Although it is summer break for us, the kids keep asking for more history. We need to finish volume 4 anyway before the new school year starts back up, so I am glad to oblige.
Khachkar craft – Armenian carved “stone” bas relief
Chapter 13 deals with the old-fashioned emperor of Brazil and Abdulhamid II, one of the last sultans of the Ottoman Turks. Ms. Bauer manages to explain causes and effects of historic facts very well.
In just a few pages, we get the picture of why something happened, how it happened, who the main parties involved were, and how it all worked out in the end.
Working on the khachkar
For our craft, we chose two: the creatures of Pantanal in a folded paper game and an armenian khachkar (carved stone cross). My son read the instructions on how to fold the paper to himself and managed to get it all right without any help from me. That is a good thing, because I am not mechanically inclined and following directions can be challenging for me.
Our son working on a fold paper craft, following instructions from the Activity Book.
My daughter decided to use some of her plastic beads to decorate the black and white khachkar paper provided in the activity book. They were both proud of making something with their hands. I was happy I did not have to help them with their crafts at all.
Paper craft about Brazilian creatures
I have always wondered if it is OK for us to help small children with their crafts or if it is actually better to wait until they are eight or so, when they can do their own crafts. Do I have the energy to research what the “experts” say on the subject? Not really, and mainly because no matter what I find, I do not always trust what the experts say. Do you?
