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Our English heritage. We are loving it! The Mother Goose rhymes help develop memory, imagination and speech in such a fun way! How clever of Mother Goose to make statements during the Reformation period with such rhymes.
There are lots of things to learn about in this week's lesson. Are you having fun learning along side your children when teaching them? I sure do when teaching mine! :)
Little Miss Muffet:
Humpty Dumpty:
Hah! And all this time I thought the egg depicted in Alice in Wonderland was an accurate portrayal of Humpty Dumpty.
What do you know about the history of Mother Goose? Quarter two of The Noah Plan K Curriculum has us learning about her... and the timing couldn't be more perfect!
For instance, are you aware that the Mother Goose nursery rhymes were written during the rule of King Henry the Eighth? Yes! It was exactly around the time that the Reformation was taking place. It was also exactly around the time of the Separatists... who would later have the courageto become Pilgrims for the sake of the Gospel! This goes along perfectly with our Reformation studies which are still taking place in our home.
This image was found in the Public Domain here.
*I altered it with a border.
"Little Jack Horner" eating his "Christmas pie" and pulling out a "plum" illustrates the wicked policies of Henry the Eighth. The pie, which a real Mr. Horner was supposed to be carrying to the king, contained twelve little deeds to certain church estates which Henry the Eighth was repossessing from the church now separated from Rome. Jack's plum was one of these deeds which he claimed to have been given him from the king. The descendants of Jack Horner do indeed possess the original deed bearing the king's signature though they deny it was ever a plum in a pie but rather came to them direct from the king."
-p. 95 The Noah Plan Literature Curriculum Guide
Isn't that so interesting?! How many of us have just simply read through the rhymes simply enjoying them and having no knowledge of what is behind them?
Since I have added studies about the Reformation to our homeschool, I am only covering a couple of the nursery rhymes in the Noah Plan lesson for this week.
This is a pretty laid back party plan! Presentations, Art, Themed Games, Snacks and Fellowship!
First, some kids got up and did a presentation about what interested them. Then I gave a summary about what the Protestant Reformation was and then our kids gave their *drama presentation* about Lady Jane Grey.
Afterward, there was a brief lesson about stained glass windows and churches. Then the kids made *faux stained glass* art.
Please keep in mind that we are making do with items we have on hand for our family report on the Protestant Reformer Lady Jane Grey. That being said, we totally know that our costumes are not 100% accurate for the time period.
I found this guard/knight shirt at Good Will a few years back. We only have one so a few years back we had our younger son wear a long sleeved shirt (I cannot recall if it was black or gray) and my husband had lovingly helped me to craft a crest out of felt and hot glue to pin/sew onto the front of the shirt. It turned out cute... I mean... very guard/knightly-like! I'd take a picture to show you but I have no idea whereabouts it is! All that to say that you can easily craft a knight shirt if you don't have anything else on hand!
Anyway, our son is wearing a black t-shirt with the guard/knight shirt and black sweat pants. His black socks will be pulled over the bottom of his pant legs and coupled with his dark shoes (and with the help of our imaginations) help give the illusion of a boot. If we had black rain boots for him he'd probably wear those.
He has a nifty wooden sword we bought a few years back from a Civil War Reenactment and then he has some gear still in tact from an Armor of God dress up kit he once got for a birthday present.
And that's what we're going with for his costume as a guard!
Lady Jane Grey is the Protestant Reformer our kids are doing a report on this year. Here is the ensemble of items from around our house which one of our girls will be wearing:
I have to admit that I have no idea why Queen Mary wore a crown like the one below. Okay, well, really I haven't researched yet to see if this is actually considered a crown. Nonetheless, she is depicted in paintings as wearing something similar to this:
As you know from my previous post, we are studying a Protestant Reformer a year and this year we are learning about Lady Jane Grey (a 9 day queen).
In our homeschool co-op, our children are giving a *drama report* about Lady Jane Grey. One of our daughters will be depicting Queen Mary and another will be depicting Lady Jane. Dressing up in time period costumes (to the best of our ability) is not only fun, but it helps us *bring history to life* when studying any time period. I guess you could say it's similar to when people dress of for English Country Dancing or Living History Museums. It's just that we sometimes do this in our homeschool throughout the year. :)
I'm making costumes for the kids with items we have on hand. This is how I crafted the *crown*...
Since we are leading up to Reformation Day, I thought I'd do a word study on the word reform.
What does it mean to reform?
Webster's 1828 Dictionary:
REFORM', v.t. [L. reformo; re and formo, to form.]
1.
To change from worse to better; to amend; to correct; to restore to a former good state, or to bring from a bad to a good state; as, to reform
a profligate man; to reform corrupt manners or morals.
The example alone of a vicious prince will corrupt an age, but that of a good one will not reform it.
2. To change from bad to good; to remove that which is bad or corrupt; as, to reform abuses; to reform the vices of the age.
REFORM',
v.i. To abandon that which is evil or corrupt, and return to a good
state; to be amended or corrected. A man of settled habits of vice will
seldom reform.
CORRECT, v.t. [L. See Right.]
1. To make
right; to rectify; to bring to the standard of truth, justice, or
propriety; as, to correct manners or principles.
PRIN'CIPLE, n. [L. principium, beginning.]
1.
In a general sense, the cause, source or origin of any thing; that from
which a thing proceeds; as the principle of motion; the principles of
action.
Personal Application:
The Protestant Reformation was a time in history when many people were a part of correcting corruption which had taken place within the church. What made them aware of the corruption? They learned from Scripture what is the standard of truth. They considered the principles... the origin of truth... Scripture... and desired to correct wrong thinking. -I
think that even today we need to hold all ideas up in light of Scripture.
The more I learn about church history, the more I realize how much was actually carried over into the reformed churches. There seem to be a lot of traditions which are not taught in Scripture. When looking at the principles of these traditions of men... viz. the origins of them, I wonder how they can be accepted.
I think back to this part of the definition of reform:
REFORM', v.i. To abandon that which is evil or corrupt, and return to a good
state; to be amended or corrected.
*I find it interesting to note that the above definition does not say to changewhat is evil into something we want to try and make good. It says to abandon that which is evil or corrupt and to return to a good state.How can an idea be returned to a good state when it wasn't good by God's standards to begin with? I think this is an important thing to consider and research.
I am still researching and learning and asking, "Why do some Christians observe some of the things they do? Where do these ideas come from? Does it even matter? What is it that matters to God and pleases Him?" This is something each person needs to research on their own in light of Scripture... but it sure gives me lots to think about...
When I learned about Reformation Day, I didn't understand why I had never heard of it while growing up! And I wonder why more churches don't highlight it? It was an important time in history!
This year, our family is learning about Lady Jane Grey. Have you ever heard of her? I just learned about her when researching. She was a queen for only 9 days! I am very excited to learn about this book written by Simonetta Carr:
Our copy should arrive in the mail this week! It sounds like Simonetta Carr does an excellent job explaining about Lady Jane Grey in this book and I can't wait to give you a review of the book!
I came across this trailer of an independent Christian film. It looks good!
The budget being what it is for costumes, I'm going to do my creative best to work with what we have on hand. Our kids are going to collaborate on a *drama report* for our homeschool co-op and they want to be in period costume.
This is what I'm going off of for our girls.
Found at: http://www.richemporium.com/girlrenaissance.html
Our girls had sewn long skirts a while back; I have some scrap fabric left over and I think I have enoughof it to make the long cuffs for the sleeves. I'm thinking they can wear long sleeved shirts with their skirts and then I'll sew an elastic band around the top of the long cuffs so it looks like they are sewn onto the sleeves. I'm not sure if I have enough fabric to mock the dress or not (it makes me think of an apron and I might be able to pull it off).
We have a knight shirt we bought a few years back and it will fit one of the boys. I have a tree skirt that I'll sue for a cape for the king (if we end up having a king portrayed). I'll try to post pictures of their outfits before the end of the week!
Other than all of the co-op kids giving reports (on the Reformation if they'd like to), we'll have an art project relating to that time period, organized games and snacks.
What about you? What are you planning for Reformation Day (October 31st)? Who are you learning about this year?
