Darwin -- the early years

We spent most of the week learning about Charles Darwin's childhood, and London and the surrounding countryside in the early 1800s. The boys drew pictures of London during that time period (J's above and Zoo Boy's below).

Then, for comparison, we drew pictures of "The Mount", the house in Shrewsbury where Charles Darwin spent his childhood:

J's drawing above, Zoo Boy's below

And then we made Shrewsbury cakes, a tasty treat that Charles Darwin enjoyed as a boy, from an authentic 1808 recipe:

The boys loved making and eating the little cakes (which really are more like cookies), and honestly, so did I. (Have I mentioned that I love homeschooling??) We even used gluten free flour and an egg substitute so that Rosebud could enjoy them with us. (We're holding off on introducing wheat and egg -- and dairy and corn -- until she's over a year old -- an allergy precaution since I have some life-threatening food allergies. Never had to worry about that with the boys, they didn't want to eat until they were over a year anyway!)

The main book we're using as our text for the next 8 weeks is Darwin and Evolution for Kids: His Life and Ideas, with 21 Activities. (The Shrewsbury cakes recipe was in this book, too.) I'll mention the supplemental books we're using as we come to them. If anybody wants a list of my resources and a schedule of how I'm using them, leave your email address in the comments and I'll be happy to send them along!