This week: Duchess Bakes a Cake

This week for FIAR we are studying the middle ages with Duchess Bakes a Cake by Virginia Kahl. What a fun book! Today we had a medieval feast by roasting a chicken and J2 did a fine job of showing off the use of no silverware! We also had a discussion about the feudal system and why there were kings and castles and knights and of course a duke and duchess.

Using castle cards by Klutz R7 and I-5 made their own castles.


R7 remembers the rules to chess very well and E9 aims to teach her some special moves this week like castling. I-5 will learn chess basics. A few years ago E9 had a real thing for chess and still plays occasionally with his grandfather via computer (even using netmeeting to see each other during play).

E9 was really into knights and castles at one time so we have plenty of go alongs. Check them out! I highly recommend them all!




This one is called Puzzle Castle- also an Usborne book


E9 picked this one up again and read it in his spare time. He made sure to comment that this was a good book.


I-5 and I had fun the other night checking out the castle search book. He chose the castle seige page- such a boy!






This last one is by Gail Gibbons. I cut off the library barcode...

I think I finally have found a place for all the books and fun stuff for the week to be displayed on a Sunday night. It was cool to watch the kids check everything out on Monday morning and both R7 and I-5 have been perusing the books all week. R7 has her page marked in several books. The coffee table is nice and big and at kid level and maybe it'll keep everything else- as in clutter off of the table!