Okay, I changed my mind. I am going to paste in our week synopsis for all who read who care to. This can be your educational blog reading for the day!
England
England is ruled by a king or Queen. Today Queen Elizabeth II is queen. She is guarded by soldiers that wear red uniforms and tall black furry hats.
In 1066 William the Conqueror came to England. He fought the Anglo-Saxon king, Harold at the Battle of Hastings. When Harold’s army came to fight William, they were tired from a previous battle arranged by William. William’s archers shot high in the air and shot Harold in the eye. William was the first Norman king of England. The Bayeux Tapestry tells the story.
Henry VIII had 6 wives that he had beheaded because they had daughters and not sons. His first wife he wanted to divorce because she was past child-bearing age. The Catholic church wouldn’t let him have a divorce so he started his own church, and got to have his divorce, and the tithing monies given to him. To remember the fate of his wives we remember “Divorced, beheaded, died, Divorced, beheaded, survived. His daughter Mary (bloody Mary) came to the throne and killed people who had changed from the Catholic faith. Then Elizabeth I came to throne and blended the two ideas of religion into the Anglican church.
In England they eat tea and cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off, and crumpets, Yorkshire puddings with Salisbury steak, Cornish pasties, fish and chips, etc. English children sing songs like, “The Grand Old Duke of York”, “Wind the Bobbin Up”, and “The Hokie Kokie”.
Most of our favorite authors are from England, William Shakespeare, Jane Austin, Charles Dickens, and Francis Hodgeson Burnet. Shakespeare said in the Merchant of Venice, “How far that little candle throws his beams, so shines a good deed in a naughty world.” We read A Little Princess, and The Secret Garden,
(some of the "secrets" in our secret garden)
had a tea party with our friends, 
had a presentation by my British friend, Rose, and watched some Dickens movies. We also enjoyed watching a slide show of our own experiences in England.
Ireland
Ireland is often called “The Emerald Isle” because of all of the green plant life that grows there. We planted our own “secret garden” which included some clover-one of Ireland’s national symbols. Peat (plants pressed together for many years) is burned instead of wood or coal. Their flag has three strips. The Green stripe stands for the green of Ireland and the Catholic people. The Orange stripe stands for the Protestant people, and the White middle stripe symbolizes peace between the two.
Ireland is rich in Celtic tradition. St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He was kidnapped from England and sold as a slave in Ireland. He worked there for 6 years, then escaped back to England. He was converted to Christianity and went back to Ireland as a missionary. The Celtic cross blends the symbol of the sun (circle) with the symbol of Christianity (the cross).
In the early 16th century England took over Ireland. They took the land from the people of Ireland if they wouldn’t convert to Protestantism. The people were made tenants on their own land, and although they grew lots of food, they had to send most of it to England and they only had potatoes to eat. One year there was a potato blight and there was not enough food for the Irish people. This is called “The Great Hunger”. The people either starved or immigrated to America. Because of these immigrants, America has been very influenced by Ireland.
Hallowe’en originated in Ireland. They first made jack-o-lanterns out of turnips, but when they came to America they couldn’t find turnips, and they used pumpkins instead.
Ireland has many fun myths and legends about leprechauns and faeries and giants, like the famous giant Fin McCoul, who they thought helped build the Giant’s Causeway (a volcanic rock formation in Northern Ireland). Johnathan Swift the author of Gullivers Travels is from Ireland.
Ireland is often called “The Emerald Isle” because of all of the green plant life that grows there. We planted our own “secret garden” which included some clover-one of Ireland’s national symbols. Peat (plants pressed together for many years) is burned instead of wood or coal. Their flag has three strips. The Green stripe stands for the green of Ireland and the Catholic people. The Orange stripe stands for the Protestant people, and the White middle stripe symbolizes peace between the two.
Ireland is rich in Celtic tradition. St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He was kidnapped from England and sold as a slave in Ireland. He worked there for 6 years, then escaped back to England. He was converted to Christianity and went back to Ireland as a missionary. The Celtic cross blends the symbol of the sun (circle) with the symbol of Christianity (the cross).
In the early 16th century England took over Ireland. They took the land from the people of Ireland if they wouldn’t convert to Protestantism. The people were made tenants on their own land, and although they grew lots of food, they had to send most of it to England and they only had potatoes to eat. One year there was a potato blight and there was not enough food for the Irish people. This is called “The Great Hunger”. The people either starved or immigrated to America. Because of these immigrants, America has been very influenced by Ireland.
Hallowe’en originated in Ireland. They first made jack-o-lanterns out of turnips, but when they came to America they couldn’t find turnips, and they used pumpkins instead.
Ireland has many fun myths and legends about leprechauns and faeries and giants, like the famous giant Fin McCoul, who they thought helped build the Giant’s Causeway (a volcanic rock formation in Northern Ireland). Johnathan Swift the author of Gullivers Travels is from Ireland.
Irish step dance is the ancestor of tap and clogging. We enjoyed an Irish step class.Irish music makes you want to dance. Some songs are, “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” and “I am a wee Falorie Man”. We wrote limericks and ate potato dishes all week, and some corned beef and cabbage.
ScotlandScotland! It's a wonderful country. The Highlands are the mountainous regions. There are many lakes or “Lochs” in Scotland. The most famous is the Loch Ness where some say the Loch Ness Monster lives. We enjoyed making our own Loch Ness Monster stories and watching Scooby Doo meets the Loch Ness Monster! Another famous loch is Loch Lomond, and its “Bonnie Bonnie Banks”.
Robert Burns is a famous Scottish poet who wrote, “Is there for honest poverty that hangs his head and a’that, the coward slave we pass him by we dare be poor for a’that, for a’that and a’that our toils obscure and a’that, the rank is but the guinea stamp, the man’s the gowd for a’that. Robert Lewis Stevenson is from Scotland. We enjoyed reading“Treasure Island” and his poem “My Shadow”.
Many famous people come from Scotland including, James Watt, inventor of the Steam Engine, Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, Alexander Flemming, discoverer of penicillin, and many others.
The Scottish people are very fun. They dance the “Highland Fling” and play bagpipes
and wear kilts and read poems and laugh together. Plaid designs are commonly found in Scotland. Each clan or family wove their own tartan design. We found and colored our own “Riddoch” tartan!A great Scottish song is Donald Where's Your Troosers.
(we made a little bit of sound with our bagpipes, but mostly we felt like passing out!)
2 comments:
How fun! Congrats Jared on all the achievements. I liked your secret garden and I always look forward to seeing the Doll's new outfits!
I'm always impressed with how much detailed information you know about all these countries! I learn a lot every time I stop by. Thanks for posting about it. I also enjoy watching your kids enjoy it.
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