We are kick-starting 2016 with a unit on The Georgians.
After Queen Anne died and none of her 18 children survived, Parliament requested George of Hanover to become King of England. He was Anne's nearest Protestant relative. James II, Anne's father, was deposed by his other daughter Mary and her husband, William of Orange, because of his Catholic leanings. His son, James, was thought of by many as the true heir to the throne, and the Jacobite Rebellion began.
Bonnie Prince Charlie, James' son and the last of the Stuart dynasty attempted to reclaim the throne. The Boy drew this smashing picture of Bonnie Prince Charlie, Flora MacDonald and an angry King George I.
The Rebellion ended in the disastrous Battle of Culloden. George I banned the remaining supporting clans from wearing their tartan and playing bagpipes.
Charles Edward Stuart escaped to Skye and then to Europe where he died of alcohol related problems. A sad end to a sorry tale.
However, we can still dress up. Star Wars kid here is Bonnie Prince Charlie escaping to Skye dressed as Flora MacDonald's Irish maid.
Panda Girl's story
Monkey Girl's story
Recreating the Highlands of Scotlands
Ben Nevis
Research questions on the geography of Scotland and on the Jacobite Rebellion
Making Nessie
We learnt that Loch Ness is 23 miles in length and runs into the Moray Firth
Designing tartan, acrostic poems and Scottish landmark worksheets while watching a documentary on Scotland.
These two spent the morning making a brilliant Jacobite Rebellion Powerpoint presentation.
Back in London, the government were having national debt issues.
They attempted to resolve this with the creation of The South Sea Trading Company, the profits of which would pay off the national debt.
Many people put their money into shares in the company.
The shares became worth more and more.
Trading increased, share prices increased, but there was no business behind the company. Eventually the bubble burst.
Many people lost their money, including the King, ministers and wealthy landowners.
Sir Robert Walpole seized a sneaky opportunity to 'fix' the crisis. He became the top minister in Britain and is now known as Britain's first prime minister.
The Boy especially enjoyed learning about stocks and shares. A good basis for further learning.
George II, now in power, gave 10 Downing Street to Sir Robert Walpole to live and work in, and it has been residence to Britain's prime ministers ever since.
Sir Robert Walpole used his fortune to build Houghton Hall in Norfolk. The famous landscape architect, Capability Brown, designed the grounds there.
We looked at some of Brown's work and the children designed their own stately home grounds, including fashionable:
haha walls
fake ruins
bridges
sweeping lawns
woodland
classical statues
We've also started back with all our weekly activities, helped Nanny move house, baked bread, panda biscuits and cookies, worked on maths, English, Spanish, mapwork, nature study, science and faith work.
Ballet Girl continues to study for her American High School Diploma and is currently writing her second book.
Here's to a great and productive year!
