Recipe: Craft Activity: Color-Mixing Tic-Tac-Toe

Craft Activity: Color-Mixing Tic-Tac-Toe

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

• craft :

  to plan and create objects from found or available items or ready-made patterns for purposes that are decorative, functional, or both.

• draw :

  to produce circles, lines, shapes, diagrams, and images, using a pencil or pen on paper, chalk on a slate or blackboard, or dry-erase marker on a whiteboard.

• drop :

  to let a small amount of solid or liquid food drop into another food or onto a pan to cook, like dropping a spoonful of batter onto a baking sheet or skillet or letting a bit of extract or food coloring drop into a mixture.

• have fun :

  to enjoy or amuse oneself, have a good time, or get pleasure from doing something—like cooking!

History of Tic-Tac-Toe!

• Variations of Tic-Tac-Toe (or Tick-Tack-Toe) have been discovered in the ancient world. Three-in-a-row game boards were found on roofing tiles from 1300 BCE in Ancient Egypt. Another variation was found in Rome in the first century BCE. In Latin, the game was called "terni lapilli" or "three pebbles." The game's grid markings were found all around Rome.
• Other names for Tic-Tac-Toe include "noughts (zeroes) and crosses," primarily used in Britain and Commonwealth countries, and "Xs and Os," used in Canada and Ireland. The British name, "noughts and crosses," first appeared in 1858. The first use of "tick-tack-toe" was seen in the late 1800s. The name may have come from the sound (tick-tack) of chalk hitting slate.  
• In 1952, one of the first video games was created on an early British computer, the EDSAC, at the University of Cambridge in England by British computer scientist Alexander "Sandy" Douglas. The game was called OXO (based on noughts and crosses), with the computer playing perfect games against a human opponent. 
• Tic-Tac-Toe can be played on paper by drawing a grid of 3x3 squares. It is a two-player game with one player assigned to Xs and the second player assigned to Os. Player X draws an X in a square, then player O draws an O in another square. The goal is to get three Xs or three Os in a row, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, drawing a line through the completed row and becoming the winner. It is also a game of strategy, as Player X can stymie Player O by drawing an X in a row that will keep Player O from completing their row (and vice-versa). Many games end in forced draws, with neither player able to complete three in a row.

Let's Learn About Ancient Egypt!

• Ancient Egypt was established around 3150 BCE. It was located in Northeast Africa, with most cities near the Nile River. 
• Memphis was the capital of Ancient Egypt. It was on the west bank of the Nile River, about 15 miles south of modern Cairo, the current capital city. Families can visit an open-air museum in the present-day village of Mit Rahina in Badrasheen in the Giza governorate to see some of the ruins of Memphis. A statue of the pharaoh Ramesses II, over 30 feet tall, is on display there!
• The pharaoh was the sovereign of the land and had absolute power. There were distinct social layers, with farmers at the lower end and the nobility or upper class at the top. However, they were all considered equal under the law. Women had more rights than in other cultures, and two women, Hatshepsut and Cleopatra VII, became pharaohs.  
• Agriculture was one of the biggest industries. Farmers depended on the Nile River, as there was little rainfall. They had three seasons: flooding, planting, and harvesting. 
• Animals were essential to the ancient Egyptians as companions, beasts of burden, and food. Cats were sacred, and Egyptians believed having a cat in their household would bring good luck! They also worshiped gods in animal form.
• Ancient Egyptians had over 2,000 gods! Each deity had different responsibilities and required worship so that life could be kept in balance. 
• Stone quarrying and building was another major industry. The ancient Egyptians built monuments, especially to pharaohs, in the form of pyramids, temples, and obelisks (tall, narrow, and tapered with a pyramid shape on top). 
• The Ancient Egyptian language is extinct. The writing system was hieroglyphics, comprised of hieroglyphs or pictures of an object representing a word, sound, or syllable. More than 700 hieroglyphs made up the Egyptian alphabet! 
• Egyptians believed in preparing for the afterlife, and by preserving the dead person's body through mummification, their soul would live forever. They would be wrapped in about 492 feet of linen strips!
• Both Egyptian men and women wore makeup. If their eye paint was green, it was made from copper, and if it was black, it was made from lead. Egyptians thought makeup could magically provide healing! 
• The ancient Egyptians enjoyed music and dance. They also liked to play games. One popular board game, Senet, was played in Egypt for over 2,000 years! To play, they would throw sticks, like we throw dice, to move their game piece on the board.
• The ancient Egyptians invented many things we still use today, such as paper, pens, locks with keys, and, believe it or not, toothpaste!
• The cuisine of Ancient Egypt included bread, vegetables, meat, and beer. They used honey as a sweetener and would coat fruit and nuts to make confections. 

What Was It Like to Be a Kid in Ancient Egypt?

• Parents took great interest in having their kids learn and enjoy their early life with games and other entertainment. Kids learned a craft once they were educated and reached the age of maturity.
• Kids played board games and ball and stick games. They played with animal toys, dolls, and puppets. 
• The weather in ancient Egypt was hot, and for most of the year, younger children did not wear clothes!
• Kids may have eaten dates or date cakes sweetened with honey or tiger nut sweets for a treat. 
• A recipe for tiger nut sweets was found written on a broken piece of ancient Egyptian pottery from about 1600 BCE. The sweets were made with the tubers of the Cyperus esculentus plant, also known as tiger nuts (which are also used to make the drink "horchata" in Spain).