Thanks for getting back to me, Lorijo!
I think RTR would probably be a good placement, and it is a wonderful HOD guide! The notebooking pages are simply breathtaking. The art gallery is lovely. I don't see any reason why your older dd can't type her written narration and tape it in, as she is old enough to be good at typing. For R & S English, I think starting at R & S English 5 should be alright. HOD suggests that students do 2/3 of it orally or on the markeboard, and only reserve a section or so to actually write out answers for. We have done this and found it works very well. I'd suggest this as well, as dd is not a fan of writing, and it seems to work equally well.
For math, you can choose any program.
I wanted to have you double-check the reading level, as the history and science are meant to be read independently by the student in RTR. This is pretty important as otherwise you would be stepping in and reading and/or explaining, and this would make a long school day. I tried to click on the link to view the sample for the hardest history resource in RTR (which is The Mystery of History), but it didn't come up, so I cut and paste a large section of it here instead. You may want to print it and have dd and ds read it, to make sure they can do so well independently. If it is too difficult, CTC would be an option too...
by Linda Lacour Hobar © 2007 Bright Ideas Press
The Wars of the Roses
Lesson 1
Though the title of our lesson might make you wonder, roses don’t really have wars. We all know that. So what
were the “Wars of the Roses”? Well, they were a long series of struggles between two ruling groups of families
in England. We call these ruling groups “houses.” For thirty years, the House of Lancaster fought with the
House of York over who would be the king of England. What does this have to do with roses? It’s really quite
simple. The House of York used a white rose for their royal emblem. The House of Lancaster used a red rose
in their coat of arms. So, the clashes between these two houses became known as the “Wars of the Roses.”1
Before I get into the details of these wars, I’d like to review the history of England with you. (Some of
you have already studied this information in other volumes of The Mystery of History. If you didn’t, don’t
worry. I’ll get you caught up very quickly! Younger Students may opt to skip this review.)
A Brief History of England
For such a small island, England has had a great influence on our world. Its people are a melting pot of
great cultures. Going far back in time, you would find that England was occupied by the amazing people who
built Stonehenge. England was settled later by the Celts (Keltz) — until Julius Caesar brought over the
Romans. The Celts and the Romans lived side by side in England until 476 when the Roman Empire collapsed.
With that collapse, the Romans left England. They left the Celts stranded against the invading tribes of the
Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes. Those were the legendary days when King Arthur and his knights fought
the Saxons to protect their homeland.
But worse than the invading Saxons were the Danish Vikings. During the 700s they pillaged,
plundered, and attacked the coast of England to make parts of it their home. Alfred the Great,a Saxon king,
did his noble part to keep the Vikings in one place. Alfred was a strong Christian king who tried to make peace
with the Danes by telling them about Jesus. For the most part, Alfred was successful. Under his rule, the threat
of the Vikings lessened and the strength of England grew.
England was just coming together as a nation under the Saxons when a powerful man from Normandy,
France, decided to make it his home. That man was William the Conqueror. In 1066, he invaded England at
the famous Battle of Hastings and crowned himself king. With him came a rush of Frenchmen into England
and the idea of feudalism. (Feudalism is a system of rule by kings and landowners.) England was then subject
to a host of kings and queens throughout the period of the Middle Ages. I’m sure you’ve heard of that era.
Some kings and queens were magnificent, like Eleanor of Aquitaine and her son Richard the
Lionhearted. Some were ill tempered and cruel, like King John from whom the tales of Robin Hood are
derived. King John was in fact so evil that the English forced him to sign the Magna Carta to put limits on his
power. It was a concept that shaped history.
Eventually, England and France began to fight each other because the English wanted complete freedom
from the French. This long and fearsome struggle was called the Hundred Years’ War. It included the tragic
death of Joan of Arc, a brave young girl who fought for France and was burned at the stake.
The House of York Takes England
This leads us to our present study of the Wars of the Roses in England, which spanned the years 1455–
1485. Shortly after the Hundred Years’ War, the House of Lancaster was ruling the nation. This house included
a line of three kings named Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI. (There were a lot of kings named Henry in
English history. You can keep them straight by the Roman numerals that appear after their names.) It was
Henry VI who had problems that led to the Wars of the Roses. You see, Henry VI was quite feeble and from
time to time showed signs of insanity. He probably suffered from catatonic schizophrenia (skitz oh FREN ee
ah). Because of his condition, Henry VI really wasn’t a good ruler for England.
If Henry’s mental issues weren’t bad enough, Henry’s officials were corrupt and his queen was power
hungry. With all these problems, the country grew ripe for civil war. It was then that a rival family of nobles —
called the House of York — decided to take action. The House of York had hoped for years to gain control of
the nation. In 1455, the first blood was shed over the matter at the small Battle of St. Albans. In that battle, the
Yorkists defeated (or beat) the Lancastrians. Though they won, the House of York failed in making their leader,
the duke of York, the next king. The English Parliament kept Henry VI in place as the king. They made the
duke of York the “Lord Protector” of the nation. It was a sort of compromise. Though he was not made king,
the duke of York had a lot of power. He more or less ran the country during Henry’s episodes of mental illness.
This arrangement might have continued awhile and worked just fine had it not been for the queen.
Henry’s wife, Queen Margaret, was afraid that her son would never inherit the throne of England with the
duke of York having so much control. So, Queen Margaret raised up forces to fight against the duke of York.
In 1460, at the bloody Battle of Wakefield, Queen Margaret got what she wanted. The duke of York was slain
in combat! In prideful victory, Queen Margaret had his head mounted on the town gates of York. (Disgusting,
isn’t it?) She left his head to rot in public as a reminder that the House of Lancaster, not the House of York, was
still on the throne of England. (Remember, I told you that the queen was power hungry!)
The message of the queen, however, wasn’t as clear as she hoped. Completely against her wishes,
Parliament declared that the son of the duke of York would be the next king of England! His name was Edward.
Now, keep in mind, Henry VI wasn’t dead; he was just incompetent. So, to get Henry out of the way, Edward
had him locked up in the Tower of London! The queen fled to Scotland, and Edward was crowned Edward IV,
the new king of England. He was only 19. Edward IV was, of course, of the House of York. After a few more
bloody battles, the House of Lancaster was officially out. But this is still not the end of the story!
The House of Lancaster Retaliates
The House of York had great confidence in their new king, Edward IV, but they greatly underestimated
the House of Lancaster. The earl of Warwick, who wasnicknamed “the Kingmaker,” manipulated the royalty
to put Henry VI back on the throne of England! Unstable and bemused, Henry VI was let out of the Tower of
London to once again be the king. His rescuer, the earl of Warwick, secretly hoped to rule England through
him. Poor Henry. He was being used and didn’t even know it. Still suffering from mental illness, he held on to
the throne for only a few months. But it was long enough for the civil war to start up all over again.
The conflict erupted again in 1471, when Edward IV declared war against Henry. In a confusing battle
in the fog, the Lancastrians accidentally fought their own men! The earl of Warwick, the kingmaker, was killed.
After two gruesome battles, Edward won. He immediately claimed the throne of England again for the House
of York. To prevent Henry VI from ever being king again, Edward threw Henry back into the dark and dreary
dungeon of the Tower of Londonand days later had him executed. The queen, who had by then returned from
Scotland, was spared death. But she was kept in prison. For England, it was a soap opera that seemed to have
no end — because you see, there’s even more to this tangled story!
An Evil Plot
If it weren’t bad enough that the houses of Lancaster and York warred against one another, the House
of York had a battle going on within itself. Edward IV of the House of York had two young sons who were in
line to become king after his death. But Edward also had a brother named Richard, who wished to become the
next king. Can you see the problem? There was serious rivalry in the family.
As the story goes, in 1483, Edward IV died unexpectedly. His oldest son was immediately named king.
But this was not to last long! Richard (who was Edward’s brother and the boys’ uncle) locked up the boy king
and his younger brother in the Tower of London. They were only 12 and 9! Some would say this happened
because Richard was wretched and ruthless. Others would say he was only “protecting” the boys from other
rivals by locking them away. No one knows for sure, but the boys seemed to “disappear” for good, and Richard
was crowned King Richard III of England. As an intriguing side note, most would say that the young princes were never seen or heard from again
and that they were murdered or starved to death in the Tower of London.
HTH! But what do you think?
In Christ,
Julie
