Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors

Children can try their hand at re-creating ancient Israelite culture, along with the cultures of their neighbors, the Philistines and Phoenicians, in a way that will provide perspective on current events. The book covers a key period from the Israelites’ settlement in Canaan in 1200 B.C.E. to their return from exile in Babylonia in 538 B.C.E. This part of the Middle East–no larger than modern-day Michigan–was the birthplace of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. More than 35 projects include stomping grapes into juice, building a model Phoenician trading ship, making a Philistine headdress, and writing on a broken clay pot. Israelites’, Phoenicians’, and Philistines’ writing and languages, the way they built their homes, the food they ate, the clothes they wore, and the work they did, and of course, their many interesting stories, are all explored.

• Lucerna Academy families: Use this book for 2 weeks in Year 1 Dialectic History class.
• Tapestry of Grace families: Used for history and arts/activities, dialectic students should be able to do the crafts independently. Information on page 45 may need to be discussed with students. Used for a total of 5 weeks in Units 2 and 3.