More Nitty Gritty

So, once I get the older student’s plan more or less set, I start working to mirror it for the younger one. I look for resources that cover the same general ground, but at a level appropriate for him. I don’t worry about keeping them in lock step; sometimes, my older one will be studying a topic that is clearly out of reach to her little brother, while other times there will be some topic that I just know will be of special interest to him.

And, of course, there are always a few books that I just happen to have sitting on a shelf because I found them at a used book sale and that are perfect for him this year, even though they don’t have obvious parallels with his big sister’s plan.

In “big picture” terms, though, I try to keep them together as much as possible, which means he, too, will be focusing on medieval and Renaissance history and literature this year.

As spines, he will be using:

Parragon’s Encyclopedia of World History (“Middle Ages” and “Age of Discovery” sections)
History of the World: The Middle Ages, Vincent Douglas
History of the World: Renaissance and Discovery, Vincent Douglas
Art and Civilization: Medieval Times, Giovanni Di Pasquale
History of Everyday Things: Renaissance and the New World, Giovanni Caselli

He’ll be outlining some of his reading assignments and also creating a notebook using the History Scholar page templates.

Whenever it seems appropriate, he’ll join his big sister in watching the historical documentaries and other films on her list. And I have certain selections that are just for him, including the Schlessinger Media Life in the Middle Ages series.

His assigned reading for this year includes the following:

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Andrew Lang
One-Hundred-and-One Celtic Read-Aloud Myths & Legends, Joan C. Verniero (We have a few books in this series, and my son reads them independently. He will not cover all 101, just a nice selection of the stories.)
Sailor Who Captured the Sea (Lovely illustrations based on the Book of Kells), Deborah Nourse Lattimore
Viking and Liking It, Jon Scieszka
Beowulf: A New Telling, Robert Nye
Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver, E. L. Konigsburg
Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest, Ann McGovern
Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights, N. J. Dawood
Wulf the Saxon, G. A. Henty
Puffin Classics Canterbury Tales. Geraldine McCaughrean
Squire’s Tale, Gerald Morris (a comic re-working of the Gawain story)
In Freedom’s Cause, G. A. Henty
Second Mrs. Giaconda, E.L, Konigsburg
Da Wild, Da Crazy, da Vinci, Jon Scieszka
Who Was Ferdinand Magellan? S. A. Kramer
Exploration & Conquest, Betsy & Giulio Maestro
Medieval Feast, Aliki
Shakespeare Stealer, Gary Blackwood

We’ll also be reading aloud Mark Twain’s Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court during the first semester. I’m still deciding on a read-aloud selection for the Renaissance period.

As you can see, I’ve leavened the list with several comic or silly selections guaranteed to make this period fun for my young boy. He actually got very excited just digging through the shopping bag in which I was accumulating his reading material for the year. He kept pulling out books and reading the titles out loud and holding them up for me to see (as though they were his personal discoveries). Finally, he exclaimed, “Hey, a bunch of these are classics!”

It’s enough to make any homeschooling mom’s heart beat proud!