Medieval Living

First off, my apologies to my regular readers for not posting any news in nearly a month. Things have been busy and I have to use my time as best I can – blogging found its way to the bottom of the list.

It’s been a real wrestling job trying to figure out the best way to expand our activities. In the past, we were limited to holding events where ever we could find a space to have them. Unfortunately, that placed a tremendous limitation on our outreach. Bottom line – we need a place that serves as classroom, shop, office and storage. I have located a warehouse facility that would meet our basic needs. I’m a little concerned about parking, as the available spaces need to be shared with other occupants in the facility. Still, I don’t expect our numbers to be massive – if they ever get to the point where they are massive, we will be justified in moving to a much larger facility.

I had really struggled with the idea of a traveling museum. I still think it is a viable outreach, but I’m just not sure it’s the right next step. I think once we have an established brick-and-mortar location, we will be able to use it as a base of operations for the traveling museum project. So pushing back the traveling museum opens the door for an activity center. Actually, I was looking at the warehouse facility as a location to stage the traveling museum, when I realized that the warehouse also had enough room for a classroom, as well as the office, shop and storage requirements. Also, the activity center will allow for more varied populations being served, and travel time would be converted into classroom time. Now there is a limitation in the geographical area being served – but if we do activate the traveling museum program later, it will address that issue. It’s all very much a work in progress.

I’m putting together several grant applications which I hope will get us moving in the right direction. I am also hoping to NOT be in the public school classroom next year, so that I can focus all of my energies on the activity center. That remains to be seen – just too many uncertain challenges that have yet to be resolved. However, I do believe that is it a realistic consideration. Think positive!

As always, if any of my readers happens to have a facility they would like to volunteer for our use, that would be truly appreciated!!!

I hope you had a good Thanksgiving and that the upcoming Christmas season finds all of you well and content.

Any athlete will tell you that there is more to a sport than understanding the rules. In order to be considered a baseball player, one has to do more then gather the necessary equipment and other players. One has to actively participate in the game – hitting the ball, throwing the ball, running the bases, scoring runs, and getting hits, strikes, balls and outs.

I feel the same way about history. Now I realize that one can’t actually travel back into time to participate in a moment in history. However, by recreating a particular historical event, it is possible to experience how people lived, worked and played. Pulling together the artifacts of the era, from buildings to tools to children’s toys, one can get a real sense of a historical character’s daily life.

As I continue to work with our traveling museum concept, I am more and more excited about what we can offer to students across the state. And as we gather momentum and begin the process of actually constructing a permanent facility to house the living history museum, I see more and more how we can integrate its construction and development with the education of children and adults alike. Not only will people be able to experience a recreation of the past, but they will actually be able to participate in its construction. Now I realize that some of these activities will be geared more toward adults – but imagine if you will, a group of people who have had some basic training in timber frame construction participating in the raising of several “period” buildings! Not only does this allow them to learn hands-on how to build timber frame structures, but they gain some ownership and a stake in the museum itself.

So as I work on this vision, as I see it becoming reality, there is a great sense of satisfaction and excitement. I look forward to each and every step along the way – it’s a lot of work, but it’s worth every single effort!

Life has a way of getting busy – real busy! I frequently tell my mother-in-law that if it wasn’t for her, I’d have nothing to do at all. The past two weekends were filled with a partial remodel of her kitchen. But there are also some good things that happen in life. This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to spend the evening with David Andrews, author of “Catching the Stone”. It’s really nice to spend time with people who share common interests and experiences!

It was a pleasure to meet the person behind the story. We all develop stereotypes of what we expect certain people to be like. Some might feel that authors are quiet, somewhat passive individuals. Others might think the opposite, that writers must be well traveled, adventurous sorts. After meeting David, I would put him somewhere in between, but leaning towards the later. He has traveled through much of Great Britain, is an avid “Harley” rider and studied martial arts in his younger years. But I could also tell that he has spent considerable time reading and studying. Although we are certainly different people, I think he and I are similar in many regards (ok, ok, I don’t ride a Harley!) I hope he and I have more opportunities to visit and share ideas and experiences.

I recently read an article by Melissa Snell of About.com:Medieval History. She recounted a story of her first and only visit to a Renaissance fair. Of particular note was a few paragraphs she wrote about a woman and her sheep. I would like to copy that portion of her story here – please note, this is her writing, not mine, and she deserves all credit due.

“The sheep belonged to a woman who spun wool by hand. She would shear wool from the creature as she needed it, also by hand, and after it was spun she would dye it by hand. Using only the materials available in medieval times, she had achieved an extraordinary variety of warm, rich colors. She would then use the wool to knit clothing of authentic medieval style.

I watched her nimble fingers working swiftly and competently as she chatted with visitors and the sheep blithely cropped the grass nearby. She did marvelous work, and she did it from start to finish the way it had been done five hundred years ago. I suddenly understood what it must have been like to live in medieval times. I knew my understanding was limited to this tiny aspect of daily life, but nevertheless I did understand.

This, I realized, was living history.”

Melissa goes on to discuss the wonders of living history and all of its various forms. If you are interested in reading the entirety of her article, it’s here at “The Middle Ages in Our Century”

That’s were Medieval Living would eventually like to be . . . with people like this woman and her sheep, not just actors or first person re-creationists. Imagine a village where every task is done with the tools and skills available at that time. What a wonderful way to embrass history and to understand people’s daily lives.

Join us in this endeavor, even if only by sharing enthusiastically the vision of Medieval Living. Of course, if there are other things you could bring to the table, I would LOVE to hear from you.

Scott
Medieval Living

You know, sometimes you just have to change things up a little. I’ve spent several weeks examining what we’re doing currently and where we want to be a few years from now; I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s time to modify our approach to achieving our goals.

For those who are new to this blog, let me back up and give a short history of what’s been going on. We started nearly a year ago with the idea of creating a Medieval era living history museum. After wading through stacks of paperwork, and waiting patiently for the IRS to process those papers, we received our 501(c)3 public charity determination. That was in May of this year. We began doing community outreach, as one of the purposes for our endeavor is to teach others about the Middle Ages and about the various crafts and trades common to that era. The homeschool community here in New Mexico was very receptive of our offerings, and we held several classes in Albuquerque, Los Lunas and Rio Rancho. We learned some lessons along the way.

Now it is time to broaden our outreach to include other groups of students. We will still maintain our goal of supporting the homeschool community, but to be successful in obtaining the necessary grants and recognition, we have to open our “doors” to a wider group of participants. Along with that goes a change in how we will organize our activities.

Ultimately, we want to have a Medieval village style museum, with first-person reenactors and such . . . but until we obtain the land and so on, that is on hold. In the interum, we are planning to create a traveling museum that we will set up at schools, clubs and other places. Along with that will be our usual classes and activities. One of the key differences is that the groups receiving the classes will have to secure the meeting place. It’s like this . . . if you want us to teach a class, give us the place to do it, and we will gladly come! Even after the village is up and running, the traveling museum will continue to operate as a means of outreach to the communities of New Mexico.

With that said, we are planning and developing the traveling museum concept. Yes, it’s more paperwork . . . don’t think we will ever get away from that. But the ultimate goal . . . the end product . . . will be a worthwhile service to the communities we serve.

Well I don’t usually like to post “negative” sounding topics here, but I just feel like I should put a voice to something that has been a real frustration: meeting places for classes and activities. Now we have had some good things happen related to meeting places – Cherry Hills Library and the Los Lunas Public Library in particular have been extremely cooperative in allowing us to meet in their facilities. And of course, we can usually meet in “public” places, such as Haynes Park in Rio Rancho.

However . . . . . . that’s about it – we have tried some other “facilities” and have met with significant resistance. Not everyone seems to share our support for homeschool families. I think that this is a combination of things: education about homeschooling and a “good-old-boy” mentality in particular. What can be done? Hmmmm, well I do think that homeschooling has a negative perception among those who have no real exposure to it. Those who have had the chance to work with the homeschool community are quickly coming around to see its benefits. So educating people and exposing community leaders and administrators to the positive aspects of homeschooling would certainly help. About the “good-old-boy” thing . . . well that is much more deeply entrenched and difficult to counter.

I have stated before that my plate is full to overflowing . . . yet, I am seeing the need for some sort of informational campaign to raise the popularity of homeschooling. That’s not to say I am trying to encourage more people to homeschool (although that is fine with me if it happens), but to improve the reputation of the homeschooling movement so that it is more generally accepted as a viable edcuational method.

To that end . . . there are two things that would help me be able to work on these issues (plus the countless other tasks which are fighting for a place on my “plate”): a place of our own to work out of, that is, a dedicated space for classes, activities, equipment storage, project construction, and administration; and a salary so that I can commit full-time to this endeavor. At this time, neither one is being considered. While looking for time in the workshop to build trebuchets for classes, I am also spending time on the “net” looking for grants and other funding options. The “team” is struggling a bit, not because of any lack of motivation, but life in general is weighing heavily upon us. Having these two key events happen would be a real springboard toward achieving our homeschooling goals.

I can make all sorts of pleas for assistance . . . but frankly, I’ve seen very little movement on the donation front – we did pull in a little during the ren fair, and we had a yard sale last weekend that brought in a little more . . . neither is enough to put a dent in any of the major projects that we have waiting in the wings. Yet, in spite of the frustrations, I know that what we are doing is the right thing, and that we will “keep on keeping on”. Thanks for the words of encouragement from some of the readers here.

Just a side note: Although most of the “hits” for my blog come from people seeking information on Medieval history, not homeschooling, the number of “hits” is at an all-time high. At this moment, the blog is 6 hits shy of reaching a monthly high, and there is still one more full day ahead. Each day averages around 36 visits. Considering that there is no advertising, no marketing campaign, that’s really a nice number. Now, if I can only get more homeschool-oriented hits! Oh, the fullness of my plate . . . thank you for reading this whole thing . . . and please, send a note or message saying that you support our goals, even if only in spirit. Thank you.

Please don’t misunderstand me . . . modern technology is great! There are some applications of modern devices which save lives and help people be more efficient in their businesses and classrooms. The very fact that I am using a computer, the internet, social networking and so on to share with others about Medieval Living is wonderful . . . I don’t know how we managed before these inventions.

However . . . some of these wonderful devices also suck the life right out of us. In particular, the cell phone, iPod-style devices, and gaming consoles have reduced us to a bunch of unimaginative, lazy zombies. Kids in particular are affected by these marvels of modern technology. Teachers in the public schools are in a constant battle with cell phones and iPods . . . and if the teacher takes the device away from the student, then the parents threaten to sue the teacher and the school. Yet, when the student has their “technology” with them, they tune out the classroom lesson and their grades begin to plummet . . . and again, the school and teacher are threatened by the parent, this time because their little “darling” is failing school.

I love the cellphone commercial on the television where superheroes have been called in to save a family from their daughter’s “texting” problem. The superheros bring in the cell phone representative, who solves the problem by offering a “package” that will keep the family’s phone bill in control. I think alot of us have a different solution to the problem . . . take the kid’s cellphone away! Problem solved!

Again, I’m not anti-technology. It’s like anything else . . . there is a time and a place, and all things in moderation. My son’s friend mentioned once about how much time he spent playing a particular online game. “I could have learned a new language instead of playing this game,” he said.

I think that’s a big part of our purpose here at Medieval Living. Now I don’t expect people to throw away contemporary living for the hard life of a Medieval commoner. But I do think that when people learn to make things by hand (rather then by computerized machines) that they begin to realize how much work and effort goes into making something. Maybe they will never make weaving or pottery their life’s work, but once they learn the basics of a particular skill, they will appreciate fabric and stoneware alot more.

And of course, we always need to look at technology for what it is . . . a way of making life easier or of solving a problem. I’m in the process of building a lesson using the Medieval trebuchet. At some point in history, the trebuchet was a contemporary piece of technology, with innovative ideas and the application of science and math. That’s exactly our purpose for looking at the trebuchet . . . to teach a little history, a little math, a little science . . and to have a little fun. When we get to the timber framing projects, it will be the same idea . . . learning math, science and history, plus the added benefit of learning about a construction method that has regained some interest in modern construction.

Am i against modern technology? No, of course not. But I do think that as a culture, we have lost the ability to make things for ourselves, to be more self-reliant. We buy junk at WalMart and other places – use it for a short while and then throw it away because we don’t know how to repair it. Perhaps if we learned to make some things ourselves, we would have better quality products that we can maintain for ourselves.

So how about it? Want your homeschoolers to learn to become more self-reliant? Then let’s explore some historical arts and crafts. Call me or send me an email, write a snail mail letter (don’t get many of those these days!), or come knock on my door. We’ll leave our cellphones and iPods at home (or at least turned off and tucked away), and put our hands and our brains to good use by making something or doing some activity that freshens our imaginations, encourages a healthy lifestyle, and removes the “zombie” glaze from our eyes!!!

Here are a couple of photos from the Santa Fe Renaissance Fair. The first one is of yours truly standing in front of my 20′ diameter ger (yurt). The second photo is of Zella and Melissa (VP of Medieval Living) inside the yurt. The photos are on Flickr courtesy of “sandiaman41″. He has many more photos to share on Flickr.com!!

One of the many projects I am working on involves teaching homeschoolers how timber frame-structures are built. During the Middle Ages, timber frame-style buildlings were very common, and they survived for hundreds of years. There is a renewed interest in the U.S. in using timber frame-engineering.

I am designing some tabletop kits that homeschoolers can assemble that will teach them the basics of timber framing. We hope to accomplish several things with these kits: these projects serve as cross-curricular activities, blending history, math/geometry, and science; they help students develop an appreciation for historical building methods; and they are fun and interesting puzzles to solve.

Now, I can spend hours and hours using a mallet and chisel to create these kits, or, if I have access to a mortising machine, I can mass produce them with relative ease. I already have a garage full of woodworking equipment, but a mortiser (1/2 or 3/4 hp) is not among them.

So . . . I am looking either for a donation of a used, working, mortising machine or access to a mortiser (mostly during the weekends). We will provide a receipt for tax purposes (we are a 501(c)3 tax-exempt public charity).

I don’t know what the attendance was for the 2010 Santa Fe Renaissance Fair, but I know that my “booth” had a constant flow of people coming through. Of course, my “booth” was a little different then most, as it was a 20 foot diameter yurt (or a “ger” if your from Mongolia). Last year’s attendance was around 5,000 – I am guessing that this year’s was even higher.

We had numerous homeschool families stop by to visit, which gave us the chance to explain who we are and what services we provide. We also discussed our future goals and aspirations, including the development of a Medieval living history museum (very similar in concept to the El Rancho de los Golondrinas museum where the fair was held. We had alot of positive feed back, and the activities we had provided for the kids gave everyone a chance to experience a little of Medieval life.

We also met alot of kindred spirits. I am hoping to join up with a pottery maker out of Los Lunas, a “zoo” in Edgewood, and bowmaker from Albuquerque. And of course, we met alot of people who were just wanting to see the inside of a yurt! I will post pics as soon as I get them downloaded. There were several others taking photos, so I will either have them posted here, or I will provide a link.