Paris and Versailles: Impressionists, Royalty, and Miracles

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I often get asked “Why do you travel so much?”, which is usually followed up by “How do you afford it?” First off, my husband is blessed with a wonderful job and secondly he can stretch a dollar for all it’s worth. But also, it comes down to choices. While others have their kids in private school, we are homeschooling. While others have two cars, we have one. So as an educator, our travels are not vacations but rather field trips.

Leading up to a trip, I research history, books, arts and sites of the area. I have found that surfing the local library online catalogue is a great way to brainstorm different ideas to teach the kids. Each kid has their own library card and we make bi-weekly trips to pick up the latest books available. One good preface for this trip was Inspector Gadget Field Trip Series London and Paris. The movie was 30 minutes long per city and quickly went through the top sites and gave cool interesting facts. The kids soaked up the information and were excited to point out the flying buttresses at Notre Dame Cathedral.

One of our top sites was Notre Dame Cathedral. Leading up to the trip I taught the kids about the history of the cathedral including historical events that occurred there, such as the coronation of Napoleon, canonization of Joan of Arc and historical significance of Victor Hugo’s novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The kids enjoyed snuggling up on the couch, eating popcorn and watching Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame. So, when we saw the cathedral in person, the kids marveled at the gothic architecture but also imagined themselves as Quasimodo as they climbed the 422 steps to the belfry. At the top, we learned about the difference between a gargoyle and chimera, and Alex giggled hysterically imagining all of them coming to life like in the movie.

Another focus of study on this trip was art - primarily Monet and Impressionist art and how it compared to Italian Renaissance art that we studied in Italy. At home, we studied Monet, his paintings, his life, and even tried to paint like him. But it was while walking through Montmartre, seeing the local artists painting on the hilltop, and visiting the Museau de Orsay and seeing his paintings up close that brought the art to life. In the Louvre, we paused to let the kids draw their favorite painting. And we quickly realized that the kids could easily distinguish between the various art styles that we’ve studied so far in Italy, Greece, and France. But more importantly they were developing a love for art and were critically analyzing the different paintings and styles.

Our visit to the Palace of Versailles was by far one of the most memorable for me. The kids knew the history behind the palace, but walking into the palace transported them to dream land. They saw a painting upon entering the palace of the royal family that lived there in the 1700’s. Instantly, they decided who was which princess. Of course, Brecklyn was the princess with the curly hair and white dress. For the rest of the visit, the girls were princesses in the palace, and Alex insisted he was the King. While we were in the Hall of Mirrors they danced. In the billiard room, they discussed what games they would play if they lived there. In the dining room, they discussed how they would eat mac and cheese. They even pretended to be Cinderella running down the spiral stairs losing their shoe. It was magical, and when they came home the imaginary play continued, but this time they dreamed of dancing at the Chateau de Versaille.

Our field trip concluded with a pilgrimage to the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal. In 1830, Mary appeared to Saint Catherine of Laboure and asked her to make the miraculous medal. Many miracles have been associated with this medal. But it was the quaint little convent that stole my heart. It was on a quiet street nestled in the heart of Paris. We were greeted warmly by the nuns and ushered into a side room to watch a short movie about the story followed by a Q&A session. Even though it was all in French, we could mostly follow along since we had already learned so much at home. Then the nun gave each of us a medal. We went next door to the chapel for mass. The chapel was breathtaking with blue and gold hues. But it was the congregation and their devotion that moved us. There was no choir, but they all sang from their heart and the chapel was packed with standing room only during this weekday mass. The girls were amazed at how much of the mass they understood in French.

On our flight home, Grace told me “I love school. What are we going to learn about next?” History has started to come to life for all of us through these “field trips”. I can’t wait to see where our studies take us next.

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Comments

[The Travel Camel]

Inspiring
This blog beautiful and eloquently shows a different (and dare I say better) way to teach children about the world we live in than just sitting in a classroom. Superb.