Our Study of English History

"The fatal mistake is in the notion that he must learn 'outlines,' or a baby edition of the whole history of England, or of Rome, just as he must cover the geography of all the world. Let him, on the contrary, linger pleasantly over the history of a single man, a short period, until he thinks the thoughts of that man, is at home in the ways of that period. Though he is reading and thinking of the lifetime of a single man, he is really getting intimately acquainted with the history of a whole nation for a whole age. Let him spend a year of happy intimacy with Alfred, 'the truth-teller,' with the Conqueror, with Richard and Saladin, or with Henry V.––Shakespeare's Henry V.––and his victorious army."

~Charlotte Mason Volume 1 Home Education Pages 280-281

With this information from Charlotte Mason in mind, I am transforming the way we do history.

I will be reading

Ambleside's recommended weekly readings of

Our Island Story

to familiarize myself

with the Kings and Queens of England.

Although I don't plan to read about

every king and queen

from Our Island Story,

I will read Chapters 1-14.

My goal is set the background

for the kings and queens

by introducing the early myths of the country

and to explain the early influence of the Romans.

Then I will begin the timeline described next...

Each year (1-3), I will put up a chart from these pictures in a timeline fashion The Famous Kings and Queens of England. Then we will focus on 1-2 kings or queens a year. Pointing out where they fall on the timeline. I will also note any interesting facts about the individuals, whether the character of the monarch was good or bad, and how each fared while reining.

Year 1 will be Alfred the Great to Edward the Confessor (871-1066)
Year 2 will be Harold II to Henry VII (1066-1509)
Year 3 will be Henry VIII to George II (1509-present)

For Year 1,

we will focus on

 In the Days of Alfred the Great 

For Year 2,

we will focus on

In the Days of William the Conqueror

For Year 3,

we will focus on

In the Days of Queen Elizabeth

Which also coincides with

Good Queen Bess

Additionally, we may or may not add

In the Days of Queen Victoria

We will focus on 1/2 of a chapter a week.

Happy Homeschooling,
Bethany