Weekly Wrap Up: The One with the Medieval Feast

Joining the Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers  and Homegrown Learners once again...

We have had a wonderful return to school after a week long Winter Recess.  We are back into the swing of a full schedule again and yet it does not seem burdensome.  You know things are going well when even the test subjects are remarking that it's been a stress free week!

Though it technically took place last week, our Medieval Feast last Friday evening occurred too late to include in last week's Weekly Wrap.  On Friday evening, our home was turned into a Medieval kingdom in celebration of the completion of our history unit on the Middle Ages.

Our honored guests were treated to an evening filled with food, entertainment, art, music, sword fighting exhibitions and clinics, and hands on art projects, all while learning about the life and times of the Medieval period in history.  The evening's agenda began with introductions by our King of his subjects, which included his daughter the Princess, one of his Noblemen, one of his Knights and of course a peasant living in his Kingdom.  

After introductions were made, Lord TS 1 gave a brief summary of the Feudal system of government, why it emerged during the Middle Ages and how it functioned.  

Sir TS 2 then described what entertainment was like in the Medieval Times and treated us to a recitation of a poem he has been working on.  Lord TS 1 played a few pieces on the piano.  Not to be outdone by her big brothers, Princess RA dazzled the crowd with her dance moves.  Her cousin Princess O. joined in the fun :)

After a messy, eat with your hands dinner, Sir TS 2 explained the history of Art in the Middle Ages.  His brief talk was followed by a guided tour of the art the test subjects had created at co-op over the course of this year so far.  (A huge thank you to our wonderful art teacher at co-op, Miss J!!!)  Our guests were able to see examples of mosaics, frescos, tapestries, illuminated manuscripts, books of days, and watercolor paintings.  Later on, they were given the opportunity to create their own watercolor painting.

We wrapped up the night with Lord TS 1's brief history of Knights.  Then he and Sir TS 2 gave a sword fighting demonstration and clinic.  It seems Abuelita is a master sword fighter!  Who could have known?

We had a wonderful night, and we hope our guests did as well.  We are already talking about planning a Renaissance Fair for our end of the year celebration!

Have you ever planned an executed a Medieval Feast or another unit celebration?  I'd love to hear about it.  Feel free to link to a post about it in the comments :)

Weekly Wrap Up: They Are on to Me!

Officially, we are on Winter Recess this week.  And while we have spent most of the week having fun with family and friends, I must admit that I have squeezed a little "school" in as well.  You see, we are having our Medieval Feast Unit Celebration tonight and we had some work to do in preparation for it.  The test subjects spent a few pockets of time on Monday putting the final touches on the art projects we are displaying at the Feast.  

We also hit the craft store on Monday to buy supplies to make TS 1's Medieval Lord costume.  I have never made a costume in my life.  I can't sew and have no desire to learn how.  For a no sew, completely off the cuff costume, I think it came out pretty cute.  I'll reveal the completed costume in next week's wrap up, but here is a peek at the process...

On Tuesday morning, they each wrote up a few paragraphs explaining the government, art and way of life of the people of the Middle Ages.  The rest of Tuesday was spent hosting a fun playdate with friends.  The day was topped off by going out to dinner courtesy of Papa.

On Wednesday, we worked on the menu for the feast and the scrolls we would be handing out to our guests on Friday evening.  By this time, the test subjects began to revolt, reminding me that this was supposed to be their week off and THIS WAS WORK!  They are on to me!  Fortunately, we had a fun overnight trip planned to the Basketball Hall of Fame, so I was able to convince them to just finish up these final preparations and we would leave by lunch.

Wednesday and Thursday were filled with swimming at the hotel pool and touring the Basketball Hall of Fame.  We went with friends, who sadly wound up leaving early Thursday because one of the kids took ill with the stomach virus.  Although we missed their company, we had a great time exploring the Hall of Fame and all the hands on activities they have for the kids.  I must admit RA was not as enthralled as the test subjects with the Hall of Fame, but she hung in there with us.

This morning, I dropped RA off with my sister's daughter at a craft and baking mini camp, while the boys and I finished up the preparations at home.  We are looking forward to celebrating our study of Medieval history with family in just a few hours!