Catapulting the Castle Wk 21

The kids built a catapult from a kit that Everett received for Christmas. We fired marshmallows and a rubber ball at reinforced block towers to recreate laying siege to a castle.

FYI- siege literally means 'to sit' and invading armies would actually sit outside fortified city walls for months or even years before they found a way in..

It was great fun........until it broke.
note: Wood glue will be replaced with Hot glue gun when it is rebuilt.

I decided to add the Canterbury Tales into the curriculum starting next week. We are also watching videos from the library on Life in the Middle Ages  by Schlessinger Media.

After reading and watching a video on monastic life in the Middle Ages, the girls remembered posing for these photos at Westminster Abbey: 

 :-0 hehe- they make me laugh!

Take up your shields, your coat of arms and FIGHT!

Well, this project did not take much convincing. They were willing from the word 'shield'. They spent a few hours each on their designs and coloring their personal coat of arms.

We took was a cardboard box, cut some sturdy shield shapes. 2 pieces of posterboard to cover the brown shield, markers and a book to copy some typical coat of arm symbols. We had one from the library that told the significance of the symbols used in the art of Heraldry, like the lion for courage, gold for generosity, blue for loyalty and honesty, a sun for glory, a spider for wisdom and hard-work, a trident for master at sea and red for warriors.

Let the battles begin.......

We also learned a Medieval Game called 

NINE MEN'S MORRIS.

Playing it with gummy bears makes it all more delicious to take an opponent's player.

Week 16 - 18 Medieval Studies / Piano Recital

The Book of Kells was written by monks in the 800's in a monestary in Ireland. It contains the first four gospels in Latin. It is one of Ireland's most treasured artifacts and is displayed at Dublin University. The Book is considered the greatest representation of illuminated manuscript, where the monks would actually layer the pages and letters with real gold making them glow or illuminate in the candlelight.

Mackenzie colored this page from the Book of Kells.

Harper made her own page to replicate the precise nature of the writing and painted the sides with watercolor.

The girls also performed in the bi-annual piano recital this month. They both memorized their songs this year. I am so proud of their hard work and practice time.

Harper playing " FUR ELISE"