Homeschooling Times

I have ALWAYS since I was a little girl been fascinated by miniatures, and when I was a teen I first saw a picture of a Faberge egg and literally lost my breath- it was absolute perfection. The eggs have everything- mystery, jewels, royalty, money. romance and beauty. Tomorrow Christie’s auction house in London will be auctioning off the Rothschild egg- called that because it was commissioned by the Rothschild banking family.

Rothschild’s Faberge Egg Up for Auction

The egg- set to go up for auction November 28 at Christie’s is unusual for several reasons. It was previously “unknown”. Before 2007, it was never publicly documented, and had never before been seen in public It one of only 12 ever made for some one outside the royal Russian family and the egg not only has working clock- but when it chimes the rooster “cluck”
The egg is HIGHLY desirable and will go for record setting amounts. Some figures predicted have been in the 18-20 million range. I personally think it will go for much more- maybe even over 30 million dollars.

The Faberge eggs have universal appeal- My daughter is enthralled by them. From a homeschooling viewpoint Faberge eggs are a good way to introduce history an talk about the Russian Royal family. The eggs are a good way to explain frustrations felt by the Russian masses as the starved in the cold – while these eggs were being commissioned as Easter gifts year after year.

The story of Rasputin, Peter the Great and the Royal Princesses will intrigue most kids

Some Ideas for “Lesson Plans” using the Faberge Eggs-

Draw Your Own egg- what colors would you use? What kind of jewels? Who would you make it for? Would it do anything or hold a secret surprise inside like the Faberge ones do? There is no wrong answer- use your imaginations. Get out the pencil crayon and crayons and go to town!
Here are some pictures of some of my favorite eggs- use them inspiration. below is Youtube video of the newest egg- and maybe my favorite:-)

Newest “Rothschild’s Faberge Egg”

Gorgeous “lily of the Valley” Faberge Egg

Video of Newest and Uknown “Rothschild’s Faberge Egg”

More Info about Faberge eggs:

For Kids ( and Adults!) Who want to learn more about Faberge Eggs

http://users.vnet.net/schulman/Faberge/eggs.html

PBS Lesson Plan for Faberge Eggs ( very structured): http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/a_nav/ed_nav/level_1/ed_faberge_frm.html

http://eeuropeanhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/fabergeeggs

Wow- Talk about time beeing sucked into a black hole! I discovered this site earlier in the week, www.stardoll.com. it is basically “virtual” paper dolls. There are dolls of Dylan and Zack Sprouse, Rhianna, The Olsen twins, etc. And they have a closet of clothes you can dress them up in. They have quite a few free ones and then you can pay for others.
My kids have been playing this for HOURS each week..

This site has put together a list of best wii games for girls. With brief description of games and best age the Wii game is suited for

Massively-multiplayer online role-playing game = MMORPG

Silk Road – is a free MMORPG. The game is based on the historical Silk Road and involves commerce and strategy. Silk Road reproduces the Silk Road in China and combines realism with fantasy. Silkroad Online a neat premise that throws you in the middle of the time in history that revolved around trading on the Silk Route.

Toontown Online ( Disney) : Very kid friendly and kids can play from around 6 years old.

Runescape The Grand-daddy of free online MMORPGs. Still HUGELY popular- and free

City of Heroes

Renaissance Kingdoms : Free web-based MMO, Renaissance Kingdoms takes place in a realistic environment: Western Europe at the end of the Middle Ages. The player starts as a tramp that has to get rich, famous in his community, in order to take power and lead the destinies of thousands of players. But he can also prefer to become a monk and enters a cloister or a travel through the many cities of the Kingdoms to sell products on the markets, as a merchant.

Take some time out over the next couple days of hustle and bustle getting ready for Thanksgiving and do some crafts with your kids.

Some Thanksgiving Homeschool Activities for Younger Kids

Make a Thanksgiving Placemat, Lots of Turkey Crafts with “Foamies”

Make a Thanksgiving bookmark, pony bead Turkey and more for younger children .

Thanksgiving Homeschool Activities for Older Kids/Teens and Adults

There are a TON of crafts tpdowith younger kids- not all that many for older kids and teens. No reason thay can;t take on projects labeled for “adults”

Do some baking! Make an apple or pumpkin pie from scratch.

Make A Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Some Out of the Ordinary Thanksgiving Homeschool Activities: Make a “Pumpkin” field from pop bottles

Make a “bread” centerpiece

I hate when people do this…. but…

This is my first post

This site is meant to be a resource hub for homeschooling families. Look for site recommendations ideas and thoughts about homeschooling in general. We learn more to the unschooly-side of things but I hope to appeal to all different kinds of homeschooling families.