Knights

I'm not entirely certain tnat noble knights should look so tribal!!
I’m not entirely certain that noble knights should look so tribal!!

It took us a week to study knights.  Not long, no.  The children, however, have been reading so many great books, playing loads of dressing up that there seemed little point wasting time teaching them that which they already knew.  So I didn’t!  After a little questioning to find any glaring gaps, I thought we would touch on heraldry and gaining a knight hood.  We will also be touching on knights again when we study the Holy wars

First their book list:

      

     

Last summer, I had bought them a wooden, plain sword and shield each, the shield begging to be decorated.  Using this website and this book we looked into heraldry:

They chose their design and away they went to decorate their shields:

T11
T11
L10
L10
C10
C10

And all my knights with their final shields:

They are rather good, aren't they?
They are rather good, aren’t they?

Of course the knights had to do a bit of fighting and protecting, as every good knight should:

T11 ready for battle
T11 ready for battle
A4 is ever happy to oblige!
A4 is ever happy to oblige!
A4 (in a dress) charges at her brother, who is not only over double her age, but also twice her size!
A4 (in a dress) charges at her brother, who is not only over double her age, but also twice her size!
It was, of course, always going to end in tears for her....
It was, of course, always going to end in tears for her….Someone needs to tell T11 that you don’t fight young ladies in dresses!
C10 tried to tell him, but died in the process...
On to the next sister….
This time it ends badly for them both! (although, I'm thinking not too badly given the grins on their faces!)
This time it ends badly for them both! (although, I’m thinking not too badly given the grins on their faces!)
Then B2 wanted to join in....
Then B2 wanted to join in….
....although, she was more interested in eating than fighting!!
….although, she was more interested in eating than fighting!!

Next we did a bit of research on how someone was knighted, if they were not born a knight.  I had the children dress up as knights to be and C10 was king.  The king then dubbed the two would be knights:

I dub thee Sir T
With the power invested in me, I dub thee Sir T
Arise Sir T
Arise Sir T
The newly knighted Sir T
The newly knighted Sir T
With the power invested in me, I dub thee Sir L
With the power invested in me, I dub thee Sir L
Arise Sir L
Arise Sir L
The newly knighted Sir L
The newly knighted Sir L
And our King, the very regal (!) King C
And our King, the very regal (!) King C

This was definitely the children’s idea of fun school!
Homegrown Learners

31 comments

  2. My son has been living in his knight helmet and costume for over 2 years now. He can’t get enough of all things related to knights. The coats of arms are very well done, and the fights looked fierce. I think I’ll stay on the side with B2 and have some cake instead. 🙂

    Reply

  3. Oh my, it looks like all of them are having so much fun! I love it! I have been looking through your old posts and you have such great resources and book lists. I will be back!

    Reply

    1. LOL!! My eldest is so competitive that even a victory against his 2 year old sister would still be considered a victory worth having!! That said, it is all done in good spirits!

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    2. I don’t think we have anything like that in the uk….maybe I’ll have to check it out. I saw your photos and it looks really good! We bought most of them. They are a mish mash of charity shop, new and bits and pieces from the dress up box!

      Reply

  10. I like the shields with their beautiful coats of arms.
    We’ve been doing a lapbook about knights and castles so this post was timely.
    I hadn’t realised until recently about the complexities of heraldry and its nomenclature!

    Reply

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