Chapter 13 deals with Charlemagne fighting the Moors at Tours. The kids and I had a lot of fun with this one because (1) it’s about France, (2) they got to learn about Charlemagne for the first time, (3) Charlemagne is one of my favorite kings, and (4) I did not have to cook anything. Ha!
After reading them the stories while they colored Charlemagne, I decided that for our craft/activity we would build a tent and re-enact the battle of Tours.
My daughter pretending to be a Moor in her tent, happy with her spoils
After being very happy with her loot, my daughter invited me in the tent and we sat there enjoying ourselves, admiring our coins (pretend coins from our play cash register), petting our stuffed animals, and wondering if we should start nibbling on raisins or peanut butter crackers first.
Then, out of the blue, the Franks attacked us! It was loud and scary. Panic set in. We thought too much about our possessions and how not to lose them, so we lost the battle, the famous battle of Tours. And, of course, we ended up losing our possessions, too.
The Franks are coming!
Great fun was had by all. We even video taped a few of these attacks, but you would get dizzy watching our videos. My daughter likes to spin at the end of every video as she holds the camera in her hands. It will remain a family video.
One last thing: they were touched by the fact that Charlemagne actually did not learn how to write. A lot could be said on the subject. Suffice it to say that it really puts things into perspective about medieval times.
