craftymama Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 My oldest has selected a book from the library on Medieval Life for his chosen history topic. We have studied much of the time period through SOTW, but he wants to focus on the life aspect not the historical events. Does anyone have any good sources or suggestions to really study the life and culture of the time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 I'd start by narrowing your topic. What area of life and culture does he want to look into? You could go topic by topic. Foods, castles, becoming a knight, childhood, monks, village life, fairs, etc--lots of fodder for research. There are a ton of books on everyday life in the Middle Ages--things like Horrible Histories, You Wouldn't Want to Be a (or Live in the...) books, or even fiction books, such as Castle Diary (excellent!) or Adam of The Road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftymama Posted December 27, 2013 Author Share Posted December 27, 2013 That's what I was working on. I have him skimming the book to see what he really wants to study. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pod's mum Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 "Sword in the Stone" as a read aloud. While funny, it also gives a lot of background knowledge of the period and gives a good King Arthur framework. (You could also stop washing, yourselves and your clothes and send your son out to live with and lean his trade from another family. :) ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymonster Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 If you are planning to do some in-depth research, I'd look into the Society for Creative Anachronism (http://www.sca.org). From their website: The Society for Creative Anachronism is an international organization dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts and skills of pre-17th-century Europe. Our “Known World†consists of 19 kingdoms, with over 30,000 members residing in countries around the world. Members, dressed in clothing of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, attend events which feature tournaments, royal courts, feasts, dancing, various classes & workshops, and more. We attended a few of their festivals last summer and my sons had a ball (and learned a good bit, as well). Very much the "living history" experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicianmom Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 I believe Teaching Company has a course on this subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 I second checking out the SCA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaz Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 The Horrible Histories tv show on Amazon is a riot. My dc learned a lot that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Project Passport Middle Ages from Homeschool in the Woods. Depending on the age. 2nd and 3rd is do-able, but IME 4th-6th is the optimal age for this program. It's lapbook\notebook based but it has tons of hands on projects as well. I wouldn't use it as a stand alone, but it is perfect for expanding\reinforcing living books and historical fiction. The first part is devoted to learning about the barbarian invasions, the split of the Roman Empire and the fall of the RE, but then the material dives into learning about the everyday life of the people of the middle ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftymama Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 I checked out The SCA website. One question, and I know the answer must be on the site somewhere I just couldn't find it. Should we all be dressed in their attire for the events? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Terry Jones did a great documentary on Medieval England... My girls did watch the whole thing, but the one about the medieval woman is probably better saved for middle or high school. "Worst Jobs in the Middle Ages" (on youtube) "Supersizers go Medieval" (on youtube) is great to lead into historical cooking (which we do often!). Lots of online recipes. Listen to some medieval music while you cook/eat. Horrible Histories videos and books are awesome for medieval England. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 If you want to read just one book, consider Medieval Days and Ways by Gertrude Hartman. It is OOP but available used or possibly at your library. It has a brief overview of the time period in the introduction, and the main text contains the sections: In Castle Days The Medieval Church Towns and Town Life From Medieval to Modern Times Conclusion Each section has between 3 and 13 chapters. They tell a lot about the regular life of different groups of people during the Middle Ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymonster Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 We aren't members of SCA, but attended their events. We didn't dress up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Re SCA events, some are open to everyone, and are basically there for 'spectators' to come along and check it out. However, most events require you to wear 'garb', which means 'an attempt at pre 17th century clothing'. This can be very basic, eg track pants and T-shirt with a belted tunic over the top, or elaborate / totally authentic stuff. Many groups have loaner garb that you can use for your first event if you don't have anything, to it would be best to contact their chatelaine if you are unsure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Project Passport Middle Ages from Homeschool in the Woods. Depending on the age. 2nd and 3rd is do-able, but IME 4th-6th is the optimal age for this program. It's lapbook\notebook based but it has tons of hands on projects as well. I wouldn't use it as a stand alone, but it is perfect for expanding\reinforcing living books and historical fiction. The first part is devoted to learning about the barbarian invasions, the split of the Roman Empire and the fall of the RE, but then the material dives into learning about the everyday life of the people of the middle ages. Could you please tell me more about this. is the whole program on CD and you just print off the lesson/activity or how does it work? I looked at the link and was unclear on exactly what you get for the money. thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 My kids loved Adam of the Road and The Door in the Wall - definitely our favorite RAs last year. Also we enjoyed the Schlessinger Media Life in the Middle Ages videos (VHS from the library). We watched ones about the merchant, the knight, the monk, the doctor, and the the serf. A bit goofy, but informative and fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I saw this yesterday and thought it was good, you could use it as a springboard to more of his stuffhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaK8RXllHNs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Could you please tell me more about this. is the whole program on CD and you just print off the lesson/activity or how does it work? I looked at the link and was unclear on exactly what you get for the money. thank you Yes, the whole program is on the cd. All the information is there: informational material written to the child, templates and instructions for notebooking or lapbooking elements, and instructions for hands on projects. You "could" use it as is without reading any other books or using any other resources depending on how much your dc like history or how much in depth you prefer to go. I use it as a supplement in my own home. However, I've used it in a co-op setting as is without adding anything else to it and had several parents tell me that they were counting it as their young elementary dc's history for that semester; they weren't adding anything at home due to feeling it was plenty. Not sure if that answers your questions. If you have more specifics I'd be happy to answer them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Terry Jones Medieval Lives I recommend you prewatch or just skip the one on damsels. (Depending on age of student) https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=terry%20jones%20medieval%20lives&sm=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Yes, the whole program is on the cd. All the information is there: informational material written to the child, templates and instructions for notebooking or lapbooking elements, and instructions for hands on projects. You "could" use it as is without reading any other books or using any other resources depending on how much your dc like history or how much in depth you prefer to go. I use it as a supplement in my own home. However, I've used it in a co-op setting as is without adding anything else to it and had several parents tell me that they were counting it as their young elementary dc's history for that semester; they weren't adding anything at home due to feeling it was plenty. Not sure if that answers your questions. If you have more specifics I'd be happy to answer them. Thank you You answered my question :thumbup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forgiven Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 We have the Project Passport Medieval Times as well and use it as a supplement. My daughter did it as a stand-alone in a co-op class last semester, so she is going through it twice, but with us at a slower pace. My daughter has also enjoyed reading Terry Jones' Medieval Lives, and we have started watching the episodes off of Youtube, but we haven't seen many yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My3girls Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 If you want to read just one book, consider Medieval Days and Ways by Gertrude Hartman. It is OOP but available used or possibly at your library. It has a brief overview of the time period in the introduction, and the main text contains the sections: In Castle Days The Medieval Church Towns and Town Life From Medieval to Modern Times Conclusion Each section has between 3 and 13 chapters. They tell a lot about the regular life of different groups of people during the Middle Ages. OOP? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antsam Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 OOP? Out of print :) Jodie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 OOP? out of print Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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