Time travelling at the weekend

What is the project?

I (Hatt) will attempt to teach my primary-aged son (Kane) the entire history of England in chronological order.

This will take several years.

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Why?

I am a museum curator and I have found my own school knowledge of history very frustrating in later life - I was taught lots of facts about different periods in isolation, and out of order. As an adult I now think that the way each period is shaped by what went before it is one of the most interesting parts of history. I also believe that it is easier to learn history by following the way that it developed.

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Why just England?

I live in Cambridgeshire and will be mostly teaching through day trips and short breaks to sites of interest. Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland are too far away to visit frequently enough to do all the various periods justice. They also add breadth and complexity to what is already a pretty broad and complex project! I will limit myself to mentioning aspects of their history as it crosses over with my main 'story'.

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Why blog it?

I am doing an awful lot of research in preparation for this project, so it pleases me to think that other people might benefit from some of this effort as well as it benefiting my son and I. I think it will be particularly useful to homeschoolers, who have the flexibility to take trips and choose when and how to cover each topic.

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Can I contact you?

You can send messages about this project and the website to hattandkane@gmail.com or comment on the   

'Hatt and Kane do History' Instagram account.

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Are those your real names?

No, "Hatt" and "Kane" are both pseudonyms - they were taken from my own distinguishing features of commonly wearing a hat and using a walking stick. I do quite like that "Hatt" is similar to "Hatty" the museum curator in "Andy's Dinosaur Adventures" though!