Project 125: World Book Day and 1,001 Arabian Nights

It was our third home education World Book Day (see also Project 75: Charles Dickens & World Book Day and Project 24: World Book Day and the Wizard of Oz) and we thought we'd introduce a classic from a different culture in the form of 1,001 Arabian Nights. We made use of the Geraldine McCaughrean version as we've enjoyed her work previously (see Project 115: Christmas and The Pilgrim's Progress).

1,001 Nights is a collection of stories, so the fact we didn't have a chance to read the whole of the book this week didn't matter: we read the first and last chapters, and a selection of the most notable tales (including Sinbad, Ala al-Din, and Ali Baba and the forty thieves). Nothing quite emphasises the impact of the tales on Western culture than the large number of films based on the tales that have been made, and we watched five!: The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad  (1958), Aladdin (1992), The Return of Jafar, (1994), Sinbad: Legend of the seven seas (2003), and Aladdin (2019).

Of course we didn't just watch films (although the children might if you let them). The children completed a number of worksheets from Twinkl on Aladdin and Ali Baba, explored Islamic art, learned about the golden age of Islam, and designed their own flying carpets:

Solomon and Monica's Flying Carpets

Next week's project: Water.

Project 75: Charles Dickens & World Book Day

As Thursday 7th March was World Book Day, we decided to have a project on Charles Dickens (see also Project 24: World Book Day and the Wizard of Oz). 

We read three Dickens stories over the week from the (highly recommended) Usborne Complete Dickens: Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, and Nicholas Nickleby. 

The Usborne Complete Dickens

Each story is abridged to about 40 pages, starting with a colourful illustrated guide to the main characters of the stories. It's very accessible for those not yet ready for the full unabridged versions, and the work of Dickens is filled with memorable characters.

On World Book Day itself we visited the Dickens Museum in London. This is the house where Dickens wrote his first books, and is set up in period style. 

Charles Dickens Museum

Our children enjoy any museum, and they enjoyed exploring the different types of room and objects of the Victorian age. It's not a particularly child-friendly museum however, and it would benefit from the sort of children's activity trail that other museums often have - If there was such a trail/worksheet, we weren't informed about it. 

We also did a number of more general activities around books. We watched the BBC World Book Day Live Lesson, did a Book Bingo activity sheet, and got them to fill in a simple book review worksheet about one of their favourite books. 

Book Bingo includes questions about whether you've read a book meeting a certain criteria, which initiated a lot of discussion and debate - especially when Monica and Solomon couldn't agree on whether or not King Arthur was set in a castle!

For their book reviews Monica picked Mary Poppins and Solomon picked William Again (the latest book that we are reading in the Just William series).

Book reviews for World Book Day

Next week's project: More Maps!

Project 24: World Book Day and the Wizard of Oz

As it was World Book Day on March 1st, the week's project was based on a book of Solomon's choosing. He chose the Wizard of Oz.

We already had the Usborne Young Reading Series version of the Wizard of Oz, which Solomon enjoys on his own, and bought the full version for us to read with him. I can't praise the Usborne reading series enough, the only problem is Solomon reads them so quickly, and it's difficult to find full versions of classic books which have sufficient pictures to keep Solomon engaged on his own.

We watched two film versions of the book, both the classic Judy Garland version and the Muppet interpretation. He liked them both, but he liked the Muppet version best, and it was a nice way to introduce him to Kermit the Frog et al.

Solomon also created his own Wizard of Oz picture:

Solomon's Yellow Brick Road

It was a bit disappointing to find that Wicked wasn't available on DVD, but with so many other spin off films (Return to Oz, Oz: The Great and Powerful) and another 13 books in the series, there is plenty more to explore if Solomon wants to return to Oz in the future.

We also took the opportunity to discuss the wider publishing industry with Solomon, explaining the history of publishing, the size of the market, and the opportunities the web provides for self-publishing and the digitisation of original manuscripts.

Next week: Teeth!