If you follow our journey on Instagram, you know we recently returned from a trip to London. What you didn't know is that this trip concluded a recent study of British History.
When we relocated from Bozeman to Asheville in September of 2024, we started our homeschool year by studying North Carolina and subsequently American history. We had just moved into a unit on the golden age of piracy when, ironically, we found ourselves a bit shipwrecked as well after Hurricane Helene took our city floating down the Swannanoah River leaving us stranded for several days without power, food, or water. Thankfully, the boys and I were able to evacuate once water around our home subsided and make it to friend's, but our chaos had only just begun. We became permanent nomads after the storm, but were able to keep up with our schoolwork by taking math workbooks on the road, reading in the car or on the plane, and completing main lesson book assignments at restaurants or museums on the road. In early November, the hype of the presidential election took over our home and we were able to transition into a comparative study of various governments including democracy's, monarchies and even communism. After Trump's victory, curiosity was growing in the boys regarding how, and why, America gained its independence from Britain and why King George III was seen as such and tyrant. This made the transition into British history seamless! We studied the history of the royals, the War of the Roses, Hanoverians versus the Tudors, British literature and authors such as Shakespeare, Browning and Chaucer. We learned about the Black Plague, executions, Guy Fawkes and Henry VIII. We learned about the Industrial Revolution, the Victorian Era, Georgian Era, and the reign of Elizabeth II. We watched clips of coronations, weddings, and funerals of the modern monarchy and learned about Ghandi and his peaceful protest against the crown. How could we not cap this unit with a trip to London, baby?! I lived in England as a young girl and have always had a very strong connection to the country and the culture since. I loved teaching the boys (and learning the hard way myself) how to navigate the underground and the difference between American English and the Queen's English. I loved eating fish and chips and shepherd's pie at MayFaire Chippy off Kensington High Street just down the road from Harrod's. But the highlight of our trip was definitely the Warner Brother's Harry Potter Studio Tour! JK Rowling is truly a visionary and I wanted to show the boy's how one person's imagination can touch the heart of millions through the written word. Reading great work encourages children to create great work! We walked through Westminster Abby as well and the boys actually recollected the history behind the author's plaques, various tombs of royals buried there, artifacts, art and statues, but I was most impressed how the used their new knowledge of Latin to decode tombstones noting natus and mortum. The boys have both read The Phantom of the Opera so we saw the live show at His Majesty's Theater and discussed why the theater name recently changed from "Her" to "His" after King Charle's coronation and why Kate and William are now regents. We rode a British tuk-tuk to dinner at Boulevard Brasserie singing Christmas songs under the twinkling lights of Covent Garden and those mere moments will live in my heart forever as I felt I could almost see the feeling of the British culture cementing into my children's hearts live. Don't sleep on other British authors such as AA Milne, Roald Dahl, Robert Browning and JRR Tolkien though. Possibilities are endless for a study of British literature! No trip to London is complete without a stop through Picadilly, where I of course volunteered to allow an African national to run and flip over me, and four other brave souls, for money. I wanted my boys to remember Piccadilly as the place where the shows are held and the street performers run wild and seeing mom crouched on the pavement under a man I'm convinced has learned to defy gravity will be seared into their memories forever! On our last day in London, we visited the Tower of London, right outside the Tower Hamlets tube stop. Do NOT plan anything else on this day as it's likely to be an all day affair for you, especially if you top it off with the Gunpowder Plot show (a MUST). It's pricy, but totally worth it! I almost passed it up, but then the clouds opened up and the rain blew me straight through those doors and there was no turning back. The Gunpowder Plot is the love child of VR and live-action and provides an immersive, interactive history lesson about Guy Fawkes unsuccessful attempt at blowing up Parliament November 5, 1605. We LOVED it! So, no, homeschool kids don't HAVE to stay at home. We "world school", I guess, although I hate labels and being expected to conform to an identity some random mom on Pinterest created, but world schooling is a thing now so I guess that's us. We school our way. Sometimes it's at home, sometimes its at the park, sometimes we're on a plane, train, or boat, but we're always learning, exploring, and growing closer as a family. I love learning alongside my boys! Homeschool kids are weird! Chelsea Vail
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Chelsea VailParenting expert, blogger, inventor, single mom to twins, barefoot nomad, adventure seeker, boho spirit, advocate of play Archives
January 2025
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