolers Newsletter on how kids can learn about government, and someone suggested that she include a game. One of the activities for Election Connection was a board game about becoming president, and that inspired me to create my own game.

From Boring To Board Games, by Elise Griffith – When I was a child, I never thought of Monopoly as “educational” … did you? It was simply great fun. Yet games can teach your children valuable skills; Monopoly lays the foundation for budgeting prowess when your children are snapping up properties, accumulating rent for hotels, or just passing “Go” and collecting $200.

Revelations of a Homeschooling Mom, by Carol Wanagel – Interactive games required even more: logic, reading, divergent thinking, accurate spelling, and an understanding of economics, geography, history, politics, sociology and psychology. All of the games inspired animated conversations and frequently were won with pooled information and cooperative efforts.

Do-It-Yourself Group Activities for Teenagers, by Cafi Cohen – We rotated meetings at members’ homes and – depending on the weather – the kids played either indoor games like Monopoly and Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit and Twister or outdoor games like flag football and volleyball. Games needed almost no supervision and very little planning or special equipment.

Resources: Educational Games

Family Pastimes Board games with a focus on cooperative learning.

Gamewright Award-winning games for all ages.

Ampersand Press Educational games focusing on nature and the environment.

Bits and Pieces Wooden puzzles, jigsaw puzzles for all ages, games packages

Oompa Toys: Games High-quality children’s educational games, wooden puzzles, European toys, etc.

Game.com Home of the popular Parker Brothers, Milton Bradley, and Hasbro games.

Wizards of the Coast Role-playing games, trading cards, miniatures sets, etc.

Back Issues Specials

Home Education Magazine’s special back issue packages now include new selections of issues focusing humor and games and puzzles!