Big Plans: Days of Knights

Have I mentioned that the oldest four Zoomlians have been taking a class on Medieval history on Tuesday mornings?

This has worked out well: a teacher that loves his subject and does lots of hands on visual aids (like real swords!) and I get some time to focus on the younger Zoomlians.

 I was a bit conflicted about the class because I also love to teach history, but the extra time plus the older Zoomlians getting to meet more home schoolers  tipped the balance.

Besides, I can still teach history!  I'm gearing up for a Medieval unit of my own.  A lot of the books I'll be doing will be geared towards Oob and Choclo, but the projects should be an immersive boost to the older Zoomlians as well.

What do I want them to learn, and how will they learn it?

Why was the Medieval Age the way it was?  To me, the most interesting thing about this time period is that it is a recreation of civilization: chaos to warlords to kings.  We'll probably explore this with discussion and skits.  If no one was in charge, what would happen?

And yet, when Rome fell, not all civilization was lost.  The Church, while suffering from the chaos, preserved knowledge, maintained some order, and proposed Christianity as the basis for the new civilization. In essence, it was the chivalric code (proposed by the Church) that turned warlords (out for their own gain) into knights (bound to defend the weak and helpless).  Was this perfectly realized outside of the legends?  Let's just say it was realized at least as well as Christianity is realized now.

Knights are fun for other reasons though, mainly the chance to study their arms and armor!  We will be making our own "Code of Chivalry," developing coats of arms, and designing suits of armor based on body traces.  We'll make helmets and tabards (our house is already chock full of swords).

The older Zoomlians will be turning our dining room into a castle, and we'll all do some other castle building and designing projects.

We'll take a closer look at the Church, especially the lives of bishops, monks, and nuns.  We'll be doing some stained glass projects, looking at cathedrals, saints, and symbolism, and some calligraphy.  We'll also look at some of the science preserved by the Church.  We'll be making and using sundials, hour glasses and time candles.

Then there are the lives of serfs, peasants, and artisans.  We'll do a little metal working,  some "field work," and talk about "Baa, Baa Black Sheep."

I'm also looking to watch The Black Arrow,  Robin Hood, and The Court Jester, and we'll top off the unit with a feast!