AD – GIFTED | Flora, my daughter, is one of my blog’s biggest supporters, and hopefully not just because she gets to review the occasional gifted item. My regular readers will know all about her love for her fab science subscription boxes. But today we’re reviewing something a little different: a Bumper fun world history for kids subscription box from Mysteries in Time. While not specifically tailored to the UK KS2 national curriculum, it does cover a range of skills and includes many supporting topics. So, as a change to our recent enforced homeschool curriculum, what did she think of her trip to Ancient Egypt?*
Mysteries in Time
Mysteries in Time is a series of 12 linked world history kits designed to bring history to life for 7-11 year olds. Each month, a new period “time machine” arrives at your door with a range of educational activities to complete. There’s an illustrated adventure story, which follows Max & Katie as they travel back in time to solve a mystery. And there’s also a supporting magazine with fun facts, quizzes, colouring in pages and more. You map your journeys through time by adding your monthly sticker to the timeline on the large world map, to better understand how world history fits together.
The Classic Pack costs £7.95 per month plus postage (worldwide shipping available) and includes:
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- A 50-page mystery adventure story
- Supporting 20-page history magazine
- Word puzzles & other fun activities
- Themed bookmark
- Colourful sticker sheet
- Three colouring-in pages
- Timeline sticker
- World map & timeline (first box only)
- Sent in a personalised time machine box
The Bumper Box costs £12.95 per month plus postage within the UK and includes all of the above plus a craft activity and a mystery gift.
Ancient Egypt
Max and Katie’s first adventure takes them to Ancient Egypt where they experience mummies, pyramids, Ancient Egyptian gods, hieroglyphs and more. And Flora was very happy with her mystery gift, the Anubis pen. In the interests of accuracy, the models of Bast, Anubis and others belong to Flora, they didn’t come with the subscription box. But she decided they would enhance some of our photographs 🙂
World map, Max & Katie’s adventure story, and history magazine
The first task for Flora was to decide where to place the Ancient Egypt sticker on the map timeline and find modern-day Egypt on the world map. Bearing in mind there are another 11 stickers to come, she decided to go as close to 3000 BC as possible. And she knows plenty about the Middle East as Alan does a lot of business there, so finding Egypt was easy.
Then she settled down in her reading nook to read the illustrated Max & Katie’s time-travel to Ancient Egypt story (with cute matching bookmark).
Followed by some fun fact revision and learning in the history magazine. (She already knows a fair bit about Ancient Egypt, including that cats were worshipped as gods…). But she pronounced the reminder of exactly what goes on in the mummification process and use of Canopic Jars to be,”…particularly gruesome.” Something I would have to agree with.
Fun fact: because female rulers were rare, Queen Hatshepsut made sure all statues and pictures of her showed her wearing a fake beard to prove she was a Pharaoh! And I was amazed to discover the Ancient Egyptians invented a 365-day calendar all those years ago too.
Colouring in sheets and quizzes
The Ancient Egyptians had their own alphabet and wrote using hieroglyphs. Fun fact: we’ve only been able to decode their language since 1799 after the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. Flora had a go at writing her own name in hieroglyphs before some doing some relaxing colouring in.
And then it was back to the quiz, number challenge, spot the difference, anagrams and word search. Helpfully (for me at least) all the answers were on the back page.
Craft activity
After learning about why amulets were important to the Ancient Egyptians, Flora had to design, sculpt and decorate her own amulet from the clay provided. This was what she’d been waiting for, which was why I kept it back as a reward for doing the literacy, maths and art challenges first 🙂
As you can see, she decided to make two: an Ankh (symbol of life) and an Eye of Horus (for protection and good health). And rather than leave them as standalone models, she turned them into hanging ornaments to grace her bedroom. Ever thrifty, she only used half the clay so she could come back and make some more at a later date.
Final thoughts
Flora raced through this entire subscription box in one afternoon. Granted, she’s a very fast reader, and is already a fan of Ancient Egypt, but she really enjoyed everything, especially the craft activity. A big thank you to Mysteries in Time for our first world history for kids box. She’s been learning about the Tudors recently, so the next box, Elizabethan Era, will be perfect timing. And we think this world history for kids series of boxes would make a fantastic gift for kids who love reading, crafts and puzzles. Not to mention a welcome relief to all parents who’ve been dropped into homeschooling in recent months!
Have you learned anything new about Ancient Egypt? Which activity is your favourite? Do you know any kids who’d love to travel back in time to Ancient Egypt? Or discover more about world history in general with one of these fun history for kids subscription boxes?
* This post features gifted items but all opinions are our own.
This looks great Lisa! I always loved learning about Ancient cultures when I was at school, so I’m sure I would have enjoyed this too. It’s such a great way to get kids interested in history.
Thank you, Kim! It was such a fun box, we learned so many interesting facts (some revision as well but lots of new stuff too), highly recommended.
Oh what a great educational subscription! It looks like a lot of fun! It’s nice there are so many things like this around for the kids to enjoy now 🙂
Hope you had a great weekend! 🙂
I know, I mean who knows what I might be doing today if these boxes had been around when I was 10! Thank you, hope you did too 🙂
This box is so nice! I love the other subjects they have down the line too.
It’s really good, and Flora is very keen on WW2 and Space in due course.
This box looks great! If we decide to homeschool this year, Ancient Civilizations is definitely on the list.
Egypt was wonderful, we can’t wait to learn more about the Aztecs now!
Thanks for sharing 🙂 This looks a fun box, would be interesting for all ages, my nephews would be interested if they were doing the Egyptians at school 🙂
Nic | Nic’s Adventures & Bakes
It would be great for all Primary kids, I think, and I’m sure your nephews will do Ancient Egypt at some point 🙂
Great post! This sounds like a really fun activity for your kids!
Thank you, Flora loved it!
I think Ancient Egypt is SO fascinating! This sounds like such an amazing option for kids to learn more about history in a fun way! xxx
What surprised me was how much I learned too – it’s a brilliant box! xxx
This is such a good idea! My son is History mad, I think he might be a bit too old for it now, My step daughters on the other hand though, this could encourage them to enjoy it a bit more. They are 6 and 9 and thanks to lockdown just see school as an inconvenience at the moment.
Thank you for sharing, I will definitely check this out x
It’s the first history subscription box I’ve seen but we loved it – and I know how your step daughters feel, haha! xx
This look so interesting and fun, but most important childrens can learn so much form it. Thank you for sharing.
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Yes, absolutely, we learned a lot and had fun at the same time.
Thank you for sharing an awesome review. I was always fascinated about ancient Egypt during my childhood days. Reading your review about his book makes me interested to grab one for myself.
Oh, thank you, that’s so kind – and I have to confess I learned a lot more about Ancient Egypt as well 🙂
Looks so fun! I think my nieces would enjoy this a lot! Thanks for sharing 🙂
You’re welcome, I’m glad it was useful 🙂
I don’t have kids but this looks amazing. I did a Classics degree so love all things Ancient Egypt! Might have to get one for my younger cousin 🙂
Oooh, yes, get one for them and then you can share it, great idea! 🙂
this looks awesome! i’ve been looking up different activities since i just started back at work as a preschool teacher. i want to make sure the kids are learning but also ease them into because i’m sure at that age they didn’t do much school work during quarantine. this specific one might be to advance for them but i’d love to see if they have stuff for younger kids. so glad flora enjoyed it! xx
mich. x
simplymich.com
I think some of these activities would be great for younger kids – colouring and listening to you reading the magazine and book, for example. MIT do ship worldwide so it might be worth messaging them to see what they could do! x
Such a lovely review, I’ve always been fascinated by Ancient Egypt. A history subscription box sounds delightful, I’ve bookmarked it, hopefully it will come in handy when my son is a little older. Thank you for sharing dear!
Tx.
Thank you – and I hope your son will enjoy it in due course – MIT do ship worldwide!
Lisa,
I am aware I am not your target audience. I have no children in school and I live across the pond in the USA. However, I love history and would do anything to encourage children to love it, also. The bigger educational base they have to start with, the better perspective they will have on current events as they get older. Great review of what sounds like a phenomenal educational product! Do you know what the price would be in US dollars?
Thank you, that’s a lovely thing to say, and I completely agree with you! I’m guessing the price of the Bumper pack would be about $16 plus whatever the UK to US postage costs would be – I suggest you message MIT to see as they do ship worldwide 🙂
I love how colorful this kit is. It reminds me of the Magic Tree House books I used to read, as each story went back in time to a spot in history. It is amazing what people come up with to make learning more then learning, and I think coloring and filling in quizzes helps the memory retain the information.
I love the idea of designing an amulet! I have baked so many odd little figures out of clay. 🙂
I don’t know the Magic Tree books, they sound a lot of fun, although Flora might be a little old for them now. But yes, you’re right, these kinds of activities make learning much more fun, and the information is retained better too!
This looks like such a fun and educational option. I love how interactive it is and definitely think its value for money.
It’s definitely worth the money, Kelly, it’s a great box 🙂
It’s never too early to develop a love of history, and Ancient Egypt has always been my favourite. Sounds like a great subscription!
Oh, absolutely, and Ancient Egypt has to be one of the best places to start too!
This box looks amazing! Looks so interactive. They definitely include a lot for the price.
Yes, they do, it’s such good value, you get so much in it!
This looks so cool, having fun while learning is so important, and who doesn’t love ancient Egypt?
Exactly, they couldn’t have picked a better topic to start with!
What a fab subscription box! I love things like this that make learning fun because you definitely learn much better that way, well i think so anyway. My niece is a bit young for this at the moment, but it will be great to recommend this in the future for her. I loved learning about Ancient Egypt, info face I still have an old papyrus bookmark from when I was young!
Thanks for sharing this Lisa!
Aimsy xoxo
Aimsy’s Antics
Thank you, it’s a brilliant subscription box, I can’t believe how much I learned, as well as Flora! And my goodness, that’s a long time to keep a papyrus bookmark, it must be fabulous quality 🙂 xx
Attractive post for kids. Sounds amazing.
Thank you 🙂
Can I sign myself up for a box please?? They look amazing, especially as an aid with all of the home schooling going on right now. That sounds like incredible value for money for all of the things you get in each box too. I know I’ve said this a million times before, but I love Flora’s blogger mail. It’s incredible to see all the fun resources available for kids now x
Sophie
Do it, do it! And yes, I know, her blogger mail is so good, she’s really lucky 🙂 I only wish all these resources had been around when I was her age, I might be a Nobel Prize winner by now, haha xx
I didn’t know that about female rulers that is very interesting. It looks like Flora had a great time using this! These activities are perfect especially if children are still being home schooled. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
No, I didn’t either – it’s a bit drastic, haha. I originally wondered if this box might be a bit young for her but she absolutely loved it – can’t wait for the next one! Thank you, Lauren x
This is such an amazing idea! I would’ve loved this as a kid (still would probably, haha). I think my stepdaughter would appreciate something like this!
I know, I love Flora’s blogger mail, she gets such good things! And I hope your stepdaughter will love it too if she gets one 🙂
These look amazing! It’s my cousins daughters birthday soon, so I may have to look into something like this for her as it seems like so much fun xx
Hannah | https://luxuryblush.co.uk/
Oooh, lucky girl if she gets one of these, they are such fun to do, it doesn’t feel like learning at all! xx
I love this post and this kit! My girls would love this! Great stuff 😀
Thank you so much – I hope they love it if they get one too 🙂
This sounds really good. Even if she did all the tasks in an afternoon, she can still look back in a few months to see if she can remember the more important things. I also think the subscription is quite cheap considering that they are learning the history from all over the world.
I think your daughter would love the Egypt exhibition at the World Museum in Liverpool. If you are planning a staycation later this summer, keep that in mind. There are also other fascinating museums in Liverpool, many of them free and most of the others are cheap anyway (£5-£10).
It’s great value for what you get in the box, and you can always look back at a later date too, as you say. The Eqypt exhibition sounds great and yes, we will be having staycations this year, so one to add to our list, thank you!
This is something new for Flora. She must have enjoyed. A science student knowing more about history/geography too is a plus point for her. Besides looking at maps and making some related crafts creates so much more interest in art as well. I remember history was like just mugging up the whole chapter and vomiting on the exam papers lol. 🙂 These kind of boxes make everything so interesting. 🙂
She loved it – as you say, it was something new for her and made history sooooo much more fun and engaging. I know what you mean about mugging up and regurgitating everything though! 🙂