Hammurabi and the Epic of Gilgamesh

I'm trying to distract L from the Egyptians by moving on to great old Hammurabi and the other Mesopotamians in The Story of The World. Sargon the Great of the Sumerians didn't do it. No shrivelled up dead bodies. The Ancient Jews didn't either. (Though she really loves the Children's Illustrated Jewish Bible -- all mention of smiting and "knowing" removed, which trims it down considerably) Hammurabi's Code, with its talk of cutting off hands and putting to death might just spark her rather gruesomely inclined interest, though.

So in this vein, I've been searching for some material on Babylonia, and the Epic of Gilgamesh. I found an interesting site on creation myths called the Big Myth. It has myths on the beginning of the world from various cultures around the world, narrated with some animation. Them Babylonians were a fierce bunch. They're all about wars and conflict and monsters. The Louvre website also has a pretty amazing display on the Code of Hammurabi.

Have I mentioned how great the New York Public Library system is? The website is incredible: I just requested five books on the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Babylonians. Should be enough blood and gore in that to keep L happy for a couple of weeks.

Happy MLK Jr. Day!

We took the day off with all the other schoolers for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We've been reading some books about his life, and did a simple project this morning, cutting out hand shapes and writing in the names of all the people we love and connecting them into a wreath. A sort of loving and helping motif thing. But honestly, I don't think I've done much of a job getting L to understand the civil rights movement or racism. When I asked her what she remembered about MLK from our reading, she said that long ago, white people didn't like Asians. Close, I guess.

I've just read an interesting essay by a professor who is homeschooling his kids, in which he details why he's doing it, which I can really relate to.