Before class, I had e-mailed that I would give a small prize to whomever would like to hand in a written report of their presentation. My own children were eager to do so since they saw (and coveted) the prizes I had for the participants. There were several written reports, several verbal and even spontaneous presentations. I think every student stood up to share something at this point.
Our 17th Century timeline entries began with the Dutch Golden Age. The fine arts were at the highest point as well as industry. The Baroque Cultural Movement needed a little explanation but some were aware of Baroque type music from their private instructions. The Scientific Revolution was at its peak during this century. But on the down side, The General Crisis that was mostly caused by conflict between protestant and catholic faiths, kept the nations in an almost constant state of war. It was also during this conflict that brought about the King James Bible as well as the Jamestown Colony (John Smith & Pocahontas). Two pretty amazing things that were done in spite of a pretty rotten king. The last thing we discussed was the Mayflower Compact that took place with the puritans trying to prepare a safe environment for their children to grow up in.
Our activity was a simple one of coloring a puppet to glue on a paper sack, but unfortunately, I forgot to buy the paper sacks. Oops.
