We learned about the early Christian Monks in Britain. One of the jobs of the monks was to copy books. They did this using quills and homemade ink--not a ball point pen or computer with a printer. A talented monk could copy 2-3 books in a year.
We looked at some pictures (luminaries) and talked about how ink was made. I also showed the kids how to make a quill with a feather. We didn't make any ink--we just used grape juice concentrate. The kids were taught how to use the quill and then given a piece of paper to practice. It was hard. You had to hold the quill just right on the paper to get it to write well and even then it didn't always work. Most of them were frustrated with how hard it was. I guess they are used to our way of writing--it's a heck of a lot easier. Thank goodness for modern day inventions!
very cool project!
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