Medieval Times, Lesson 42

William Shakespeare

Yeah, yeah, yippee, yippee, yeah!! We're finally finished with Medieval Times. This fall, we'll be off to Early Modern Times. And, did we ever end with a bang...we read a lot of long, laborious books. Good ones, though! Tessa enjoyed Shakespeare, but she didn't like most of his endings. A Midsummer Night's Dream was her favorite, helped along by the gorgeous illustrations in Coville's version, I think. I highly recommend his books.

Monday

• Read Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare by Diane Stanley.

Tuesday

• Read William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream by Bruce Coville.

Wednesday

• Read William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juiliet by Bruce Coville.

Thursday

• Read William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night by Bruce Coville.

Friday

• Read William Shakespeare's Hamlet by Bruce Coville.

* HO = History Odyssey

Medieval Times, Lesson 41

Age of Elizabeth

Wednesday

• Read Usborne World History: The Last 500 Years by Jane Bingham (pages 14-15).
• Read The Queen's Progress by Celeste Davidson Mannis.

Thursday

• Read Good Queen Bess : The Story of Elizabeth I of England by Diane Stanley.

Friday

• Read "No. 5: Sir Francis Drake" (pages 20-21) from Top 10 Worst Nasty Pirates You Wouldn't Want to Meet by Fiona MacDonald.
• Starting reading The Lost Colony Of Roanoke by Jean Fritz. (Completed as a bedtime read-aloud.)

Medieval Times, Lesson 40

The Reformation and Counter-Reformation

Tuesday

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 12-13).
• Read "No. 9: Henry VIII" (pages 12-13) from Top 10 Worst Wicked Rulers You Wouldn't Want to Know! by Fiona MacDonald.
• Read Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed The World by Paul L. Maier. (Published by a Lutheran publishing house, so this book is not the most objective.)

Medieval Times, Lesson 39

Moguls (Mughals)

Wednesday

• Read Usborne World History: The Last 500 Years by Jane Bingham (pages 10-11).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 39, Main Lesson.
• Read Count Your Way Through India by James Haskins.

Thursday

• Read Taj Mahal by Caroline Arnold.

* HO = History Odyssey

Medieval Times, Lesson 38

More World Exploration

Thursday

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 90-91).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 38, Main Lesson.
• Started reading Columbus by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire. (Completed as a bedtime read-aloud.)

Following Monday

• Read Usborne World History: The Last 500 Years by Jane Bingham (pages 6-7).
• Read The Discovery of the Americas by Betsy and Giulio Maestro.

Following Tuesday

• Started reading Magellan's World by Stuart Waldman. (Completed as a bedtime read-aloud.)

* HO = History Odyssey

Medieval Times, Lesson 37

The Start of the Renaissance

Tessa is a huge Geronimo Stilton fan. She has listened to the The Mona Mousa Code on audiobook no less than twenty times (probably more), so she was crazy excited to learn a little about the real Mona Lisa.

Friday

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 86-87).
• Read Who Stole Mona Lisa? by Ruthie Knapp.

Following Monday

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 88-89).
• Read Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo da Vinci by Gene Barretta.
• Listened to Magic Tree House #38: Monday With a Mad Genius audiobook by Mary Pope Osborne.

Following Tuesday

• Read Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei by Peter Sís.
• Read Galileo's Journal, 1609 - 1610 by Jeanne Pettenati.

Following Wednesday

• Read Johann Gutenberg and the Amazing Printing Press by Bruce Koscielniak.

* HO = History Odyssey

Medieval Times, Lesson 36

Turks & Ottomans

Ooh...we're getting close to the end now! We have just a few pages left to read in The Usborne Medieval World and are already moving into Usborne World History: The Last 500 Years. There wasn't anything of interest in the children's section at our library about the Turks and Ottomans, so we enjoyed a couple of leisurely days.

Wednesday

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 54-55).
• Started HO map work for Lesson 36, Main Lesson.

Thursday

• Read Usborne World History: The Last 500 Years by Jane Bingham (pages 8-9).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 36, Main Lesson.

* HO = History Odyssey

Medieval Times, Lesson 35

Central & South Americans

After our study of Native North Americans it only made sense to head south to spend a couple of weeks with Native Central and South Americans. This lesson begs for a craft, but we've hit our crafting threshold for now with Girl Scouts. Check out the other resources of interest below for a couple of good books with crafts by Nomad Press. We'll probably use them during our next round of Medieval Times.

Main Lesson Part 1: Aztecs

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 80-81).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 35, Main Lesson Part 1.
• Read The Aztecs: Life in Tenochtitlan by Matt Doeden.
• Read "No. 8: Hernando Cortés" from Top 10 Worst Ruthless Warriors You Wouldn't Want to Know! by Fiona MacDonald.
• Read The Fisherman and the Turtle by Eric A. Kimmel.
• Read Blue Frog: The Legend of Chocolate by Dianne De Las Casas.

Main Lesson Part 2: Maya/Toltecs

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 82-83).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 35, Main Lesson Part 2.
• Read Hands of the Maya: Villagers at Work and Play by Rachel Crandell.
• Read How the Gods Created the Finger People by Elizabeth Moore.
• Read The Night the Moon Fell: A Maya Myth by Pat Mora.
• Read Cuckoo: A Mexican Folktale by Lois Ehlert.

Main Lesson Part 3: Incas

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 84-85).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 35, Main Lesson Part 3.
• Read The Inca Empire by Sandra Newman.
• Read Up and Down the Andes by Laurie Krebs.
• Read Love and Roast Chicken: A Trickster Tale from the Andes Mountains by Barbara Knutson.
• Read Moon Rope by Lois Ehlert.

Other Resources of Interest

• The Emperor's New Groove - Walt Disney Pictures
• Inca: Discover the Culture and Geography of a Lost Civilization - Lawrence Kovacs
• Maya: Amazing Inventions You Can Build Yourself with 25 Projects - Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt
• The Road to El Dorado - DreamWorks Animation

* HO = History Odyssey

Medieval Times, Lesson 34

Native North Americans

Move over ancient Egypt. Out of the way Greek gods. Tessa has discovered a new favorite culture! She's been jump-up-and-down excited to study history these past few weeks to further immerse herself into the world of our Native North Americans. Finally, we can take some field trips! We will visit Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site and Washington University's 24th Annual Powwow this spring. I'll be looking for other educational opportunities throughout the summer.

Main Lesson Part 1: Introduction

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 78-79).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 34, Main Lesson.
• Completed "Introduction to Native Americans" from Evan-Moor History Pockets: Native Americans, Grades 1-3.

Main Lesson Part 2: Northern Native Americans (Inuit, Tlingit and the Woodland)

• Read Inuit by Barbara A. Gray-Kanatiiosh.
• Read I Is for Inuksuk: An Arctic Celebration by Mary Wallace.
• Completed "The Inuit of the Arctic" (student booklet, stamp and picture dictionary cards) from Evan-Moor History Pockets: Native Americans, Grades 1-3.

• Read Whale Snow by Debby Dahl Edwardson.
• Read Kumak's River: A Tall Tale from the Far North by Michael Bania.
• Read Very Last First Time by Jan Andrews.
• Completed "The Inuit of the Arctic" (ice fishing activity) from Evan-Moor History Pockets: Native Americans, Grades 1-3.

Tessa crafted a pole from a drinking straw, yarn and magnetic tape and then practiced "ice fishing" with a paper fish and hook.

• Read Igloos and Inuit Life by Louise Spilsbury.
• Read The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett.
• Read The Legend of Lightning and Thunder by Paula Ikuutaq Rumbolt.
• Completed "The Inuit of the Arctic" (igluviak story prompt) from Evan-Moor History Pockets: Native Americans, Grades 1-3.

Tessa chose to create a brief arctic myth for her igluviak story prompt. It reads, "I sewed a parka from magical caribou skins. Every time I reached into the pockets, there was delicious food inside." I like that she incorporated several components of Inuit life into her story.

• Completed "The Tlingit of the Northwest" (student booklet, stamp, picture dictionary cards and mask) from Evan-Moor History Pockets: Native Americans, Grades 1-3.
• Read The Sea Monster's Secret by Malka Drucker via OpenLibrary.org.

Tessa completed Tlingit potlatch mask. She was particular proud of her color and pattern choices.

Main Lesson Part 3: Western Native American (Northwest, Nez Perce and Maidu)

• Completed "The Nez Perce of the Plateau" (student booklet, stamp, picture dictionary cards and Appaloosa ornament) from Evan-Moor History Pockets: Native Americans, Grades 1-3.
• Read The Nez Perce by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve via OpenLibrary.org.
• Started listening to Kaya: An American Girl audiobook set by Janet Shaw. (Tessa listened and followed along in the print books one each day until she completed the six-book series.)

Tessa's completed Appaloosa ornament. I thought she did a good job matching up the colors with ones traditionally used by the Nez Perce.

Not surprising, Tessa has fallen in love with all things Kaya and put her at the top of her birthday list. To celebrate our studies of Native North Americans, I surprised her with a mini Kaya doll. 

• Completed "The Maidu of California" (student booklet, stamp, picture dictionary cards and seed beater) from Evan-Moor History Pockets: Native Americans, Grades 1-3.

Main Lesson Part 4: Central and Eastern Native Americans (Mississippi, Navajo and Pueblo)

• Completed "The Navajo of the Southwest" (student booklet, stamp, picture dictionary cards and Navajo rug) from Evan-Moor History Pockets: Native Americans, Grades 1-3.
• Read Navajo by Richard Gaines.
• Read Turquoise Boy by Cohlene.
• Read The Magic Of Spider Woman by Lois Duncan.
• Read The Goat in the Rug by Charles L. Blood via OpenLibrary.org.

Tessa colored the Navajo rug design with crayons and then used a watercolor wash for the background.

Tessa's completed Navajo rug.

History Odyssey concludes its lessons for Native North Americans from the Middle Ages with the Navajo. We still have several History Pockets left. Since Tessa has thoroughly enjoyed this unit, we may come back to them either this summer or squeeze them in next fall when we move into early modern times.

* HO = History Odyssey

Medieval Times, Lesson 33

Pacific Ocean Islands

As big fans of white sand beaches and beautiful blue waves, Tessa and I both enjoyed learning a bit about the history of the Pacific Ocean islands. Tessa loved learning about the "big heads" on Easter Island and hopes to visit them one day.

Thursday

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 76-77).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 33, Main Lesson.
• Read "Stone Giants" from Mysteries of the Past by Alex Simmons.
• Looked at pictures in Easter Island: Giant Stone Statues Tell of a Rich and Tragic Past by Caroline Arnold.
• Read The Day the Stones Walked by T. A. Barron.
• Sculpted a mini "big head" like those found on Easter Island with Crayola Model Magic.

Tessa created a mini version of the big stone heads found on Easter Island with Crayola Model Magic.

Bedtime Read-Aloud

• Call It Courage - Armstrong Sperry

* HO = History Odyssey

Medieval Times, Lesson 32

Explorers

It never ceases to amaze me how much I can learn from a good picture book. I'm sure everyone studies Marco Polo at some point during their academic career, but before this week, I could have told you only that he was an explorer from long ago. Demi's book on Marco Polo was probably the lengthiest one of hers that we've read so far, but it was engaging, interesting and jammed-packed with info. I'm pretty sure I won't forget again.

Wednesday

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 74-75).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 32, Main Lesson.
• Read Marco Polo by Demi.
• Completed draw and color for HO Q&A for Lesson 32, Main Lesson.

* HO = History Odyssey

Medieval Times, Lesson 31

Japan

Tessa had an absolute blast studying Medieval Japan. (I will admit, most of what we actually studied ended up being more about Japanese culture in general.) We also had one of our most successful Fun Friday crafting days ever. There were so many great Japanese books to choose from that we couldn't read them all during school time, so we added several to our bedtime reading line-up as well.  

Wednesday

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 72-73).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 31, Main Lesson.
• Read "Being Shinto" (pages 54-55) from What I Believe: A Young Person's Guide to the Religions of the World by Alan Brown and Andrew Langley. (Love this book!)
• Read Count Your Way Through Japan by James Haskins.

Thursday

• Read Three Samurai Cats: A Story from Japan by Eric A. Kimmel.
• Read The Inch-High Samurai by Ralph F. McCarthy.
• Listened to Magic Tree House #5: Night of the Ninjas audiobook by Mary Pope Osborne.

Friday

• Read Little Oh by Laura Krauss Melmed.
• Read A Carp for Kimiko by Virginia Kroll.
• Explored traditional Japanese costumes with Dover Little Activity Book: Aiko from Japan Sticker Paper Doll by Yuko Green.
• Created "Koinobori - Japanese Flying Carp DIY" craft by Squirrelly Minds blog.
• Enjoyed Iwako Japanese Maneki Neko & Kokeshi Eraser Set.

Other Books of Interest

• I Am Tama, Lucky Cat: A Japanese Legend - Wendy Henrichs
• The Boy Who Drew Cats - Margaret Hodges
• Yoshi's Feast - Kimiko Kajikawa
• The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks - Katherine Paterson

Tessa is a fan of sticker paper dolls, so little Aiko was a big hit. I made extra color copies of the doll so she could dress Aiko in all of the costumes at once.

This Japanese flying carp craft was so much fun! I thought it might be a bit tedious for Tessa, but it wasn't at all. I did pre-cut the tissue paper and help in applying the double-sided tape. Other than that, this was her own creation. So cute!!

Tessa loves Iwako Japanese erasers. She's been rather sad that they seem to have gone out of vogue here in the U.S., so I ordered the Doll and Lucky Cat set above from a seller on eBay. It matches two of the books we read pretty well..."Little Oh" and "I Am Tama, Lucky Cat."

Apparently, the Iwako Doll and Lucky Cat set I ordered from the previously mentioned eBay seller was out of stock. He overcompensated by providing an abundance of loose Japanese dolls and Lucky Cats in addition to an entire Japanese food blister pack. Tessa was over the moon to say the least. We totally forgave him for the oversight!

Medieval Times, Lesson 30

China

Finally...a civilization with plenty of resources! This was Tessa's third time studying China in some capacity, so I tried to find activities we hadn't done before. Since Chinese New Year was just a couple of weeks ago, it only made sense to use the horse as our theme for craft day. It is the "Year of the Horse" after all.

Monday

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 70-71).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 30, Main Lesson.
• Read Count Your Way Through China by James Haskins.

Wednesday

• Read The Greatest Power by Demi.
• Read Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young.

Thursday

• Read Cat and Rat: The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac by Ed Young.
• Read The Warlord's Puzzle by Virginia Pilegard.
• Read Two of Everything by Lily Toy Hong via OpenLibrary.org.

Friday

• Read Liang and the Magic Paintbrush by Demi.
• Practiced writing a Chinese character.
• Used a Chinese zodiac chart to identify what animal represents 2014.
• Completed horse tangram puzzle.
• Completed "Year of the Horse: Chinese New Year Craft."

Earlier in the week, we read "The Warlord's Puzzle." Tessa completed a horse tangram on Friday, which I thought was a good way to tie the book and our Chinese New Year theme together.

Using just a red paper plate and a handful of craft supplies, Tessa crafted a horse to celebrate learning about Medieval China.

* HO = History Odyssey

Medieval Times, Lessons 28 & 29

India & Southeast Asia

Last year during our study of ancient times, we read books related to the origins of Hinduism and Buddhism. This time around, Tessa learned more about how people today practice these religions.

Lesson 28 - India

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 66-67).
• Read Anklet for a Princess: A Cinderella Story from India by Meredith Babeaux Brucker.

Lesson 29 - Southeast Asia

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 68-69).
• Read "Being a Hindu" (pages 42-45) and "Being a Buddhist" (pages 46-49) from What I Believe: A Young Person's Guide to the Religions of the World by Alan Brown and Andrew Langley. (Love this book!)
• Completed draw and color.

* HO = History Odyssey

Medieval Times, Lesson 27

Africa

One week a month, I switch up our schedule to work in some extra fun electives that we don't have time to study on a weekly basis. This month, I got lucky and was able to work it where history, literature and art aligned. All three subjects focused on Africa.

Monday

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (page 62).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 27, Main Lesson Part 1: North Africa.
• Read Africa Is Not A Country by Margy Burns Knight.
• Listened to Magic Tree House #26: Good Morning, Gorillas audiobook by Mary Pope Osborne.

Tuesday

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (page 63).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 27, Main Lesson Part 2: East Africa.
• Read Gugu's House by Catherine Stock.
• Read Jambo Means Hello: Swahili Alphabet Book by Muriel Feelings.
• Read The Lion and the Hare: An East African Folktale by Stephen Krensky.
• Watched East Africa for Kids DVD by Worlds Together.

Thursday

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 64-65).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 27, Main Lesson Part 3: West Africa.
• Completed HO Q&A for Lesson 27, Main Lesson Part 3: West Africa.
• Read Pretty Salma: A Little Red Riding Hood Story from Africa by Niki Daly.
• Read The Magic Gourd by Baba Wague Diakite.

Thursday - Literature

• Studied Zomo the Rabbit: A Trickster Tale from West Africa by Gerald McDermott with Reading & Writing with Picture Books, Grade 1 by The Mailbox (pages 53-58).

Friday - Art

• Completed "Masks: Cultural Appreciation" lesson from Atelier: The DVD-Based Art Program, Level 1.

Tessa used a heavy duty oval paper plate, wrapping and tissue paper, yarn, feathers and a variety of other craft supplies to create an "African" mask during Atelier art time.

* HO = History Odyssey

Medieval Times, Lessons 25 & 26

Russians & The Moors in Spain

I really wish our library would hang onto older titles longer. They seem to cull nearly everything that's out-of-print. So unfortunate. We continue to run into difficulty finding the recommended books for our studies. And, there really aren't many alternatives. OpenLibrary.org often saves the day, but I've been striking out there lately too. In other words, it was another short week.

Lesson 25 - Russians

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 58-59).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 25, Main Lesson.
• Read The Tale of The Firebird by Gennady Spirin.

Lesson 26 - The Moor in Spain

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 60-61).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 26, Main Lesson.
• Read Chanticleer and the Fox by Geoffrey Chaucer via OpenLibrary.org.

Bedtime Read-Aloud

• Three Swords for Granada - Walter Dean Myers

* HO = History Odyssey

Medieval Times, Lessons 23 & 24

Mongals & Eastern Europe

Tessa and I completed the following over four days. The Khan books are fairly lengthy, so they took a day each. I've noted that two books are free to read on Kindle with an Amazon Prime membership. Amazon limits the number of books you can borrow, so choose wisely. You won't be able to borrow both at the same time. You can't just read one, return it and then download the other either. Unfortunately, lending privileges don't currently work that way.

Lesson 23 - Mongals

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 52-53).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 23, Main Lesson.
• Completed HO Q&A for Lesson 23, Main Lesson.
• Completed draw and color.
• Read Genghis Khan by Demi. (Free to read on Kindle with Amazon Prime membership.)
• Read Kubla Khan: The Emperor of Everything by Kathleen Krull.

Tessa drew a picture of a yurt for her draw and color. I thought it would have been fun to craft a little felt yurt for her Playmobil people, but I couldn't find a pattern.

Lesson 24 - Eastern Europe

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 56-57).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 24, Main Lesson.
• Read "No. 3: Vlad Tempes" (pages 24-25) from Top 10 Worst Wicked Rulers You Wouldn't Want to Know! by Fiona MacDonald.
• Read The Little, Little House by Jessica Souhami.
• Read A Big Quiet House by Heather Forest. (Free to read on Kindle with Amazon Prime membership.)

Both The Little, Little House and A Big Quiet House are based on the same Eastern European folktale, but it was fun to see how the versions differ.

* HO = History Odyssey

Medieval Times, Lessons 21 & 22

Burgundians and Habsburgs & War of the Roses

Not sure these two topics were even worth covering at this age. Tessa did get a kick out of the Lancanster-York family tree, though. We both decided they really could have used a baby names book. Hah!

Lesson 21 - Burgundians and Habsburgs

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 48-49).

Lesson 22 - War of the Roses

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 50-51).
• Completed draw and color of Lancanster and York banners as directed in Lesson 22, Main Lesson.

Tessa went color crazy in designing her Lancaster and York banners. (Huh, just realized we failed to follow directions. There were supposed to be two knights holding these banners. Oops! Guess we both glazed over that first part.)

* HO = History Odyssey

Medieval Times, Lesson 20

Celts

Somehow our study of Medieval Celts morphed into the study of Irish folktales. Apparently, that's all I was able to find at the library. I didn't realize how lopsided our study was until it was too late to do anything more.

Monday

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 46-47).
• Read Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato: An Irish Folktale by Tomie dePaola.
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 20, Main Lesson.

Tuesday

• Read Tim O'Toole and the Wee Folk by Gerald McDermott.
• Read Finn McCool and the Great Fish by Eve Bunting.

Wednesday

• Watched The Secret of Kells DVD from Netflix.

* HO = History Odyssey

Medieval Times, Lessons 18 & 19

Pilgrimages and The Crusades & Richard the Lionhearted and Robin Hood

Stuck to the classics (or rather versions of) for these two lessons. I considered making a bow and arrow set as a craft with Tessa, but we already have Merida's bow (from Brave) and a Nerf Rebelle Heartbreaker Bow hanging about. I will say Tessa really liked reading about Robin Hood, though. It always amazes me how much she loves the classics. Sometimes, I think she understands them better than I do. She enjoys them more for sure! At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if she chooses to study either literature or history in college.

Lesson 18 - Pilgrimages and The Crusades

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 37, 42-43).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 18, Main Lesson.

Bedtime Read-Aloud

• Geoffrey Chaucer: Canterbury Tales - Barbara Cohen (We ended up abandoning this book. Tessa said she liked it, but I didn't care for the subject matter at her age.)

Lesson 19 - Richard the Lionhearted and Robin Hood

• Read The Usborne Medieval World by Jane Bingham (pages 45).
• Read Robin Hood And The Golden Arrow by Robert D. San Souci.

Bedtime Read-Aloud

• Robin Hood - Paul Creswick

* HO = History Odyssey