Tapestry: Year 2, Week 4

Kiryn's notebook page about the battle between the Arabs and the Franks

Luke was tired and didn't want to write, but he did manage to scribble out a drawing of Charlemagne.

This week we began to learn about the history of Europe and how it formed in the early middle ages.  Our first character to study was Charlemagne the Great.  We learned all about how Charlemagne united the Franks and was able to defend their land against barbarian/Viking invaders, as well as Arab invaders.  I am really learning a lot! : )  I have heard all the names of these historic figures, but didn't really know much about their lives, when they lived, or even where they ruled.  So putting it all together for me has been really interesting! : )

This week in science, we learned about earthquakes and tsunamis.  We got to do a fun experiment in which we simulated an earthquake.

 Here is our model town all set up and ready for it's quakes.

After a light shake, some things are dislodged and people knocked over. But mostly okay.

 After a moderate shake, the buildings are sinking, some are knocked over, and people are down.

After the big shake.  The whole town is destroyed.

Poor army man is trapped like the Wicked Witch of the West...

Poor Sid and Mickey are buried.

This was a really fun and informative experiment. And way easy to do! : ) 

Oh, and we're also growing some tadpoles.  After the short monsoon, our little fountain was full of tadpoles, so the kids took their bucket and scooped some up to watch them grow at home.  How exciting! I'm SOOO glad we have tadpoles living on our balcony...