The Black Plague

Ring around a rosy,

Pocket full of posies,

Ashes, ashes,

We all fall down!

Some people believe that this nursery rhyme began during the time of the Black Death. A red rash broke out on sick people.  A bouquet of flowers and herbs were carried to keep the sickness away, and possibly to keep the stench of rotting bodies at bay. One out of three people died from the bubonic plague during the middle ages. This plague, that was an infection carried by fleas that lived on rats, raged for 70 years and changed the way of life in Europe. In fact, many people thought that it was the end of the world.  Whole villages and towns were wiped out. The people that survived the plague moved to the city. Peasants became wealthier, while Noblemen became poorer. Becoming a craftsman was easier too because so many died during the plague.

Why I am telling you this?  Why should you care? Well, we made a craft today!!  After learning about the Black Death all week in history, we made a Black Plague Doctor Mask. People believed that if they wore these masks, it would keep the illness away. I laugh because I am not a crafty person, but I thought I could make this simple mask.  Oh how wrong I was. We use The Story of the World for our history curriculum and they always include great projects to do at the end of the lessons.  These vary from a craft, a game, or even baking and cooking.  I try to include an extra project occasionally but as you will see, my crafting skills are lacking. Just keepin' it real.

I cut the template out and assembled the mask with tape.  I did not see how glue would work. At first every 

kid wanted one for their own.  Then, they did not.

 

The Final Product. Pretty great, non?

What do you think?  Looks like a real mask or something. And in case you were wondering, we were still in our pajamas. This is one of the perks of homeschooling.