Hannah Kate is studying the Middle Ages (from the fall of Rome to the rise of the Renaissance) this year in history. She recently learned about the English code of chivalry, which included a discussion about the knights who lived in England. An excerpt from her book states:
So the leaders of the Christian church began to teach that knights owed loyalty to God, not just to the king. A knight had a sacred duty to defend the church and to take care of the weak: women, monks and priests, widows and orphans. Knights were supposed to be more than just good fighters. They were like policemen, responsible for protecting others and making sure that laws were obeyed. This new way of being a knight was called "chivalry." Chivalry means that a knight had to be brave, loyal, honest, generous and good at fighting. He had to fight for the church whenever it was threatened. He had to love his country, honor his lord and fight his country's enemies. Most of all, he had to protect women. And if a knight fell in love with a lady, he had to promise to serve her - and to do any task she gave him, no matter how difficult it was.
Becoming a knight was a long, complicated process . . .
The text then outlines the steps to becoming a page and then a squire and finally a knight. Regarding the armor . . .
Your squire straps your sword onto your belt and puts your helmet on. It covers your whole face, except for narrow eye slits where you can see out. Your friends only recognize you because of the special symbol painted on your shield. This symbol, or coat of arms, tells everyone who you are.
~The Story of the World, History for the Classical Child Volume 2: The Middle Ages (pages 152-154)
I mean, if that's not romantic, I don't know what is! (And I'm currently watching Cinderella with Hannah Kate and Ellie as I'm typing this!)
So Hannah Kate's next assignment was . . . you guessed it . . . to design her own shield.
I think it's very purposeful that half of her shield is dedicated to dance. I love the depiction of her and her two besties, Brexley and Sidda. Her drawing of her electric keyboard reminds me that I wish I would've been more dedicated to teaching her how to play the piano. When we began homeschooling, I imagined I would have all kinds of time for the arts and science projects and such. And all the homeschool mommas are laughing! I admit I questioned her about the fishing illustration. I didn't realize that fishing would be shield-worthy! But, obviously, it is.
Sunday night a week ago, I walked around the corner at 8:45 to see her pouring over school work yet again. It had already been such a long day, and we were tired. I reminded her that she didn't have to go to Sequitur for another two days and that she had plenty of time within those two days to complete her work. But what am I talking about? This is the same girl who, last Thursday a week ago, told me when I picked her up from Sequitur that she had to read an entire chapter book by the following Wednesday. I reminded her that she had nearly an entire week in which to read the book (because I knew what was going to happen). And, sure enough, she disappeared to her room around 2:00 that afternoon, and when I called her downstairs at 4:15 to get dressed for dance, she came be-bopping down the stairs and announced that she'd finished the book! Yes, that is my Hannah Kate.
Miss Courtney has been one of her dance teachers for several of the seven years, and Hannah Kate was excited to have her again this year.
