India and History Plans for next semester

We didn't do science last week because I was in Arizona.  I feel like I've missed a lot of science.  Well, we already did science for this week, so stay tuned for that post.

We learned about Ancient India in history this week.  Maxwell loves the "Just So" stories by Kipling.  We learned about Hindu gods just a bit and studied how they often have many arms to show their many powers, and so we made silhouettes of ourselves with many arms.

Then we moved ahead about a thousand years in time and learned about the Taj Mahal and how it's decorated with mosaics.  We made mosaics of our own.  Warning! do not smash ceramic plates to make mosaic tiles.  That was not the brightest idea on my part.  Sharp shards everywhere....not good.

For field trip we cut down our Christmas tree! With homemade apple-raspberry cider, chile and a fire, it was a grand time.

And Maxwell sneakily chopped down his own tree.

Okay, now for my record of what we are doing for history next semester.  The Four Year Plan spent way too long on the etruscans and Russia for my liking (her son went on a mission to Russia and there was an Etruscan exhibit when she made the book) so I did a major over haul, and I'm still a couple activities short.

January-Ancient Greece

life-size maze (myths)
Paint gold on black pots
Olympics
Paint Coins (philosophers)
Puppet Theatre
Make miniature lighthouse (Alexander)
Library treasure hunt

February-Ancient Rome

Bullas (Etruscan)
Marbling (Myths)
murals
Portrait busts (forum)
arch/volcano (pompeii)
Marshmallow catapults and togas (Caesar)
make aqueducts from tap to bath (Cleopatra)
Make sheep (Jesus's life)....We're doing new testament next year, but I felt I needed to show the historical context of when Christ was born.
IDEAS WANTED (early christian suffering/lions in colosseum/gladiators/Nero)

March-Medieval Europe

Make shields with crosses (Constantine)
Holiday fun (Pagans)
Make swords (Huns/Visigoths)
Castles made with marshmallows and ice cream cones (Camelot)
make a round table?---not sure about this activity
Coat of Arms (Charlemagne)
Medieval banner (Ottoman)
Make fancy boats (Vikings)
Crowns and Princess cones (Crusades)

April-Medieaval Europe Continued

Stained glass (cathedrals)
Ukrainian Easter eggs
Robin Hood hats and bows and arrows
Ring around the roses,  make paper posies and burn them (black death, London fire)
Illuminations with gold leaf (pilgrimages)
IDEAS WANTED (Joan of Arc)

May-Renissance

Make printing press out of abc stamps (Gutenberg)
IDEAS WANTED (Martin Luther)
Paper Airplanes (Leonardo Da Vinci)
IDEAS WANTED (Henry VIII)
Make ruffled collars (Elizabeth I)
Maypole (Shakespeare)
Make puppets for our puppet theatre (Shakespeare cont.)
Paint on bottom of table (Michelangelo)
Carve statues (Bernini)
Be in dark with flashlight and charcoal with pre-made outlines of objects (Rembrandt and Vermeer)

If anyone out there is reading this, I would love help with the IDEAS WANTED gaps.