However, rats are eating us out of food so something must be done to eliminate these pests. They have proven to be very resilient to our attempts to rid ourselves of them, however a new plan has been put in place. We need your help!

Remember most activities can count towards page school!

Get the Rats Out!

New ships have been commissioned to ship the rats elsewhere.

Participants will make an early period vessel, about 15 inches long. They may be colored as you see fit..

Race the Rats Away

Depending how waterproofing the vessels goes in the next few days (stay tuned for updates) there may be a boat race, fastest boat wins a prize.

Rats on the High Seas

While loading up a ship with rats and sending it away is a great way to move rats off the mainland, it’s not so great for the sailors.

Sailors make a game of tossing rats overboard, however the merpeople don’t appreciate this, and will toss the rats back.

This is a game where one team will occupy a “boat” and toss rats over the sides. The other team of merpeople will try to get rats back into the boat. After a short time, the rats in the boat are counted. Sides are switched, and the team with the fewest number of rats in the boat wins.

If We Can’t Lure Them Away with Cheese, Maybe We’ll Just Eat It All.

Lady Katayoun will be teaching a basic cheese making class. At the end, everyone who attends will be able to make their soft cheese into a dessert by adding the toppings of their choice.

Origami

Lady Heodez will offer a origami solution to all our plague rat troubles.

Page School is really an opportunity for youth in the Middle Kingdom to be encouraged and supported in the areas of the SCA that already interest them. Children ages 6 to18 who regularly seek out opportunities to learn more about the middle ages, who engage in youth combat or who seek to help out at events are all good candidates for Page School. That being said, Page School does not have to be a regularly scheduled series of classes on specific topics. But, it absolutely can be.

If one is willing to organize youth classes at a regular time and place, a Page School Curriculum is a straightforward endeavor.

One will need several things to get started:

• At least one parent who is willing to stay each time a Page School session is offered. It’s okay to alternate parents, but it’s better to encourage parents to stay and participate with their children. If no parent will stay, the session will have to be cancelled. We need to follow the two-deep rule.

• A regular time and location. A side area in the room where weekly or monthly local group meetings are held is best. This way, all parents are within sight and sound of their children, and the activities themselves get attention from other meeting attendees who might be interested in learning about the class topic,  who might become inclined to bring more children, or whom might be persuaded to teach a future class themselves. Page School is a great place for nervous/novice teachers to try out a new class on an eager audience (if the material is child-friendly).

• A curriculum. Your friendly neighborhood Kingdom Youth Officer and her mighty Deputies are currently working on an easy-to-follow set of lesson plans for SCA youth. In the meantime, the http://www.midrealm.org/mkyouth/ site has a section called Links for Youth Ministers. A number of links are being fixed, updated or added as we speak, but there remain an abundance of good ideas for Youth Activities and for Page School classes. The goal is to keep the material interesting, and whenever possible, hands-on. Be sure to check out http://www.midrealm.org/mkyouth/pageschool/pgschchtr.htm to see how the classes fit into the Page School level requirements. Consider balancing the curriculum (and participation at local events) in Service, Chivalry and Arts & Sciences so that the students achieve all the requirements for recognition in court.

• While most classes will only be about an hour in length, larger topics can be covered over multiple sessions so long as the teacher is prepared for absences in all stages of the class. Topics should focus on Service, Marshal Arts, Arts and Sciences and SCA knowledge.

• Materials and/or a budget. There are several ways to deal with this issue. Parents themselves, and other group members, may have materials to contribute. Be sure to ask during meetings. Talk to your Exchequer and Seneschal about a small line item in the budget or about fund raiser opportunities. One good lunch counter can support Page School activities for months. Be sure to account for baldrics. Badges are given in court with an elevation.

• A method for Enrolling and Tracking Hours: Be sure to reach out to your friendly Kingdom Youth Officer and your Dean of Page School when trying to start up a new school. There are several ways to track new Page School enrollees and hours each youth earns. Each student will earn hours of credit toward a new level of Page School with each class. Give some thought to how Senior and Graduate pages can find mentors for their projects. If you need help or want to bounce around ideas, email the Dean. The Midrealm youth page has the basic forms, but don’t be afraid to just send an email.

• Safety: Be certain to hold classes in a place accessible to the public, preferably where parents are nearby. Do not host classes or activities in a person’s home. This is unwise on a number of levels.

• A spirit of having fun – Make Do Sit Run:  the Youth Officer mantra

Make: This means being certain what the children are doing has value to them. I recommend asking them what they want to learn when building the curriculum. Offer your ideas, and let them have a say too. Most children do like to make things, and we want to include how an item is relevant to both the middle ages and the student.

Do: If well chosen, the item a student has made can be incorporated into an activity. They can do something with it.

Sit: Like Make, children are willing to sit for a bit if the topic really interests them. Keep in mind that most sit all day at school. It’s good to alternate time spent sitting with …

Run: It’s important children be able to get up and move around. Whether laying on the floor to embroider or acting out a persona in their newly made T-tunic, kids need to be able to wield their energy creatively.

Page School for Parents without an Active Local Youth Officer

If one lives in an area with a small local group, a distant local group and/or no Youth Officer, Page School is still a viable option.

There are two important things for parents in this situation to know.

First, being a youth officer is not difficult. It doesn’t make one responsible for youth activities at every local event, but it does allow one to include other people’s children in SCA related fun. A background check is required and is paid for by the Kingdom and Society. In short, a Parent without an officer can become one.

Second, Page School doesn’t have to be about a curriculum. While parents are welcome to follow the recommendations for youth officers to offer classes to their own children, it’s entirely possible to advance through the levels of Page School through only participation for and at events.

Most everything educational or helpful that takes place on behalf of or at an event can count as toward Page School hours. Chivalry, Service and Arts & Sciences credit can be acquired a number of ways: Volunteer to construct the site or feast tokens for Service credit. Take a class on period jewelry construction and make earrings to take home for A&S. Authorize in Youth Combat, Archery, Thrown Weapons or Equestrian for credit in Chivalry. Be sure to offer to serve feast or to retain for Royalty for even more Service. Take a class on Fencing in the 1500’s for another Chivalry credit. All these activities count. It’s ok to supplement hours with activities done entirely at home, though ideally, the focus will be on public works. Watching a documentary on war machines 600 BC to present is fine for that last hour of Chivalry. Teaching a class on it at Youth Point would be better.

Be sure to enroll in Page School using the online forms at http://www.midrealm.org/mkyouth/ or just email the Dean directly. Then, keep track of hours and submit those to the Dean as well. Mostly you’ll need to report what the student did, who saw them do it (a teacher, marshal, feastocrat or head retainer), and how long it took.

When it’s time for a project, reach out to the Dean of Page School with whatever your child is interested in doing. If you need additional ideas or a mentor or just approval, this is the place to go.

Review the Page School Charter at http://www.midrealm.org/mkyouth/pageschool/pgschchtr.htm for a thorough understanding of the levels, the goals and the achievements (recognition in court). Reach out to the Dean if you need help with a baldric. Badges are given in court with an elevation.

Page School has three levels: Junior, Senior and Graduate. It’s not really broken out by age but by work done in the program, though it doesn’t really start until age 5.

Here’s a snippet of the structure, available at http://www.midrealm.org/mkyouth/pageschool/pgschchtr.htm :

1. Levels of the Page School and Requirements for Each Level
   1. Below are the titles of pages at the different levels, and the number of credits to reach these levels. These titles are non-armigerous and carry no precedence.
      1. Junior Page: The entrance level, with no credits. To advance to the Senior Page level, the Junior Page must complete the following credits:
         • 8 Service hours
         • 8 Arts and Science hours
         • 8 Chivalry hours
      2. Senior Page: Students are advanced to this level after completing the required credits of the Junior Page. Senior pages are to focus on trying new things, when possible. The credit requirements for graduation from Page School are as follows:
         • 8 additional Service hours
         • 8 additional Arts and Science hours
         • 8 additional Chivalry hours
         • Completion of a Final Project* (explained below)
      3. Graduate Page: These are the pages enrolled in Graduate School. Graduate School is for students who are 14 years and older. In unusual circumstances Pages may enroll in Graduate School at an earlier age; but only if they have completed the basic Page School first, and the parents feel the Page is prepared and mature enough to work among older teens and adults. To graduate from Graduate School the requirements are as follows:
         • 10 Service hours
         • 10 Arts and Sciences hours
         • 10 Chivalry hours
         • Completion of a Final Project*, including documentation and a bibliography
         • A formal fostering of at least six months to an adult who has some expertise in the area of fostering. The arrangements will be made through the KMOY or Page School Staff. After the formal fostering period is over, the Page will write an essay of the experience. The person to whom the Page is fostered shall also write a letter to the KMOY or Page School Staff about the experience.
      4. *Final Projects: The final project for a Senior Page or Graduate Page may be, but is not limited to, one of the following:
         • An A&S project. For Senior Pages: may be entered in a competition or a faire/display. For Graduate Pages: the project must be entered in a competition. The project will be entered in the Youth Division. A copy of documentation and/or judges’ comments are to be sent to the KMOY.
         • A research project about anything medieval. It should be written at an age-appropriate level. As this is a research project, it will be expected to have some substance and length to it.
         • A service project such as a junior autocrat of an event, or a as a deputy to an officer. These experiences should be actual service of the Page, and not in name only. After the experience, the Page shall write an essay describing the experience, what s/he learned, etc. This should be age-appropriate. The senior autocrat should also write a letter to the KMOY with feedback on the experience.
      5. The credit areas of the curriculum are defined as follows:

1. i.            Service hours: These are hours of actual service. Examples of this are: working in a kitchen, being a runner for and A&S Competition, serving at feast, being part of a set-up or clean-up crew, working with heralds, helping at the list table, service to a person (for example Royalty, the autocrat, troll) at an event. Service hours are usually arranged before an event happens.
2.  ii.            Arts and Sciences: These are hours of projects/classes, and/or competitions. For older students, teaching an A&S class is also credit hours in this area.
3.  iii.            Chivalry hours: These are hours spent learning or participating in the martial arts. The Middle Kingdom has many marshal activities in which the youth are able to participate: youth fighting and rapier, equestrian, and archery. Hours may also be used in researching and/or attending classes about military history, tactics, and other related martial/military subjects. At each level, (junior, senior, and graduate), only two hours of service to a fighter or at a tourney may count toward the total Chivalry hours.

After a level is completed, youth are called up in a Royal Court for an Elevation to the next level. This allows us all to celebrate publicly their enthusiasm and effort. Kids and parents love it!

More details about the hours and levels can be found at http://www.midrealm.org/mkyouth/pageschool/pgschchtr.htm

and the enrollment form can be found at http://www.midrealm.org/mkyouth/pageschool/pgschenrlmnt.htm

You can just copy the form into an email to send the information to me.

What kind of proof do kids need to demonstrate that they’ve earned hours?

To  accumulate hours, youth just need to be enrolled in Page School and then attend an activity that requires real learning or genuine helping. Parents report an activity by submitting it with the number of hours, the name of the event, the name of the teacher and a few sentences from the student about what s/he learned. It’s mostly honor-based reporting. Teachers can report an entire class too?

An online accreditation form resides at http://www.midrealm.org/mkyouth/pageschool/pgschcrdt.htm

Is there some kind of insignia that can be worn by a young person to demonstrate that s/he is a Page? Is it different for the different levels?

Pages are allowed to wear a purple baldric. They receive three badges at each elevation, one for each tract, that can be sewn on and displayed to show what level s/he is working on.

Take a look at the links. Let me know what questions you have, and what I can do to help.  If you let me know where you live,  we can try to meet up at an event this summer!

katayoun.al.aurvataspa@gmail.com

For two of the newer kids, Blackstone will be their first event. On their own, Mark and Elora noticed, from watching the youth combat videos from Gulf Wars, that most kids use no form of strategy what-so-ever. They decided that if they learned some tactics, they could clean house. Kids after my own heart.

A few weeks ago we started doing unarmored Melee Drills – these are just movement drills, no swinging. At first the adults and youth practiced separately. However, the last few weeks we have include the youth with the adults. This is a easy and fun way to make the youth in your area feel more involved.

Tonight, we did 3 vs 2′s in youth combat. Then 3 vs 4.  It’s interesting to watch how much different (or the same) children will run these drills as compared to the adults.

I have a lot to say on this, but this blog is dedicated to youth not SCA combat. Needless to say everyone learned and had fun.

Youth Combat video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EajUvwOvhtY&feature=youtu.be

Anyone who wants to can make a boat and race it, and the winners get prizes. This time I’m going make sure the boats actually float.

This is my paper prototype. In the next phase, I’ll make it out of cardboard. My theory is that I can wax the cardboard, and that will make a cheap, sea worthy boat for raiding nearby villages.

We would fight for a few minutes, then answer questions from the kids, then fight, then more questions…and so on.

The students wrote us thank you letters, and I thought I would show the more interesting ones. I  categorized them so we can mine them for data.

Most of the letters follow this format:
Thank you for coming
I liked X
I learned Y

I categorized them by what they said they learned.

Of 257 letters, the students “learned”…
2 (.7%)  SCA combat rules
4 (1.5%) about period Food
12 (4%)  something crazy not related to anything we said (2 were Mike fan letters)
13 (5%) that woman can not only fight, but as well as men.  (and enjoyed a married couple fighting each other)

21 (8%) about Heraldry
30 (11%) about washing and personal hygiene in the middle ages
64 (24%) Generally happy “Thank you” or “I like the fighting”
91 (35%) Learned about arms and armor over time, or how armor changed over time.

I scanned a few of my favorite letters for you to also enjoy

It is a excellent resource for your activities.

http://pinterest.com/scayouthideas/pins/

I’m considering a up coming A&S project to make our own 9-man Morris boards out of felt. And maybe have a 9-man Morris tourney the follow the week.

Let me know what you think of this idea.

Activities where: Combat, Kingdom heraldry flash card game, Period Dice games (Hazard), and Dance.

Time will be added to each pages hours for those participating in the program. I’ll likely have a bar chart up shortly showing progress towards ranks.