Study Ancient India by making Batik Cloths!

I can't take credit for this one....Here are the instructions for batik techniques for children.  But, here are some pictures of our versions.  We did this around the fall timeframe, so the kids chose to make their design fall-ish.


Haha....yeah, this kid hardly ever wears a shirt to "school".



Here, Denver is adding the paint to the "glue drawing" he has already added to the muslin cloth.  This muslin is left over from the mummy project from Egypt.   We used the blue gel glue that the above artist suggested. 
It worked out great.  Just make sure your glue is dry before you add the acrylic paint.



We used some of my scrapbooking acrylic paints.  You could use any brand, though.



This is what the back looks like when they are dry.  The paint doesn't adhere to where the glue design was drawn.

On Day Two, rinse off the dried glue with hot water (as hot as you can stand). 
The process takes a few minutes. 

This is Denver's pumpkin cloth.  I love it!

Here is Solomon's design!



You can complete this study by reading this book, Life in the Ancient Indus River Valley.  Check your local library. We did a notebooking page on what we learned.  I love the website http://www.notebookingpages.com/  Just go ahead and buy all of her pages.  They are beautiful, affordable and so practical for all ages. 

If your children are older elementary and up, you can watch the movie Gandhi with Ben Kingsley, a classic!  It is a little lengthy so it may be a good idea to break it up into two parts.  It actually has an intermission, so just stop there.  We also read some kid-friendly biographies on Mother Teresa and mapped the major rivers, oceans, mountain ranges and cities in India on black-line maps, purchased through Homeschool In The Woods. 

If you love adding culinary pursuits to your curriculum, what a perfect time to tackle vegetable samosas, chicken curry or Indian rice pudding. 

Great vocabulary words for India:  Buddhism, Hinduism, caste, pilgrimage, monsoon, Sanskrit, rickshaw, karma, reincarnation, yeti, Ganges River, Himalayan Mountains.

Buddha Stories by Demi is also recommended by TOG and we found it to be very entertaining.  They are basically short stories that teach a lesson--Aesop's Fables for its time and place, if you will. 

Have fun exploring the history, the animals, the culture and famous faces of India--then and now!