Heading to the Renaissance

We are still working our way through the Medieval Times, and we are finally up to the Renaissance. There is so much to cover!

So far, we learned about castles, art, food, clothing, Camelot, Joan of Arc, the plague, feudalism, the Magna Carta, Marco Polo, religion, the Catholic church, knights, chivalry, crusades, heraldry, 100 years' war, Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth, Blood Mary, and Medieval science, technology, and inventions.  We also learned there was a lot of beheading going on in those days.  Off with his head!

I have always wondered why kids play Marco Polo in the pool.  Here are 2 thoughts on the subject. 

It has been said that around 1312, Marco Polo had his eyes cut out by pirate traders for allegedly insulting the ship's captain so when Marco returned to Venice, the local children made fun of him and stole his walking stick which made him chase them around.

Another thought is that Marco Polo was an explorer and kids close their eyes so they can "Explore" their pool area.

Here are a few additional resources for what we have worked on already.

Marco Polo interactive map with questions.

National Geographic website, Marco Polo. 

Interactive notebook.

My other links page.

We are having a blast with this unit!  So many interesting topics to learn about.