Castles Homeschool Lesson

We are in the middle of a Medieval Unit Study right now. This post will be going hand in hand with my knights’ post of last week. When I was planning our castles homeschool lesson, I knew this was an opportunity to a practical, more field trip based learning. So I asked Gary if he would mind taking some time off for us to go and visit a couple of castles and spend enough time in them and exploring them that the children would have a real feel for them. That said, you know I’d never be able to turn down a good book.

Books

Read aloud was Macaulay’s Castle book and had the children read through the others themselves. I have a love/hate relationship with Macaulay’s books, in that I either love the one I’m reading or I hate it. I loved Pyramids and The Way We Work but I really disliked City (about a Roman city). This one would have to go the love pile. It was so very interesting and we all learnt so much. I read almost all of it aloud in one session lasting over an hour – it was THAT interesting!

Building a Castle

Thomas, 11, decided to try, as much as he could, to replicate the fortress in the book with his Play Mobil:

Visiting Castles

We had really wanted to visit the Tower of London, but B2 is too young and way too unpredictable in her moods (smile) for us to spend a whole day in London with her. If she was having a bad day we would ALL have a bad day! So we decided on two castles we could drive to rather than catch a couple of trains to: Bodiam Castle, fairly close to the site of the Battle of Hastings and a beautiful castle with a moat, and Windsor Castle, the largest castle in Europe and still used as the queen’s residence at times.

Bodiam Castle

First was Bodiam castle:

Castle Homeschool Lesson — I think this is the most beautiful castle I’ve been to. Ever.

I would really recommend a visit here. This is probably one of the most beautiful castles in the world. There was something about its atmosphere – just stunning!

Windsor Castle

Next up was Windsor Castle:

A loan guard ready to be relieved of his duty

The guards arrive for the ceramony known as the Changing of the Guards

Castles Notepages

Whilst we were there we took photos, bought information guides and anything else we thought might be useful for the children. The next day I had them read through the Windsor Castle Guide book and asked them to make a quick note page as a memento of their time there: