Learning about Medieval Classes at Co-op

 This year our theme at our homeschool co-op has been Medieval Times. I have long loved history but hadn't paid a whole lot of attention to that time period before this year. I have truly loved learning a lot more about it.

  At this month's co-op gathering we talked about the class system and touched on Feudalism and Manorialism. It was a bit of work but pretty fun too. There were 5 different parents in charge of this month and then we also pulled in our highschoolers (9 of them) to help us as well. I was in charge of the Nobility and then we also had Royalty, Church (Catholic Church), Peasants (both the serfs and the freemen were put together) and City Folk (Merchants and Tradesmen).

  We all decorated a station for our different groups and the parent leaders and the highschoolers all dressed in costume. Here are a bunch of pictures from our day....

The one above shows the great hall that we created for our nobility station. We decided to portray the Sir Henry Percy Family of Warkworth castle. Josh (one of the teenagers in my station) had suggested that and researched them quite a bit. I had a blast learning more about them as well. Now I really want to go to England and visit the castle ruins.

 Annie was the other highschooler helping me. She was teaching the girls how to curtsy.

We also had the girls help us work on an embroidered tapestry that we were making for our home (it is creating a picture of Warkworth castle on it).

You might notice my lovely hat. Megan created it for me for the occasion. I didn't feel like I could be a true Lady without a proper hat.

 As the day began at co-op we had the kids all randomly draw some slips of paper (from their parent to show that they class that they were depended upon how they were born generally) that showed what class they belonged to. Then each class started their day by going to their home station. We had 3 young men that were nobles. After we told them about being nobles then all the groups rotated around and we would tell a different group and also explain how we would interact with them. So we told the peasants about the jobs we had for them, talked to the merchants about buying cloth and spices from them and so forth. Then after each group had been to each station they came back to their home station to eat lunch. We Nobles ate our lunch together and the other groups did as well. We served them food that went with their station.

  We nobles had a first course of chicken soup, 2nd course was roast, carrots, peas, bread, butter and honey and dessert was grapes and cheese.

 Here you can see the peasants coming and bowing to the King and Queen.

 The castle servant had made flowers that the peasants could give to the king and queen.

 This was the super cool draw bridge that the royalty had at their station.

 For their lunch they also had a first course of chicken soup. 2nd course was venison roast with carrots and peas and we stuck peacock feathers into the roast for some extra glamour. They had some really fancy bread, butter, jam, olives, grapes, cheese and grape juice. They also had cookies for dessert.

Here is the royal table.

 The peasants had a fun diorama to look at and learn from. They also learned about grinding grain.

 There was a fun sounding game of keeping the birds (balloons) off of the crops.

For their lunch time they sat on the floor and used low benches for their table. They had pottage (made from yellow split peas, barley, onions, garlic, cabbage and salt), dark bread and apples to eat. Nobody got forks to use as they weren't yet invented then.

 At the City folk's station the kids got to hear from Will the blacksmith, Jonathan the Carpenter and Lyndi the cloth merchant and general explainer of the City Folk.

Lyndi was able to wear the wool dress that Mara sewed by hand this winter which is made in an appropriate medieval style (Mara has been researching it a lot). I had fun helping Lyndi out with her head gear as well. I guess some queen in the 1300's was concerned about her sagging chin so she started wearing a band that went under her chin to make it so it wouldn't sag. She also wore one around the forehead as well. Pretty soon that was the style all over.

The City folk had roast, carrots, peas and bread for lunch.

 Jackie, Mara and Angel were nuns and portrayed having a place where sick people could go. They also talked about pilgrimages that were made in those days and others various Catholic teachings and history. They spoke in Latin a little bit so the kids would get to hear that.

The Clergy ate Pottage, brown bread and boiled eggs for lunch.

 Over all it was a really fun day. I hope the kids learned a lot and will remember it.