Sunbaby loved our Medieval project last year so I thought we could do a fleeting journey through time, chronologically backwards, which is not something we've done before. It was mostly British history from the top (monarchical-based as opposed to social history), to give a broad outline of the era.
We started with the Victorians with pictures of Queen Victoria from different stages of her 64-year reign.
The Industrial Revolution and the Railways. We talked about market gardening and the new fast delivery of fruit and vegetables into the cities via steam train.
Victorian fashion. This ended up being an invaluable resource for conversation. We learned and talked about Railway travel, Victorian Christmases, the Great Exhibition, Victorian art movements, Victorian seaside days, opera, balls, travel and India. I thought we might do one or two pages but Sunbaby wanted to do the whole book. She loved it and ended up engrossed in it, on the table. Because that's how we learn best!
A quick train break
We also looked at Victorian-era art and listened to Edward Elgar
The Georgians
Matching and learning
The Boston Tea Party kick-started the US War of Independence under the reign of King George III
Huge fun chucking tea bags about to the US national anthem, and then equal fun shimmying across the floor on cloths, cleaning up the tea-leafy floor.
Investigating tea leaves
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Boston harbour...
(Monkey Girl went to Boston Harbour on her US travels last year and Sunbaby loved the idea that she saw the water where the tea had been.)
A new, independent country called for new laws. The Consitution was initially based on the concept of the English Magna Carta. We had to make it on tea-stained parchment, of course.
We looked at the 13 original colonies and how these are represented in the stripes on the US flag.
The travels of Captain James Cooke. We mapped his first journey on HMS Endeavour.
The Stuarts
The Great Fire of London under the reign of Charles II. Sunbaby LOVED the Horrible Histories song, 'My Name is Charles II'. We played it over and over and over. She is trying to learn the words for her biggest sister, Ballet Girl who, aged 20, remains the world's biggest Horrible Histories fan, complete with her emails and signed books from the author himself. You can't beat it!
The Tower of London narrowly escaped unscathed, so we built it, but slightly away from the rest of the fire.
St. Paul's Cathedral was destroyed in the fire.
Sir Christopher Wren built a new one
The Tudor-style, wooden houses spread the fire, along with hot, dry weather and strong winds
Papa was at work in London so he took a lunch break and face-timed us from Pudding Lane where the fire started. Awesome!!
The Gunpowder Plot
We role-played and told the story
A good day's work, Sunbaby!
After our school day, our afternoons and evenings are filled with extracurricular activities. And lunch break is always followed with outside play so Mummy can gather her wits.
Time to tidy up!
The Tudors
Tudor coins to look at in the morning
Making Tudor gingered bread - a bit like bread pudding
Being an Elizabethan pirate. We looked at the map and talked about Spanish explorers, stolen Incan gold, and Caribbean pirates.
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