Duels of Honor and Regency Embroidery

For the boys' sake, we had to talk about duels during this unit! (Actually, the girls are quite the experts on duels as well. It comes of reading so many Georgette Heyer books.😄)

Here are some resources we used:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8IdfA5fXJs fencing basics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGLb3sNQpow types of swords

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Toi3JY3LLUM rules of duels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHfBCBxdf2M pistol duel

We got some water guns and tried some duelling of our own, strictly following duelling etiquette, of course! I'm sorry to say some of our seconds didn't adequately manage to talk the duellers out of their duels, and in fact, ended up getting into duels themselves!

In spite of our efforts to keep everything civilized, it soon degenerated into all-out war! Tsk tsk!

For the sake of balance, after a spot of duelling, we thought some embroidery would be in order. You can see lots of examples that still exist of embroidery from the Regency Era. (In fact, we had a whole book of them, which I somehow misplaced and had to pay the library fine for. Grrr.)

For example:

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1881597262599226&set=pcb.1243320060690093 Jane Austen’s quilt

https://curatorscurio.com/2020/02/12/is-this-jane-austens-sampler/ pictures

https://janeaustens.house/news/conserving-cassandras-handkerchief/ handkerchief

The girls are pretty experienced already with embroidery, so I got them some little samplers to work on and practice new stitches.

These had the guides printed right on the fabric, which made it easy. I think they were fun to do; the girls seemed to like them. Junie and Daisy are still working on theirs (Daisy was madly doing some cross-stitch pictures for their bedroom right then, plus crocheting a blanket and making some crocheted things for Malachi, so her time with it was limited), but Goldie finished hers and it is beautiful:

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I especially like the embroidered flowers, and hope my girls could make a set of napkins like this one pictured above someday! My Nana did beautiful handwork like that and I think she would be proud of how good the girls are getting!

For the boys, who have less to no experience with embroidery, I did what my mom did for me when I was little: drew designs of things they like on pieces of cloth and had them just stitch along the lines. They were very enthusiastic, and even Gus got the hang of it pretty quickly! A few times over a week or so, I walked into a room to find every person in it quietly embroidering! Quite a sight to see!

They were justly proud of their finished work! Here is Gus's Caw (Sam drew the picture)

Teddy's basketball bunny (I traced a picture I found)

And Ziggy's cute fox eating a mouse!

Economics and Money Unit; Counterfeits; Making Currency

I was excited to study Economics and Money again because this was one of my favorite units long ago! The girls are a good age for it now. I remembered that unit so fondly that I thought maybe I could just use the same lesson plan, but (as always happens when I revisit an old topic) when I got into planning I could see that we needed something different. So many fun things to learn about, though!

We got one of every kind of bill and coin (up to $100, anyway) and looked at all the different security features. We talked about the materials you could make money out of, and the different symbols different countries put on their money, and then the kids designed and made their own!

(We already have our family currency too, Bunny Money.)

A guide to features on currency: https://www.uscurrency.gov/sites/default/files/downloadable-materials/files/en/quick-reference-guide-en.pdf

Anti-counterfeiting measures https://www.secretservice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2020-12/KnowYourMoney.pdf

How coins are made https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIwUqiedeRo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef4I8HWBr0o&t=383s How a dollar is made

Gus took this VERY SERIOUSLY. He put all kinds of hidden features in his money, to the point that there was a secret fabric core inside the bill which could be unveiled in case of counterfeiting. He explained it all to me earnestly.

We experimented with making watermarks, which was fun! 

(Instructions here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEVGU46_KZE)

Ziggy making a sheet of bills

All his finished bills (I like the one that says "God is Good" and also the one that says "Be Good to God.")

Daisy made SUCH good money! She spent so much time making all the details. Her money is called "guin" (for "penguin," of course). I love her picture of Ben Franklin on the front. He is drinking a cup of hot chocolate, which almost looks like his mouth at first glance, but as you can see when you cover his cup, it really is Ben Franklin himself:

Here's the back of the bill. I love the penguin carrying a "guins" banner in his beak. And the steam penguin rising from the cocoa cup.

The security features on this money are amazing! She did "microprinting" strips as well as watermarks:

Amazing!

I don't have that many pictures from other days in this unit, but here are a bunch of good videos and explanations of various topics (many very timely!):

Drink activity—see what happens when prices increase (Chocolate milk, strawberry milk, two juices)

https://www.federalreserveeducation.org/resources/lessons/lesson--how-many-beverages-will-consumers-buy.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2BGJdCN8Cw&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOvJNhiuJ2oKLOg77Udus7Fs&index=4 supply and demand

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6lXppGBquI the role of prices

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKW9XsRHZi0&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOsRPgdRXd8HFjpCNcQZl--9&index=7 price controls

Scarcity and Abundance:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU6AbyBWHPOvJNhiuJ2oKLOg77Udus7Fs 1st three in playlist: scarcity, economic decisions, what is an economy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXfEEEcYSvo&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOvJNhiuJ2oKLOg77Udus7Fs&index=6 schools of economic thought

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qanDVZHliw the missing tile syndrome

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xxmORnnP3WI&t=11s the key to unhappiness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erJEaFpS9ls The broken window fallacy

https://cafehayek.com/2016/02/40405.html richer than Rockefeller

Socialism and communism:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTRs5FnoaKA capitalism vs socialism, which is more democratic?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdfru9NHGvE capitalism vs socialism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3GfCmbPDN0 Socialism 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50McWj1PRvY Venuzeula, life under socialism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1vo4rws0jU&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOsbkdLGM1n8nmJg_75wEe7f&index=2 Life under communism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhZr03g1PI4 Myths about socialism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdyyoYuToaY&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOsRPgdRXd8HFjpCNcQZl--9&index=11 Redistribution of wealth

https://www.prageru.com/videos/is-communism-moral Is Communism Moral?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEgOuZzjI8o Harrison Bergeron 2081

Free Enterprise:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgVDyBqAQNw income inequality Thomas Sowell

Is the free market moral? https://www.prageru.com/videos/a-moral-case-for-capitalism

https://www.prageru.com/videos/is-capitalism-moral

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYO3tOqDISE I, Pencil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVh75ylAUXY Make mine freedom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtxElQBupFw&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOvJNhiuJ2oKLOg77Udus7Fs&index=10 Private property for the win

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LoeCooct08&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOvJNhiuJ2oKLOg77Udus7Fs&index=8 Profits and losses

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9tOx7UiKgA&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOsbkdLGM1n8nmJg_75wEe7f&index=8 Taiwan 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NfLUCBZ1is The moral case for free enterprise

Saving and Budgeting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgoV9Rp-2mM&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOujmcTw8lz1KQRZFHpl2aTk savings playlist, 1st four

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DbfIbIMlbQ Savings Accounts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNMM22cIB1A&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOujmcTw8lz1KQRZFHpl2aTk&index=7 Financial Hygiene

Banks and Credit Unions:

https://wetheeconomy.com/films/that-film-about-money/ bank video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTo0IeqXuZk are banks safe?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIMsbgIQiDE banks vs credit unions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAABDYDhjtg compound interest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDscWX2mpe4&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOujmcTw8lz1KQRZFHpl2aTk&index=6 financial institutions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqmxnvjmNc4&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOujmcTw8lz1KQRZFHpl2aTk&index=5 types of accounts

https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator

Investing, Loans:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHf9_9fENXY&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOujmcTw8lz1KQRZFHpl2aTk&index=13 stocks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks1HOtVM6S4&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOujmcTw8lz1KQRZFHpl2aTk&index=14 bonds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1SWe3zTqYI investing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39nBN3r572Y good vs bad credit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y_QSFxuMfM borrowing 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM3t-m0Zryk the two income trap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVEuPmVAb8o don’t follow your passion

Inflation

https://f.hubspotusercontent30.net/hubfs/19523034/APMacro_PenAuction_Lowd.pdf?hsCtaTracking=23435f3f-dc3b-43d8-856c-c742b42c0476%7C6734559d-7d0c-4fa4-b904-a5ee9a86b5a4 inflation auction with pens

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g9KEmUsYxE why not print more money

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIA4_l8z7_0 what is inflation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwcHRyvrNCE minimum wage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j01L69eXdI what’s the right minimum wage

https://mru.org/courses/principles-economics-macroeconomics/zimbabwe-currency-inflation hyperinflation

https://mru.org/courses/principles-economics-macroeconomics/costs-of-inflation-price-confusion-money-illusion

https://mru.org/courses/principles-economics-macroeconomics/why-governments-create-inflation parable of inflation 2:05

Comparing prices in different years https://practice.mru.org/calculateinflation/

Fraud:

https://www.conemifyoucan.org/about/index.html Fraud tactics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1b7piSmmME sunk cost fallacy

https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/research-and-resources/scams-awareness-week-2025/scam-stories#toc-real-people-s-stories scam stories

https://edpuzzle.com/media/620d57efb684cb42b9ee3800 scam red flags frank abegnale

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEK-BIFGidE scams and fraud

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC2Bb0K0yd4 AI scams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i6mPvBv488 5 money scams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iww5zIuzyA can you really get rich quick?

https://vimeo.com/805930371 avoiding impersonation fraud

https://vimeo.com/805930766 online shopping fraud

https://vimeo.com/805930539 payment fraud

https://vimeo.com/805928185 links and attachments

Alternate currencies:

https://www.prageru.com/videos/who-caused-the-2008-great-recession?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_16991767&recent= who caused the 2008 recession?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE-WJevx-7c Great recession—crayon capital

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gYb0eHvmGhM should I invest in gold

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggvlgNMr_NE Bitcoin explained

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD5nGj9UPEc Bitcoin cash course

https://www.ramseysolutions.com/retirement/investing-in-cryptocurrency Dave Ramsay advice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx_okFl98Vw the AI bubble

Insurance, Taxes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFKCgppxyyk&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOtfpObuijC3I2auPjQbwkdn&index=11 auto insurance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5AAVxpmdKo&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOtfpObuijC3I2auPjQbwkdn&index=12 insurance basics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFsAkxzTFEs government regulation for business

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6HEH23W_bM progressive income tax

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yEKdPaX2hI renting vs owning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg-G85H6kIE&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOsRPgdRXd8HFjpCNcQZl--9&index=5 legend of perfect competition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeZrnbKNkuw government cheese

https://marginalrevolutionuniversity.typeform.com/to/jMgksxhd?typeform-source=practice.mru.org unintended consequences

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUzDLpSkQTg why is rolls Royce so expensive

Building Civil War Pontoon Bridges

We discovered last time we did this unit that water bottles make great pontoons! Sebby was fascinated with all kinds of bridges at the time, so we went much more in-depth in our bridge and army engineering study than we might otherwise have. While I don't currently have anyone quite as obsessed as Seb was, spending an afternoon at the little creek building bridges is great fun for anyone!

Here are a couple videos about modern Pontoon Bridges:

SR-520 Pontoon Float-out

Floating Bridge Documentary

We split into teams so that each team could build their own bridge. I let them figure out their own designs and how to construct them!

Gus fell in the water almost immediately, of course. Luckily it was a hot day.

Daisy and Junie's first bridge was great! Strong enough to hold several marching soldiers.

Gus soon cheered up and was happily showing me how the cut on his toe was "almost better."

Daisy and Teddy tried a different bridge design, which worked maybe even better too. It was good to have some space between the pontoons for the current to go by and put less pressure on the bridge.

Their bridge was also nice and long!

The soldiers were able to sneak over to the enemy camp for a surprise attack!

Goldie and Junie tried a second bridge after seeing Daisy and Teddy's.

It was very sturdy!