Tessa learned that Christian monks from the Middle Ages had to follow many rules and were responsible for the tedious work of copying and creating manuscripts with intricate drawings. After crafting her own illuminated letter, she understood a little better just how much work that entailed.
Wednesday
- Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 7 and 38-39).
Thursday
- Read The Holy Twins: Benedict and Scholastica by Kathleen Norris.
- Read The Last Snake in Ireland: A Story about St. Patrick by Sheila Macgill-Callahan.
The Last Snake in Ireland: A Story about St. Patrick is tongue-in-cheek and very much just for fun. There are much better books about St. Patrick available (perhaps Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie dePaola or St. Patrick's Day by Gail Gibbons). I chose this one because it was recommended in The Story of the World Activity Book, readily available and we hadn't already read it.
Friday
- Read Magic in the Margins: A Medieval Tale of Bookmaking by W. Nikola-Lisa.
- Completed "Let's Draw An Illuminated Letter" craft (page 23) from The Middle Ages: Come and Discover My World by Peter Chrisp.
I really wanted to read Marguerite Makes a Book by Bruce Robertson before our illuminated letter craft. I had it on hold at the library for weeks. Of course, my number came up while we were on vacation earlier this month, so I missed my chance. I made do with Magic in the Margins: A Medieval Tale of Bookmaking, which wasn't bad...just wasn't what I wanted.
* HO = History Odyssey
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| Tessa began by sketching a pattern for her illuminated letter. Then, she filled it in with Prismacolor colored pencils. Our set included a nice metallic gold. After diligently working on her letter for an hour, I took pity on Tessa's cramped hand and helped her with the final detail work. I used a metallic gold Jelly Roll pen to outline the gold sections. We took turns adding the gold dots. |
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| Tessa's completed illuminated letter. Tessa was really into this project, which surprised me a bit. She was quite proud of her work and couldn't wait to show Daddy. |
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| Lucky for us, the illuminated letter modeled in "The Middle Ages: Come and Discover My World" was the letter "T"...perfect for a girl whose name begins with "T". I thought the vines and leaves pictured were beyond Tessa's skill level, so I had her draw some simple flowers instead. |
* HO = History Odyssey
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