General ideas for Rome to the Reformation

[Marie]

General ideas for Rome to the Reformation.

[kellybell]

Postby kellybell » Mon Jun 19, 2006 1:29 pm

Each summer we do a fun unit with lots of activities. In the past we've done weather, bridges, Lewis and Clark, and playground physics. This year, in preparation for RtR, we're doing knights and castles. I know that these are covered in RtR, but I wanted to take my time and do a little more without slowing down our school year!

Anyway, we're just starting our knight/castle study and we're enjoying reading The Wilderking Trilogy by Jonathon Rogers. Our library has the first two books and the third book just came out, so maybe they'll get it soon. This is a series about a young boy, Aidan who is a David. The kids can see the similarity between Aidan and the biblical David without much help. So far (we're only starting the second book), we've met a Goliath, a Saul, a Jonathon, and a Jesse. The trilogy is set in medieval times so we have castles, feasts, etc.

Another fun activity that we did today was to have a medieval meal. We had trenchers (flat bread used as a plate). Not being a creative cook, I just got a can of Grands biscuits, and the kids rolled them pretty flat and we baked them. We served canned stew (I used a slotted spoon so it wasn't too wet) on top. We ate the stew (and some cheese and fruit) with our hands (as they didn't have forks then) and we licked our fingers and wiped our mouths with the backs of our hands. Oh, no plates either, so the trenchers were right on the table. We pretended to be peasants (they eat their trenchers) except for my youngest who pretended to be rich (she gave her trencher to a peasant).

It was messy, I won't repeat it, but it sure was fun!

[Carol Skinner]

Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 8:45 am

Hi, there. I just wanted to share a resource that has been a help to me. Usually, while I am reading aloud to the girls, whether it is "read-aloud time" or reading "Story of the World", etc.,they color their worksheets from the appendix, or the copies from Augustus Caesar's World or their maps. But, there isn't always something for them to do while I read.

So, I have found these great Color & Learn books by EDUPRESS that are delightful!! Coloring and simple activities so that even my 24 mo. and 4yo can participate. We are currently using the Medieval Times book, but they also have Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome and many others. They are not as detailed as some others like Dover, but they do have a small paragraph at the bottom with a little info. about the picture.

Just thought I'd pass this along.
In Christ,
Carol

[Julie in MN]

Music Ideas
(1) Shakespeare
by Lifescapes, The Classics series

This cassette that worked well for the medieval times. It would be especially good as background music if you put on a special medieval feast.

It's one of those Lifescapes cassettes (or CDs) that you used to be able to sample at a kiosk at Target. Not sure if you can buy them new any more, or if libraries ever carry them, but I do see these at garage sales for a quarter (LOL!) & at online used sites. Or maybe you have one sitting around in a drawer...

It's just instrumental, but it seems to use authentic medieval instruments and gives the feeling of being at a Renaissance Festival.

(2) All Glory, Laud, and Honor, 17 Centuries of Christian Hymns
sold by Diana Waring

This cassette gives some nice historical hymns to listen to as you study early church history. They are a-cappella (no instruments, voices only) according to early church style. (There are also one or two hymns from Year 4 on there.)

Book idea
The Princess & the Kiss.
Actually, maybe it was recommended in the RTR manual, I don't know. Ties in with the middle ages/knight theme as well as a review of the things we talked about in the Wonderful Way Babies are Made, I read this book to ds.

I wanted to emphasize that I read this to my *son* even though it's intended to be for girls. It's about treasuring the gift of a first kiss & saving it for someone special -- a boy who has saved his first kiss for you! I thought it could be generalized to many instances of valuing and protecting your heart as well as your body.

I looked at the companion volume for boys (The Squire & The Scroll), but it was really more about being a brave knight. The topic of overcoming temptation does tie in but not as clearly, I thought.

My son was 12 and didn't seem to notice that a girl was the main character, or that it might be an awkward topic. He enjoyed The Princess & the Kiss just fine, & we had an opportunity to talk some more :o)

Afternoon Activity
Instructions for a Lego Trojan Horse!
(Link no longer works, but I think Lego actually makes some ancient history themes now, like Egypt, Persia, Vikings, and of course Castle/Medieval. Also you might keep an eye out for Lego instructions, pictures, or videos of a Trojan Horse, Roman Colosseum, Aqueduct, Parthenon, etc., as I come across them on occasion. Sometimes there are pictures or videos from a contest online. Inventing your own design is always good, too!)

Free Flashcards
These aren't necessary but they're pretty :)
Click on the "new testament English" button in the "free PDF" column
http://www.ebibleteacher.com/children/c ... hcards.htm
Follow the instructions for printer settings - "Fit to Printer Margins" should be changed to "None" and "Auto-Rotate and Center" should be unchecked.

[Eve]

Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 9:09 pm

We just discovered... and have been reading... some wonderful books called the Kingdom Series by Chuck Black. We are currently on book 3 and can't stop reading! (This is only week 3.) We love them so much we are reading a book a week. Even my dh likes them. They are allegories to the Kingdom of God, to the old Bible stories as well as to the New Test Bible Stories and beyond. It is all based on a sword (representing the Word) and is full of knights and battles..etc, but even my dd and I love them! Wonderful!

Just thought I would let you know. We had enough extra space between readings of the MFW books that these were great additions.
Eve

[Christina]

Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 11:08 pm

Eve,
You are so right!! We bought these books back when they first came out; we were using RtR then. Back then it was a 4 book series. It is now a 6 book series so we purchased the 2 new books and we've been re-reading them all over again. My oldest son canNOT put these books down. Mr. Black has done an EXCELLENT job!!

These are a must read, in my opinion!

[4Truth]

Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 9:05 am

I just stumbled across this game that might be fun for those studying RTR, or even ECC.

The description says:

Bring the book of Acts to life with the Journeys of Paul®. This exciting, fast-paced board game blends strategy, skill, and chance while providing great fun and time together. Learn about the difficulties and challenges confronted by the apostles during the days of the early Church.

Each player in this multi-level game plays a missionary who, like Paul, travels through the Roman Empire and attempts to start churches in key cities on the way to Rome. Along the way, the player will have to deal with such things as shipwrecks, angry mobs, Roman soldiers, and political unrest. It even has a solitaire level for solo play. (Cactus Game Design)

For 1-6 players ages 10 and up.
Board game

You can see a closer look of the contents at the CBD website, but it's cheaper at CLP.

[kellybell]

Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 11:18 pm

WE LOVE THIS GAME.

TOTALLY UNIMPORTANT STORY: My plan was to give it as a Christmas gift to one of my kiddos (you know, one of those gifts you can give any of your dc). But, in October last year, my oldest developed appendicitis. So, to sort of cheer her up, I broke out this game during the second day of this "virus" and we all played it while she laid there, sort of bent over. The next morning, we got a correct diagnosis (and an emergency operation). So, when I think of this game, I think of my sweet then-12 year old, not complaining, but obviously in pain, playing this game. It brought a smile to her face.

BACK TO THE GAME: I'm not a huge game player and there are several games I cannot stand to play (the game LIfe is irritating and Monopoly is too complicated and takes too long, sigh) but I really like Journeys of Paul.

The board is a map of the Mediterranean and surrounding cities, mentioned in the Bible. The cards in the game are real events that could happen (illnesses, oppression, snake bite, as well as a full moon to guide you, etc.). You travel on land (or by ship) and start churches in towns.

Since the board is a realistic map, you do sort of get to know where things are if you play this game enough.

It's nice to find a game that is Bible-based, exciting, fun to play for all ages, and not "lame" as some Bible games are (sorry, but that is true in my experience).

Great game!

[dhudson]

Posted by dhudson » Thu Sep 04, 2008 8:37 pm

Zeus on the Loose: We bought this game last year when we were studying RTR for something fun but as we played it tonight I realized how great it was for math! The point of the game is to get to 100 with a community pile of numbers and have the Zeus character.

[niki]

I just wanted to say that my kids have really enjoyed the links in our Usborne books this year for RTR, history and science. It has been a hit with the kids and it motivates them to get work done and do their best so they get the time to search the different links. If you haven't checked them out yet, give it a try. Plus we have printed off some of the pictures for our notebook pages as well.

[ellensmom]

Here is a great website catalog for activities as you go through Roman times: http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/RomeU ... #christian

[JoyfulDancer]

My children just went to a birthday party with a princess/knight theme. We made some very simple costumes to wear and I didn't know what to do with them afterwards. Then it occurred to me that maybe we could use them during RTR. Is there anywhere in the TM that knight costumes would fit in?

We love dressing up, and we've used every opportunity this year in RTR to indulge.
We did the meal in a medieval inn, complete with costumes, candles and mugs of ginger ale. No trenchers, though. I'm sure a few knights and ladies could stop by your inn for some refreshment and a game of Nine Man's Morris. Our visitors were a princess and two shifty bandits, LOL. Also, there will be a Medieval Feast later on in the year, I think.

Have fun!
Laurie

[niki]

Dressed up for the Roman Feast, which consisted of many costumes because my kids had so many ideas to share what they learned with grandparents...gladiator fight, chariot races, naval battle, poetry reading and a reenactment of the death of Julius Caesar!!! Very entertaining!

[Poohbee]

I receive The Voice of the Martyrs magazine and this month there was a supplement with resources available for purchase.

I just wanted to let you know there are a series of cartoon DVDs (The Tortchlighters Heros of the Faith) that come with the stories of Jim Elliot, John Bunyan, William Tyndale, Eric Liddel, Gladys Aylward, and Perpetua. I have not purchased or previewed these videos so I can not speak to the quality but I just wanted to let those of you who may be interested know about them.

My girls really liked the Perpetua video, as did I. I think that the videos are very well-done. They are definitely worth the money, I think.

[tndtanaka]

For those who have chosen to opt for the Basic Package or are not quite up for the Medieval Castle but wanted an alternative. I found a Castle building set Klutz How to Build Castles Building Cards . It is available at Amazon. It is very easy to store (about the size of a small book) and consists of 150 castle building cards. My son loves Legos and immediately loved this set.

[cbollin]

Here's a fun site on the BBC to explore ancient Rome.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/romans/

-crystal

[jasntas]

I was looking for a Roman Colosseum paper craft for my ds after he (voluntarily) watched The Torchlighters Series DVD The Perpetua Story. (I cried through the whole ending but that's another story. This might be a good movie for RTR.) After watching the movie he tried making his own paper Colosseum and in my infamous mother/teacher mode I began an online search for a realistic Colosseum.

While looking for a free downloadable Colosseum resource I found this awesome site by Canon (the camera makers). The site was called Canon Creative Park. They had a whole paper craft section. It included animals, architecture, science, toys and more. There was a Viking Ship, as well.

I found a few different Eiffel Tower projects if anyone is looking for one for ECC. There were also several other projects that could be used for ECC as well such at the Sydney Opera House or pandas. These would be great projects for older kids or as family projects if paper crafts are of interest.

There were projects that could be used for probably every year in the 5 year cycle. There was a Sphinx, Statue of Liberty, The Parthenon and even a world globe to name a few. There were simple to difficult animals, a silhouette puzzle (or tangram) and even Matryoshka Dolls. (Again for ECC).

They are located here: http://www.canon.com/c-park/ Click on your language. Then click on 'Paper Crafts'. Then click on your area of interest on the left hand side. The 'Art' section had some origami and 3D paper mosaic projects also.

HTH

[s_duguid]

Thought of those doing Rome to Reformation that this would be a cute project. It's supposed to be really easy to make using Velcro.

http://www.fabriclink.com/presentations ... oilder.cfm

[amelasky]

We have used this website to help us memorize the order of the books of the Old Testament when using CtG. Now that we are in RtR, we are using it to help with the books of the New Testament. I thought I would share this free site for those that are need extra help.

sundayschoolsources.com/classmat/OTflashcards.htm

[cbollin]

oh neat! I see it comes in more than just English.... that would be fun in multi languages...

(I mean.. ok in RTR student sheets we have a set of flashcard memory cards but online is fun and that bonus with other languages...)

-crystal

[s_duguid]

I am trying to decide if I want to add the Story of the World 2 Activity Book and/or Tests Book to our studies this coming school year. Has anyone used either of these books to supplement RTR? Would the activity book just be a repeat of the RTR student sheets? Would the tests be helpful?

Is all of SOTW read? I know that sometimes MFW will pick and choose portions of books to read at times and if this is the case with this book I don't think it would be worth it to get the tests. I tried looking in the MFW archives but I couldn't find answers to my specific questions. TIA

I want to say that the complete book was covered, just out of order at times.

That's all I can help with, because we haven't used activity book or tests. We are going to use the scheduled activity book for SOTW 4 next year. Looks good.

[Kelly1730]

I picked up the SOTW 3 activity book to use with EX-1850 this year and after looking it over I wish I would used #2 to go along with RTR. It has some of the same book suggestions as MFW but also many more ( we love books so the more choices the better!). It also has much more map work (although RTR has quite a bit) and additional activities and coloring pages. I'm not planning on doing everything in the book but I like to have the option to do something more/different.

[Julie in MN]

I am trying to decide if I want to add the Story of the World 2 Activity Book and/or Tests Book to our studies this coming school year. Has anyone used either of these books to supplement RTR?

Just adding another side, so you can find what's right for your family

I was loaned the Activity Book for SOTW-1 during CTG, and of course we used the Activity Book for SOTW-4 when it was scheduled in 1850MOD. Those are the 2 I have seen, and they were vastly different books - one had lots of coloring and no outlining; the other had lots of outlining and no coloring. So my first thought is that you might want to look at the particular Activity Book you are thinking of using before deciding.

The other things that affected *my* decision not to borrow the other Activity Books for RTR and EX1850 had to do with my preferences for the MFW materials. I felt the MFW book lists were more carefully described, and I felt the MFW mapping in CTG was excellent (where students learned to draw their own maps and kept using the same map all year, so the student really understood what they were mapping), I felt the coloring and activity pages in CTG added in more particular bits of needed info than ds would have gotten by just using random pix from the Activity Book (although I had a non-coloring kid).

Of course, RTR is a little different egg and I haven't seen the Activity Book for that to compare.

HTH,
Julie

[MelissaB]

Focus on the Family's Drive Thru History video "Rome If You Want To" is really good. Great videos.