I was blessed enough to spend a study abroad term in London, so I dug out all my old postcards that I had written home and my scrapbook of photos (developed-from-film)!
Navigate this page: Missions, Booklists, Science, Cooking, Composer Study, Folk Dance/Music, Art Project, Art Study, Game, Movies, Videos
Mapping it out
- Figure out the terminology of UK, Great Britain, British Isles, Ireland with this article: A Bit About Britain
- Crayola.com’s Free printable of United Kingdom’s Flag and Map
- Crayola.com’s Free printable of England’s Flag and Map
- Seterra.com’s Free printable maps of Europe
- Seterra.com’s Free online geography games for Europe
Missions Spotlight
- Prayercast.com/England: Prayer Points, Summary, Quick Facts
**parents should preview the short prayercast.com video for sensitive topics that may not be age appropriate. - “Hero Tales” by Dave and Neta Jackson has missionary stories. The ones pertaining to England are of William & Catherine Booth, George Müller, William Tyndale, and John Wesley.
- Torchlighters Youtube Videos, also on DVD: William Booth, George Müller, William Tyndale, John Wesley
Booklists
I’m working on books reviews of our favorite books about England. I’ve only provided Amazon affiliate links for the best books that I have added or will add to our home library.
Introduction to England (These series have been kid approved)
- “England,” by Walter Simmons (Exploring Countries series, grades 2-5)
- “England,” by Amy Rechner (Country Profiles series, grades 3-7)
- “England,” by Jean F. Blashfield (Enchantment of the World Series, grades 5+)
Picture Books
- “A was an Apple Pie: an English Nursery Rhyme,” illustrated by Etienne Delessert
- “The Queen’s Hat,” by Steve Antony
- “Katie and the British Artists,” by James Mayhew
- “Katie in London,” by James Mayhew (Video: Actual Recreation of “Katie in London,” book)
- “The Inside-Outside Book of London,” by Roxie Munro
- “Madeline in London,” by Ludwig Bemelman
- “The Knight and the Dragon,” by Tomie de Paola
- “A Medieval Feast,” by Aliki
- “Till Year’s Good End: A Calendar of Medieval Labors,” by W. Nikola-Lisa
- “The Lion and the Unicorn,” by Shirley Hughes
- “The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit,” by Emma Thompson
- “The Queen and the First Christmas Tree : Queen Charlotte’s Gift to England,” by Nancy Churnin
- “Ayo’s awesome adventures in London: city on the Thames,” by Kim O’Connor
- “Capitals: Visit the World’s Capital Cities!” by Taraneh Ghajar Jerven (layout of London with landmarks and short captions)
- “Atlas of Adventures: Wonders of the World,” by Ben Handicott (one layout about Stonehenge)
- “Atlas of Animal Adventures,” by Rachel Williams and Emily Hawkins (one layout about the Honeybees in England)
- “My Librarian is a Camel: How Books Are Brought to Children Around the World,” by Margriet Ruurs (one layout about England)
- “Ancient Wonders: Then and Now,” by Stuart Hill (one layout about the Roman Baths in Bath, England)
Folk Tales and Legends
- The friendly beasts : an old English Christmas carol / illustrated by Tomie de Paola.
- “Favorite Fairy Tales Told in England,” retold from Joseph Jacobs by Virginia Haviland
- “Jack and the Beanstalk,” retold by E. Nesbit
- “Saint George and the Dragon: A Golden Legend,” adapted by Margaret Hodges from Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene (Book Level 5.6)
- “Dark Hedges, Wizard Island, and Other Magical Places that Really Exist,” by L. Rader Crandall
(“Tower of London, England”) - “Folktales for Fearless Girls: The Stories we were Never Told,” by Myriam Sayalero
(“Lady Ragnell, A Tale from England”)
Shakespeare & other Biographies
- “The Boy, The Bear, The Baron, The Bard,” by Gregory Rogers
(written in comic strip style with few words) - “To Sleep, Perchance to Dream: A Child’s Book of Rhymes,” quotations from the works of William Shakespeare
- “Will’s Words: How William Shakespeare Changed the Way You Talk,” by Jane Sutcliffe (Book Level 4.9)
- “William Shakespeare & the Globe,” by Aliki (Book Level 5.5)
- “Shakespeare’s Storybook: Folk Tales that Inspired the Bard,” retold by Patrick Ryan (Book Level 5.7)
- “Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare,” by Diane Stanley (Book Level 6.2)
- “Tales from Shakespeare,” by Charles and Mary Lamb (Book Level 12.8)
- “Beatrix Potter, Scientist,” by Lindsay H. Metcalf
- “The Tudors: Kings, Queens, Scribes and Ferrets!” by Marcia Williams
(Written in Comic Strip style) - “Handel Who Knew What He Liked,” by MT Anderson (Book Level 4.8)
- “Hero Tales” by Dave and Neta Jackson
(Chapters: Booths, Müller, Tyndale, and Wesley) - “Kidnapped by River rats: Introducing William and Catherine Booth,” by Dave & Neta Jackson (Book Level 5.0)
- “Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science: The First Computer Programmer,” by Diane Stanley (Book Level 5.0)
- “The Queen’s Smuggler: William Tyndale,” by Dave & Neta Jackson (Book Level 5.1)
- “Charles Dickens: The Man Who Had Great Expectations,” by Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema (Book Level 6.3)
- “Good Queen Bess: The Story of Elizabeth I of England,” by Diane Stanley (Book Level 6.6)
- “Did King Arthur Really Exist?” by Nick Hunter (Book Level 6.6)
- “The World of King Arthur and His Court,” by Kevin Crossley-Holland (Book Level 7.5)
Chapter Books
There are so many classics in English literature that this list is short in comparison. We did not read all of the following chapter books during our two week study of the United Kingdom. We had read a few previously, the kids read a few more on their own, and I have read most of them (but I’m working on finishing up.) I tried to only include books that are set in England and not in a fantasy world. Another book list of literature by English authors would be super long!
- “The Tale of Peter Rabbit,” by Beatrix Potter (Book Level 4.2)
- “Winnie-the-Pooh,” by A. A. Milne (Book Level 4.6)
- “A Bear Called Paddington,” by Michael Bond (Book Level 4.7)
- “The Secret Garden,” by Frances Hodgson Burnett (Book Level 5.1)
- “The Shakespeare Stealer,” by Gary Blackwood (Book Level 5.2)
- “The Boy at the Back of the Class,” by Onjali Q. Raúf (Book Level 5.4)
- “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” by J. K. Rowling (Book Level 5.5)
- “The Railway Children,” by E. Nesbit (Book Level 5.5)
- “Our Castle by the Sea,” by Lucy Strange (Book Level 5.8)
- “Mary Poppins,” by P. L. Travers (Book Level 6.1)
- “The Door in the Wall,” by Marguerite De Angeli (Book Level 6.2)
- “Adam of the road,” by Elizabeth Janet Gray (Book Level 6.5)
- “A Christmas Carol,” by Charles Dickens (Book Level 6.7)
- “Little Lord Fauntleroy,” by Frances Hodgson Burnett (Book Level 8.1)
- “The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood,” by Howard Pyle, unabridged (Book Level 8.6)
Engineering/Science
- English Channel, Video: How the world’s longest underwater tunnel was built
- London Underground, Video: How the world’s first metro system was built
- Cliffs of Dover, Video: Dover, England: Historic Castle and White Cliffs
- Roman Baths
- “Ancient Wonders: Then and Now,” by Stuart Hill (one layout about the Roman Baths in Bath, England)
- Stonehenge
- “Atlas of Adventures: Wonders of the World,” by Ben Handicott (one layout about Stonehenge)
- Thames River
- “River Adventures: Thames River,” by Paul Manning
- Bogs
- “Big Belching Bog,” by Phyllis Root (elementary level picture book)
- “The Mystery of the Bog Forest,” by Lorus and Margery Milne (higher level chapter book)
- Bog Mummies in England and Wales
- “Bodies from the bog,” by James M. Deem
(The pictures of preserved bodies from the bog may be graphic for some kids. Most of the pictures are in black and white or sepia.)
- “Bodies from the bog,” by James M. Deem
Cooking British Food with kids
The kids had so much fun dropping in the “dumplings” when we made Chicken and Dumplings; I don’t think they’ve ever had that type of dumpling before! Food is such a reflection of the changing nature of place, so we don’t only make the traditional foods. We also had Chicken Curry and Chicken Tikka Masala because it’s commonly eaten in the United Kingdom.
I’ve always thought of Apple Pie as being American, but there is a British version without cinnamon! I tried it although I happen to love cinnamon in just about anything (I’m one of those cinnamon-loving people). We happened to go apple picking with our co-op and I read “A was an Apple Pie: An English Nursery Rhyme” to go along with it.
I felt we had checked the box for cooking, but after watching the adorable movie, “Paddington,” I had to have a Marmalade Making Day. It was time to teach the kids about canning, and it was a huge hit. Then I stumbled upon a recipe for Rock Cakes. It just so happened that the boys had finished reading the first Harry Potter book which mentions Hagrid’s infamous rock hard Rock Cakes. We had them at teatime with the three homemade toppings we made that rainy Saturday: Marmalade, Butter, and Clotted Cream.
(To see the rest of the food I made for England, click here for recipe links and pictures: Recipes by Country: England.)
Composer Study
George Frideric Handel was our composer of choice for these few weeks. Born in Germany, he spent most of his life composing and conducting in England. For links to audios for kids, kids books and YouTube videos, visit my page: “Composers: Handel.” For ideas of how to do Composer Study, visit my page: “Art and Music.”
Folk Dance and Music of England
Art Project/Handicraft
The book, “Global Art,” suggests Paper Quilling as a craft for England. It was first recorded as an art form in England although it may be Egyptian in origin.
After watching a Beginners Paper Quilling video and pondering for a bit, I decided against purchasing tools simply for a new craft. We used brads, because it clips the end of the paper in place. Then I graduated to using a skewer, which is trickier but gave me the curl that I wanted. The kids were able to use the skewer, too, with a little practice.
Being fall, I was deciding between a tree with autumn leaves and a pumpkin as a joint project (I really try not to bite off more that I can chew anymore). I could only find orange cardstock, so pumpkin it was! It only took us 1.5 sheets of cardstock and a few leftover pieces of brown scrapbooking paper, but it depends on the size of your creation. Simple Elmer’s glue straight from the tube, and we didn’t even use tweezers. We did this project here and there over the course of 1.5 weeks. The 3-year old was not interested at all, so it was all the 8 year olds, 5 year old, and me!
Art Study
You could use “Katie and the British Artists,” by James Mayhew, as a jumping off point to explore the following works of art by British artists that are used in the book:
John Constable (1776-1837), The Cornfield
Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788), The Painter’s Daughters Chasing a Butterfly
George Stubbs (1724-1806), Whistlejacket
J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851), Rain Steam and Speed, and The Fighting Temeraire
We continued to discuss Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh, during our studies of the United Kingdom and Ireland. His “Sunflowers” and “Starry Night” have come to mind with all the sunflowers of the season as well as our celebration of the Harvest Moon and getting to see stars and Mars along with it. For a list of suggested artwork and links to videos, visit my page: “Artists: Vincent van Gogh.” For ideas of how to do Art Study, visit my page: “Art and Music.”
Game
We played “On the Underground,” which is played on a map of the London Underground. It looks similar to “Ticket to Ride,” but the game play is very different. The 8-year olds did a good job learning it, and were especially delighted to find Paddington Station on the map.
Movies!
The boys finished all three Paddington books, so we watched the 2014 movie, “Paddington,” and will watch “Paddington 2” soon. I was really not intending to watch it with them but I was sucked in completely. I laughed harder and louder than all the kids combined! And then we just had to make marmalade. The movie does not follow the books in that the movie storyline contains a plot involving a villain.
I will probably continue to add to this list as more movies come to mind: Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Christopher Robin, Quest for Camelot, and The Sword in the Stone
Movies based on books: Mary Poppins, Dr. Dolittle, Peter Rabbit, The Secret Garden, Robin Hood, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (but mostly takes place in Narnia), and Harry Potter (but mostly takes place at Hogwarts).
YouTube Videos
- Travel Kids: England-Big Ben
- Travel Kids: England-Animal Park