We took a quick break from our regular studies to briefly visit King Arthur and the medieval period.
Literature:
We read some of The Tales of King Arthur by James Riordan and compared it to the Disney film.
Social Studies:
We also read the ridiculous and informative You Wouldn't Want to Be a Medieval Knight by Fiona McDonald. The book places you right in the metal pants of medieval knights for a firsthand look at what life was really like in "the dark ages."
Of course, we watched Disney's Sword in the Stone!
Language Arts/Vocabulary/Latin roots:
We explored the meaning of "mediocrity," a quality Merlin warned young Arthur to avoid. Exploring its Latin roots led to a fun discovery of what the word meant visually. We talked about how "mediocrity" literally means "middle of a jagged mountain." We had been reading many Hero's Journey types of stories lately, so this definition made sense from that angle.
More social studies/Coat of arms:
After reading about knights and seeing a picture of a coat of arms, Aidyn wanted to see our family's coat of arms. I printed out a shield (see end of blog for links), and he colored according to our family's unique coat of arms. It was even fun to look up the Latin meaning of our family name.
Copywork:
Aidyn copied an inspirational quote from the movie (and even repeated one of the lines!). We talked about freedom of choice and perceived destiny. Nine-year-old children begin really understanding their individuality, and stories in which characters pursue their own goals can help them vocalize this new stage of life (we have also read Norse myths lately, for this reason).
We enjoyed a very short unit study with Sword in the Stone, but if you would like to take it further, check out these links to get started:
Sword in the Stone Pinterest Page
King Arthur Unit Study from Layers of Learning
Medieval Unit Study
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