Three Shorts: Huddling 'Round the Brazier, Constructing Reference Maps, & New Fossil Finds

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Three shorts for the week:

It's mid-winter in chilly Senegal, with low temperatures dipping into the low 60s.  Brrrrrrr!  During the evening, house guards keep warm by huddling around their braziers, generally used to warm tea.  See photo 1.  I've seen metal trash can lids also used to contain a small wood fire.  It's rather homey, like camping out, with the flickering of flames illuminating spots along our little street.

In class, we're transitioning into a study of ancient Egypt history and culture.  We began by creating a set of reference maps of Egypt, north Africa, and the eastern Mediterranean.  Photos 2 & 3 show Selma, Ben, Damir and Will tracing-in map boundaries projected onto poster paper from an overall projector. 

In connection with our study of Ancient Egypt, we've begin a unit on myths and mythology, opening with a reading of an edited, kid-friendly version of Gilgamesh.  As I've explained to the kids, Gilgamesh has got everything you want in a story:  hunky heroes, pretty girls, scary monsters, and lots and lots of action.  You'll find the version I'm using here.  I have cleaned it up, mind you.  

The ISD fossils keep rolling in.  Filipa found a bit of jaw (photos 4 & 5) on Friday, and Haziq found several pieces of ceramic (photo 7) in the seashells used as ground cover around the school.  The shells likely come from the Joal, a town south of here, where they are found a great abundance, often in mounds, associated with people living in the area hundreds to thousands of years ago.  Note photo 6.