Life Skills 101 came to an end. Students shared what they had learned through slide shows, posters, photos, and talks.

Most students had understood and followed our assignment: choose ONE skill that you want to acquire or strengthen and work on it for three weeks. A few misunderstood and came in with a plan that involved several essentially unrelated things, one for each week. However, we were somewhat pressed for time because of the coming conference week and spring break, so we accepted all of the plans as they were proposed. Many students reported having a new appreciation for all the work their parents do to keep things running smoothly at home. Some said they were likely to keep on with such things as laundry, dishwashing, and cooking. Almost everyone was able to talk without notes or without reading us the text on their slides — something we have been working toward all year.

Social Studies: We have been learning about medieval Europe, primarily in Britain, and will continue with this for the rest of April. Obviously, it’s a study that could fill the year (just like all of the others we have done and will do). But we are just gaining an overview of how the feudal system and daily life were connected and how they changed over time.  We’ll see the influence of the Mongols and the growing Muslim world, the two topics we explored earlier in the year.  Our final study will take us to the medieval world of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai in West Africa, where we will learn a bit about those wealthy kingdoms that became centers of learning, even for some Europeans, as the knowledge collected and created by Muslim Arabs merged with that of the local peoples to preserve and expand the wisdom of China, India, and ancient Greece.

We’ve learned a lot about castle architecture (first through watching David Macaulay’s Castle as a video) and about the constant tension between building strong defensive structures and devising better siege weapons. We likened that to what is going on in the world right now as terrorism and anti-terrorist security measures compete with each other for ascendancy.

And we’re building catapults! Most students are building from a “kit” of parts that I have brought in, but one team is taking a somewhat different route with their own design. Students were given the choice of working alone, working with a partner to build one catapult together, or working with a partner to help each other build two of them. All three options were selected by various members of the class. We’ve been watching a Nova video about the building of a catapult by a group of modern historians, hobbyists, and engineers to see if one really could break down a thick castle wall.

Skills students are acquiring from this project include measuring, the use of hand and power tools, and general knowledge about nuts and bolts and drywall screws. Some students already had some understanding, but for others it’s a whole new world. As we start to test our finished catapults, we’ll be talking about angles, trajectories, and the need to make changes to our devices as a result of our trials.

Our chicks came to school on Wednesday last week. They were just a few days old and so soft and fluffy! They are now old enough for our children to handle (carefully and briefly) so they will become docile and easy to manage (the chicks, not the children) when they are mature and living out in our chicken yard. They won’t start laying before the end of the school year, but our summer camp will enjoy the first eggs. The breed is called Amberlink. The “link” part means that their color — even when first hatched — is sex-linked. That is, the males look different from the females, which means we can be sure of having 6 hens. Three of them will move into my flock at home at the end of the school year, and the other three will remain here to be our new school flock.

What’s coming next?

Lots of things are still on the horizon, including personal projects as well as graduation skits and speeches.

Calendar notes:

• We’re taking a midday trip to the Philadelphia Art Museum to learn about medieval art and armor on Tuesday, April 26. Details will follow as we get closer to the date.
• Our end-of-year overnight will be sometime during the last full week of school in June (May 31 – June 3). We will start by planning for May 31/June1, but weather could push it back to June 1/2 or June 2/3.