Rainy Day History Fun

Today in the Sleepy Homeschool, all the students (and the teacher, for that matter) were, in point of fact, quite sleepy. So we ended up making it a lighter school day. Since we're nearly at the end of all our curriculum for the year, this isn't that big of a deal in the overall scheme, and really, what are rainy days for if not some reading and relaxing?

I did grab our history book and finish up talking about Napoleon. We started with his 1812 foray into Russia and hit up Elba and his return and Waterloo. Eldest finds it all rather fascinating, which is fun. Youngest doesn't care much, but will at least attend. And mom? Mom feels like she's actually learning history for the first time in her life, despite having taken so much of it in school.

Case in point -- in addition the Napoleonic invasion of Russia, the chapter also mentioned the War of 1812 that all US students learn about. The one that, sadly, no one had ever bothered to clarify (to me, at least) that the 1812 Overture is not, in fact, about.

Nope. Tchaikovsky wrote that to commemorate the Russian rebuff of Napoleon. (Maybe everyone EXCEPT me already knew that, but I thought it was fascinating.) And so, since that was a much more major part of our reading today than the other war of 1812, I played it for the kiddos.

It was really rather fun to listen to the whole thing (vs the finale, which I think may well be the only part I've ever heard. You know, when they play it at the fireworks on July 4th for whatever ridiculous reason. Maybe because cannon are like fireworks and therefore cool?), pick out the pieces of La Marseillaise that come and go and are, in the end, utterly destroyed.

I'm not sure the kids thought it was as cool as I did, but such is school some days.