Medieval Times 4 Kids

2nd Rain Date

2009-05-04T17:25:00.000-07:00

You all have mail! Due to the rain, we need to postpone once again to Wednesday. We will be at the Bull Run Library in Manassas. Please email me to let me know if you will or will not be attending so that I can have a head count. My email is melyssawebb@yahoo.com

Hope to hear from you soon!

MEDIEVAL FAIRE POSTPONED!

2009-04-29T16:36:00.001-07:00

Due to inclement weather we are postponing the Medieval Faire which was originally scheduled for tomorrow.

The next scheduled date is Tuesday, May 4th 10-noon at my home in Manassas. Should the weather work against us for that day, we will have it on Wednesday, May 5th 10 - noon at the Bull Run Library Community Room.

So, once again, there will be NO faire tomorrow. Have a great weekend! Hopefully the weather will clear up for next week so we can be outside. :)

Cathedrals, Luminary Letters and Diseases!

2009-04-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

One of these things is not like the other. One of these things doesn't belong! LOL The title just covers some of the things we discussed in class today. It is by no means meant to say that Cathedrals and Diseases go hand in hand!

Today we did a review of various things we learned throughout our six weeks together studying the Medieval Times. We reviewed William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings. We discussed castles and how they were built. We went on to discuss the plague and various other ailments that "plagued" the people of the middle ages. Ask your student what disease he/she had! (Audrey -- pregnancy is NOT a disease! I promise! LOL) We then looked at photographs and diagrams of what these things were, ie. Ring Worm, Lice, Tapeworm etc.

Kirk shows us his luminary letter.

The girls continue to work on their castle.

Pomanders work as an airfreshener.

We did a brief overview of Chaucer and his work The Canterbury Tales. We watched a short clip of one of the Tales. (The Nun's Priest's Tale)

We reviewed the feudal system by giving each student a place in society and they had to decide where in the pyramid he/she stood.

Today we were introduced to cathedrals. I played a sample of a Gregorian Chant for them. We decorated our own Luminary Letter(s). We looked at a slide show of cathedrals and compared the Romanesque Cathedrals to the Gothic Cathedrals. A final film was shown about Cathedrals and their history. I will try and hyperlink that film to this site.

Students finished their castles and shields today. Please remember to bring them with you to the final faire on Thursday.

Rules for Nine Men's Morris

2009-04-26T11:32:00.001-07:00

Nine Men's Morris

History. Nine Men's Morris, or Mill (Mühle), is one of the oldest board games known. The board pattern has been found on ancient Egyptian roofing tiles, Roman and Greek buildings, an English wall dating from 1200, and even choir stalls in old English cathedrals. The game has been and continues to be popular in many countries. It is the best of the so-called row-of-three games, the simplest of which is, of course, Tic-Tac-Toe.

Placing. The board begins empty, and the two players each use nine stones of their own color. They take turns placing one stone at a time on the intersections of the board. The objective is to get three stones of one's own color in a line on any three adjoining spots, vertically or horizontally. The three diagonal spots at the corners do not count as a row because they are not connected by lines.

Capturing. Whenever a player forms a row of three, called a "Mill," that player removes one of the opponent's stones from the board, provided that a stone may not be taken from a Mill.

Moving. Once all the stones have been placed, the players take turns moving one of their stones along the lines to an adjacent open spot. Anytime a player manages to close a Mill (form a row of three), the player removes an opponent stone. A Mill which is opened and then closed again on a later turn is considered a new row. Players may not pass a turn; a stone must be moved, even if it is to the player's disadvantage.

Jumping. When one player has only 3 stones left on the board, that player may jump to any open spot on the board, instead of moving to an adjacent spot. This freedom gives the player greater mobility to block the other player from forming a Mill.

Winning. The player who first is reduced to only two stones remaining, or who cannot move any stone on the board, loses the game.

Strategy. Blocking the opponent from getting three in a row by placing a stone in the opponent's line is the most direct approach. Forming combinations where you can get a Mill in two different directions such that your opponent can block only one of them is a little more subtle. And maneuvering to block in all of the opponent's pieces is the most devious way to win. The most powerful spots are the middle spots of the second square, because they are the entry points for moving to the inner or outer square.

Medieval Britain -- Castles

2009-04-26T11:23:00.000-07:00

Castles!

2009-04-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

Last week we worked on castles! We watched video clips and discussed the various types of castles (from Motte and Bailey to Concentric castles). We learned how they were built, how they were defended and how they were attacked. We discussed life within a castle and the various jobs of the workers there.

It was great watching the kids design and build their castles. They were very intent on their projects and are excited to show them off. Please bring your castles and shields to class this week! We will finish our castles and our shields and prepare for our faire which will be Thursday.

We also played Medieval Games. Some of the games were checkers, chess and nine men's morris. Outdoor games include Blind Man's Bluff and Bocce.

Tuesday's Class Will Be At the Bowling Alley

2009-04-17T18:10:00.000-07:00

The weather forecast shows that Tuesday may have rain. So, on Tuesday we will be at the bowling alley.

PLEASE READ THE WHAT TO BRING LIST IN THE SIDEBAR. We are working on Castles tomorrow. Don't let your team down! Bring your castle plans and what your team decided to have you bring. We are building tomorrow during class!!!!

Sorry, I haven't posted abt last Tuesday yet, or the field trip, but I've been sick in bed. I'll post soon.

Warfare!

2009-04-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

I won't say a lot here, other than I think we had an AWESOME time today! Everyone worked hard and had fun. You may continue to work on your shields at home or wait until two weeks from now when we return to Webb Castle for our Medieval Game Day.

And now... here are the pics of our rather cold and windy morning!

Check out all the photos on photobucket at...

http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb320/Ceilidh_photo/

Heraldric Design

2009-04-01T06:06:00.000-07:00

Here are some things to remember:

Color Rule: In heraldry, colors are called tinctures. The colors are red, blue, green, black and purple. They are deep colors and not pastel, so they can be seen from a distance.

Heraldry observes a color rule: White and Yellow represent metals silver and gold. White and yellow must never touch. White or yellow must separate every other color. Two metals must never touch and neither should two tinctures.

An easy way to observe this rule would be to make the field color white or yellow and then use a tincture as a charge color.

(Picture the Middle Ages by Golden Owl Publishing)

Medieval Times Restaurant

2009-04-01T06:01:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone.

If you and your family are planning to attend this outing, please let me know as soon as possible... meaning today!

We have three families who have signed up. I reserved 50 seats, so we still have plenty of room, but if I don't hear from anyone else then I am going to release the seats. I have to pay for these seats in advance, so payment is due immediately.

Please email me at Melyssawebb@yahoo.com.

Thanks!

Day Two: Weapons/Heraldry

2009-03-31T05:32:00.000-07:00

Today's class began with a review of the Battle of Hastings and the participants William the Conqueror and Harold.

Here each student is representing one of the following historic figures: Edward the Confessor, William the Conqueror, and Harold.

We also reviewed the Chivalry notes and how they should be presented.

We shared our own tapestries of historical events. These will be displayed at our faire. If you are still working on your tapestry, don't worry. You can hand it in to me next class or the class after.

Our focus today was on the military armour and heraldry. We watched a brief video clip (taken from last week's film) on weapons and then broke into six groups. Each group is working on an advertisement poster for their weaponry shop. You will be able to view these at the end of the course when they go on display.

We then moved on to heraldry. Each student was given a four generation genealogy chart. This chart gives the students the opportunity to write down the names of their ancestors and then look up on line (with parental permission of course) what possible heraldry their ancestors may have had. (Search by last name only!)

Pre-cut shields were given to each student to begin working on their own design. Next week we will paint these shields. If an additional symbol (such as a lion or fleur de lis) is to be added, it will be added during a later class so that the paint has time to dry.

Next week's class will be held at 9622 Shannon Lane, Manassas. We will start on time. There will be different stations to work at and I will divide the students up according to which station they will begin with. So, see me when you first arrive. We have a lot to do and want to be able to finish on time. We will be fencing, painting shields and putting together two trebuchets. If the weather is rainy, drizzly or anything other than nice, we will be meeting at the Bowling Alley. So please check this site the morning of class so that you know where we will be.

Day One: Chivalry/William the Conqueror/Battle of Hastings

2009-03-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

Today we began our class in the high Middle Ages with William the Conqueror. The Battle of Hastings changed the course of history for England and is a good place to start for a six week course on Medieval Life.

Our class began with an introduction of myself to the parents and a viewing of the Medieval Faire my students in public school presented back in 2006.

After parents left the classroom, the students and I discussed chivalry and chivalric behaviour. We discussed what chilvaric things we can do throughout the week to earn points toward being crowned visiting King and Queen to our final Medieval Faire which will conclude our six week course. A box will be brought in each week in which the children can place notes about class members who have shown acts of chivalry towards them. A chivalry note would be presented in this way:

Lady Becca was chivalrous today when she brought me a pair of scissors. (signed) Sir Spencer.

or .....

Sir Alec was chivalrous today when he escorted me out of the classroom and down the hall. (signed) Lady Audrey.

Now, since we don't spend every day with our classmates, it is possible to have siblings and parents write similar notes. For example:

Sir Kirk was chivalrous today when he held the car door open for me. (signed) Lady Ahrens.

Introducing this activity brought on giggles and groans, but when the time came to leave for the day we definitely had some volunteers to escort our two ladies out of the room!

Each week I will share with the class the notes that were turned in from the previous week. At the end of the six week period, the girl and boy who have the most chivalrous compliments given about them (not FROM them) will be awarded the title of visiting King and Queen of our Faire. *** You cannot write chivalrous notes about yourself!***

After our brief lesson on chivalry, I showed a short clip about the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. You can view that video clip at www.youtube.com/watch?v=0740IaLscZQ. I then introduced the students to King Edward the Confessor and how his death brought about controversy of who would be his successor. Ask your student who the four contenders were!

We then learned about Duke William of Normandy who later came to be known as William the Conqueror. (A handout was also given regarding William.) We learned about the Battle of Hastings and the Bayeux Tapestry which gives the Norman account of William taking over England. We briefly discussed the Domesday Book before viewing a video that tied all this information together.

There were two activities for the day. The first was showing how to properly escort a Lady. The second activity has to do with the Bayeux Tapestry. Each student was given a strip of calculator paper and asked to create their own historic tapestry. The tapestry must depict an historic event. Begin with what happened just prior to the event, then the event, and then what happened after the event. Please put effort into this project! Add colour to your pictures. You may bring these "tapestries" in to me next week, or if you need more time, the following week. We will display them at our faire. Remember to write your name on the back.

Next week we will still meet at the bowling alley. Please bring paper/pencil/colour pencils or pens. See you then!

Tomorrow's Class

2009-03-23T13:53:00.001-07:00

I am so excited to begin class with you tomorrow! Please remember to bring paper, pencils, and coloured pencils or thin markers with you.

See you tomorrow!

And we begin!

2009-03-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

Welcome class members and parents! I am so excited to begin Medieval Times next Tuesday.

I would like at this time to invite the parents to attend the first 15 minutes of the class. It will be during this time that I will be discussing (and getting feedback from you) the possible Medieval Faire/Presentation for the kids.

Also, please be aware that there will be at least one (but most likely two) class held at my home. The purpose of this is for the painting of shields, the working of the trebuchet, and having fun fencing. I live a short distance from our regular meeting place and just outside of old town Manassas.

Please check this blog regularly. On this blog there will be listed in the side bar what items students need to bring to class. There will also be updates on what was done in class and what to look forward to the following week. You will notice too, there are links to online activities and videos. I chose not to assign a book to read for this course, but you will find a list in the sidebar of some fun books about the medieval period.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at melyssawebb@yahoo.com.

For our first class, please have your children bring coloured pens/pencils for our first activity.

See you on Tuesday!

2009-02-07T18:48:00.001-08:00

This Class is Now Full!

2009-02-03T06:16:00.001-08:00

If you are interested in this class, but missed the sign up, email melyssawebb@yahoo.com to register in another Medieval Times class.

Welcome To Medieval Times 4 Kids!

2009-01-30T18:39:00.001-08:00

Class will begin on March 24th at 10 am.

If you would like information on how to register for this class, please email me at Melyssawebb@yahoo.com.

Check back often for updated information.