Having now read all of book one of The Travels of Marco Polo, we find ourselves in Cathay, or China as it is now known. Polo described the mountain ranges he trekked along with his experiences in the deserts. We had already covered mountains and deserts in our previous studies of Turkey (mountains) and Egypt (desert). I asked…
Category: Explorer Study: Marco Polo
Marco Polo: Venice to Ormus
So this week we were off; dressed and prepared for our journey ahead: Our first leg of the journey to Cathay would take us from Venice in Europe to Ormus, in Persia. We had read up to chapter 18 in Marco Polo's Travels a few weeks before, taking us to the vicinity of Ormus (Hormuz). One story Rusticello relates is…
Marco Polo and the Silk Road
This week was all about preparing for our trip across the silk road. Yes, I know, week three and we haven't even left Venice yet! I did say it was taking us a little longer than anticipated! We are still ploughing our way through 'Marco Polo's Travels'. It is getting easier and easier to read,…
Marco Polo and the Mongolians
Picture Credit This week we have taken an unplanned detour. We neglected to cover the Mongolians during our ancient history studies and I wondered where it might naturally fit in. Here, is the answer! As we are reading Polo's memoirs the 'Tartars' are the one people we have no knowledge of, and given they played such…
Marco Polo: The Beginnings of a Great Explorer
It seems Marco Polo will be taking us longer than first thought (ahem, how very unusual for us!). His travels are a much larger, not to mention interesting, subject than I first thought. Fortunately, the freedom of home-school allows us to chop and change as often as we like, so I'm just going with it!…
Easter Adventure Box: Marco Polo and Ancient China-Part 2
Yesterday I shared the resources I'm using for the Ancient China part of our adventure box. The other half of the box will be focused on Marco Polo. I intend to read aloud his own autobiographical book about his travels: We are using 'Marco Polo- History's Great Adventurer' I LOVE these books. We have a similar…
Easter Adventure Box: Marco Polo and Ancient China-Part 1
Just the name sends shivers down my older children's spines! They are very excited about their Easter Adventure Box! This year it is going to be both a revisit to Ancient China and also learning the new topic of Marco Polo. Marco Polo was a well-known medieval explorer, who traveled the silk road to China. He therefore…