Yesterday, we learned about the burial practices of ancient Egypt.  In particular, we learned about canopic jars.  These jars were used to store the organs of the deceased for safe keeping on the voyage to the afterlife.  There were four different types of jars (jackal, baboon, human, and falcon), each bearing a likeness of the particular god in charge of protecting a particular organ.  Our jars started out as Pringle’s cans.  Yes, my family ate 18 cans of Pringles.  I am too ashamed to admit how quickly that happened!  : O

We started by forming a foil ball as a base for the head.  Then we used Claycrete (a paper mache-type product) to form and sculpt the heads.  We used traditional paper mache to cover the cans.  I primed the cans with gesso.  Then the students painted the heads and cans with tempera paint.  I introduced the idea of hieroglyphics and gave students and alphabet chart to write their names on the cans.  Some used Sharpie to draw their names.  Some brave ones used a small paint brush.

This project had its challenges, but I am happy with how it turned out.  The kids had a lot of fun making them.  The first thing the kids wanted to see when they came into class today was their animal heads. : )  They were very proud of the finished product.