Castles and Medieval Fun

My 13 year old and I read the book "Castle" by David Macaulay together. He absolutely loved reading about the history and building of the castle. He has another larger DK book on Castles and as we read told me about his previous knowledge on the topic we were reading about and expanded our discussion. The images (drawings) being b/w are a perfect match so that details of the castle stand out.

After reading this story, we watched the accompanying PBS special Castle by the same author. The movie is s a perfect tag-a-long going into further details and highlighting real castles and showing the details of the Castle that was discussed in the book.

To follow up on the book/movie, my son is now building his own brick castle. We ordered a kit and it includes everything to make little bricks from molds and then directions on exactly how to build the castle.
I highly recommend purchasing the book, movie and castle building kit together if you or your child is interested in castles and/or medieval studies. All three provide great discussion, for both visual and auditory learners as well as a hands-on learning experience.

King John and the Writing of the Magna Charta

My 13 year old and I have read “The Magna Charta” together and both learned an enormous amount of information concerning not only the Magna Charta but the history surrounding this document and the rulers who opposed or were forced into the signing of this Charta.

This book is written for the Middle School level and my son needed some help with pronunciation, definitions and discussion as we read. Many new concepts were introduced including how Kings ruled their lands during the Medieval time period, relationships between the Pope and King, the transfer of lands and dictatorship, relationships and fighting between rulers of different lands, the development of laws to protect the Kings people, and the progression and refinement of Charters which lead to the Magna Charta.

Although the focus of this book is primarily on King John’s life and his influence on the Magna Charta, this book is highly recommended for middle schoolers who would also like to learn about past rulers including King Henry, King Richard, King John, Stephen Langton, and other interesting subjects such as the Crusades, The Sheriff of Nottingham, Castles, Runnymede, the Siege of Rochester, the Pope, Hubert de Burgh, the Treaty of Lambeth, and very early American History related to the Magna Charta.

“The Magna Charta”
By James Daughery
Publisher: Beautiful Feet Books
ISBN: 0-9643803-5-8

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