The Order of the Phoenix

During today's discussion of Crispin, Matteo drew an insightful analogy to the Harry Potter series.

With assistance from John and Diego, Matteo said that Bear's spy network reminded him of the Order of the Phoenix.  He also pointed out that Bear teaches Crispin, just as Hagrid teaches Harry.

Matteo, John and Diego: Your teachers love it when you make connections between books. Keep up the good work.

Thanks to Percy for this beautiful picture of Crispin,

swimming in the millrace of Stromford Village.

The students continue to learn about medieval castles, and we will begin writing tomorrow during class.

Olivia and Asa have located some excellent information about medieval brain surgery and the ways that it differed from modern procedures. Let's just say that the trepan sounds a bit more primitive than the tools and techniques used by doctors nowadays.

James is examining the various tools and techniques used to attack castles. According to his notes, the trebuchet gave maximum power to the attacking army, but it was very expensive and required an entire team to operate.

Waller is highlighting some of the differences between the life of a medieval lord and the life of everyone else. Within many castles, the lord's room had a fireplace (for warmth) and windows (for fresh air and light), while most other people had neither warmth nor light. In addition, according to Waller, some lords even had a private jester for constant entertainment!

I love the architectural details (do you see the portcullis?!) on this castle drawing by Asa.