History Extras

The girls had their first Gymnastics lessons today so we spent almost 3.5 hours driving and at lessons - they loved it and can't wait until next week. Needless to say it means our lessons were haywire today so I thought it would be a good opportunity to catch up on a post I had been meaning to write for ages.

Whilst studying Romans we came across some great playmobil figures - a standard bearer/legionary and a senator/emperor. I loved how the girls responded to seeing and handling these 'toys' - how they recognised SPQR from their studies and how they complained when they realised the standard bearer was wrong (didn't have the golden eagle that normally goes with the lion head cape).

The senator/emperor was my favourite though - he sparked a great discussion about columns (I know the column types are really Greek but the Romans borrowed them so it seemed a good time to introduce it) which moved on to what else the Romans borrowed from the Greeks (Gods) and finally talking about the Lead tableware they used (not gold - they liked pointing that mistake out too)  and the effects it had on their bodies/reproductive systems/sanity. It was also a good opportunity to reintroduce the historical importance of the colour purple, how it was made and why it was so expensive.

We have moved onto Egypt now and I managed to snag these two cuties off eBay and I can't wait to see their reactions tomorrow : )

What History aids do you use?

PS. Did you notice the new desks? I'll give you a heads up on our school room makeover later in the week once I've drilled all the new holes for the display board (and plastered over all the old ones).