Week 26 Overview

History: We are moving right along through the Middle Ages. This week included the following~

The first Russians, the Rus, were named after a Viking warrior named Rurik. Ivan the Great was the first ruler to bring the Russian cities together. He was a descendant of Rurik and was named the Great because he made Russia into one country. He began to rule in Moscow in 1462 and he freed Moscow from the local Mongol kingdom. He captured Kiev and other cities, making them loyal to him. He made Moscow the capital city of Russia and built strong walls around the Kremlin, hired a famous architect to build beautiful cathedrals inside the walls, and started developing the Kremlin as the center of Russia's government.

Years later, his grandson became ruler or Russia, but he was a terrible ruler and therefore was called Ivan the Terrible. He called himself tsar, which means Caesar, to show he was as powerful as the ancient Roman emperors. He had the beautiful St. Basil's cathedral built. He formed a secret band of police who rode black horses with black saddles and bridles, with a flag showing a picture of a broom and dog's head. These secret police committed horrible acts against the people. Rurik's dynasty ended with Ivan the Terrible.

The Ottoman Turks (Muslim empire) attack again and finally capture Constantinople. This city is now known by the name Istanbul. The fall of Constantinople occurred May 29, 1453 and was one of the most significant events of medieval history. The way of life begun by the Romans was over. Sometimes the conquest of Constantinople is referred to as the end of the Middle Ages. At this point, the Ottoman Turks had the largest empire in the world. Their greatest emperor and sultan was Suleiman, who became Sultan in 1520. He was named after the Hebrew king, Solomon. Sometimes he is referred to as Suleiman the Magnificent. The Ottoman empire began to shrink after his death.

The Bubonic Plague is referred to by many names, including the Black Death, the Plague, and the End of the World. It started from fleas on rats that infected people in distant China. Spreading from villages and plains in China to foreign Italian merchants, the Plague made it to the Black Sea, then continued to spread through Italy, Europe, England, and North Africa. The literary piece Decameron by Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio describes the Black Death. People did not know it was spread by rats at the time and came up with all sorts of wild ideas about the reason for the Black Plague. While the Black Plague wiped out one-third of Europe's population, some countries experienced death tolls as high as 50%. This produced more fatalities than any wars so far. Some estimate the final death toll at 75 million.

The Plague ravaged people for years and changed the way of living for good. The feudal system began to breakdown without people to work the fields and such. Peasants and farmers grew less poor and noblemen grew less rich. Urbanization became a way to deal with the changes.

When the Black Death ravaged Europe between 1347 and the early 1350s, it interrupted a war between England and France, which we will look at in week 27.

Bible: We looked at those who opposed or were enemies of Jesus during his ministry time. These included some priests, temple merchants, Pharisees, and Sadducees.

Read aloud: Shakespeare Stealer

6th grade Science: mixture verses compound, radioactive atoms, nuclear reactions verses chemical reactions, and endothermic verses exothermic reactions. In Cool Stuff 2.0, we are learned about Kevlar, body armor, wet suits, and fire extinguishers.

3rd grade Science: protozoa and the microscope

6th grade Math: Geometry! Lines, line segments, rays, angels, and angels in groups.

3rd grade Math: Review, review, review. Let's just say that review isn't a favorite of our 3rd grade friends. But, they will be happy to know that we are moving on to another topic in week 27!

Piano Maestro (our fun piano app):
1st year SC: level 32
4th year EL: level 74
4th year EM: level 104

Vocabulary: Finished week 13. I think the most used word by one of our 3rd graders was "sluggish". For some reason, they really liked fitting that word into everyday situations! We finally had time to complete our word maps for this one. Check them out in Week in Photos!

Writing: For fun, our 3rd graders each wrote a seasonal poem. It was a free write, meaning they had no instruction or assistance. Take a peek in our Week in Photos ~ Week 26 post. We also studied Haiku poetry and prepared to write our own Haikus in week 27. A fun book with interesting Haiku is Wild About Books! We will share that in our Week in Photos, as well.

 I did find a great Haiku about Coffee:

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!

And we found another funny one online. If you know about Haiku, you'll think it's funny, too. If you aren't familiar with Haiku, then you may just think it's weird!

Haikus are easy

but, sometimes they don't make sense

Refrigerator. 

Thanks for reading!