Posted in Middle Ages

Yesterday we went on an absolutely amazing field trip to Castle Anam Cara.  The Castle was built by David O'Connor (Lord Duncan of Dough Nut) and Loretta Salazar (Lady Espringale) to replicate a 10th-11th century castle keep.  But this isn't a museum.  They live there as homesteaders, so you are visiting their home.

They led a wonderful program for homeschoolers.  There were only 4 families and the couple has just amazing warmth and hospitality.  I don't really think I can put it in words because it was just such a great day.

Lord Duncan took us on a tour of the land, showing us the gardens, and a replica of a peasant hut, and the outdoor bread oven.  He also has a metal smithing shop on the property.  It truly is like stepping back in time.  And they have just an incredible amount of knowledge to share.  They aren't just museum guides - this truly is their passion and it comes through in everything they do.

Here is a pic of the girls in the castle gardens.  They were very excited because wearing costumes was "recommended" so they go to wear their costumes we got at the Ren Faire a few weeks ago.

CPG is on the left and Little Miss is on the right.

I didn't get many pictures and some that I got I took while holding Boo so they didn't come out great - including one I took of the girls with Lord Duncan and Lady Espringale.  But I do have a few good ones.

They also got to try on chainmaille that was made right there on the premises.


This of course is CPG trying on a chainmaille helmet.  She is sitting at the table where we had a medieval "feast" - served on bread as plates just to be a bit more authentic.  Do you think she is having a good time?

Just one more pic:


Little Miss in Chainmaille as well.

All in all it was a great day.  The Castle in in Barrington, NH and was about a 2 hour trip for us each way, but was completely worth it.  Check out their website for more info about them: www.castleanamcara.com

As we were saying good bye, one of the other moms told Lady Espringale that if they do ever get to Europe and see the castles there they will be disappointed after being to Anam Cara.  I tend to agree.

Posted in Middle Ages

One of the most wonderful things about living in this area is the Higgins Armory Museum  It is the only museum in the Western Hemisphere that is devoted to Armor.  It is also a castle.  When you are studying the Middle Ages that makes it really cool - or so says Little Miss.  The Museum is full of interesting things from all ages and areas - everything from Ancient Roman Armor to Samurai Armor, and of course tons of "Knights in Shining Armor".  While having a lot there for adults, they really cater to children as well.  For example, they have a great hands-on kids area that my kids just love.

The museum is also really into education.  Every year they run a series of classes for free at the local library.  Each series is based around a theme.  Every week the kids come and hear a story and then do a craft related to that story, and then for the last week of the class they kids get to go to the Museum (also for free).  The Museum is closed when the kids are there and they get a great tour, get to play with some of the armor (with gloves on of course!).

This year the theme was Dragons.  Every week they read a book about dragon lore from somewhere in the world - Norway, China, England, etc.. and then did a great craft project. 

I decided to take advantage of this opportunity and decided to go to the Museum early with the kids (while it was still open).  I got a free admissions pass from the library so it was a free field trip and we had a great time!  And then stayed immediately after for the class tour.  What a fun afternoon!

I highly recommend a stop in if you are ever in the area!

Posted in Middle Ages

So we aren't really doing any formal schooling this week as it is the Jewish Holiday of Sukkos (The Festival of Booths).  It lasts 8 days and there is just too much going on to try and force myself to fit school in too.  The beginning and ending days are Holy and are treated as such.  It is the intermediate days in the middle that need to get filled up.  So we try and do fun stuff...

Right now we are doing a unit on the Middle Ages and have been having a lot of fun with it.  Since it is Renaissance Faire season around here we decided to do a field trip yesterday to the Connecticut Renaissance Faire.  What a great time we had!  The Faire was open yesterday only for school groups - and there were just a ton of homeschoolers there.

We got to see King Arthur's Court, a re-enactment of the Duel between Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a jousting competition, storytellers, music, a marionette show....  The list goes on.  There were also lots of merchants of course selling their wares, but also doing demonstratons - like a blacksmith.

This was such a great way to make our learning come to life! 

The only down side was that I didn't bring my camera!  I thought it was in my bag, so I didn't even try to find it before we left.  Boy was I surprised to find it not in it's pocket when we got there...  I found it on my desk when we got home.  So, no pictures - but a lot of great memories.

Now here is the question from Little Miss:  Why do they call it a Renaissance Fair?  Really it is from the Medieval Period...  I told her it was because Renaissance Fair sounded better.