Turlock tweens meet lords, ladies of the Renaissance

It was Queen Mary Tudor who let seventh-grader Daniella Sanchez know she was engaged. Betrothed at 3 years old, in fact, to an English prince. Wed at 16, an incredulous Sanchez showed little grief at being widowed seconds later.

The first marriage of Catherine of Aragon, future wife of Henry VIII, may not have made the social studies text, but Dutcher Middle Schoolers will carry that nugget of history with them, thanks to Renaissance Day.

That kids were often married by 13 in the Middle Ages and Renaissance times came as a shock to the 11- and 12-year-olds still shyly awkward at having to dance together at another station Wednesday.

Other epic surprises – “How they got punished,” said Brissa Sepulveda as she wove wheat into a heart shape.

“They were executed,” said Karina Contreras.

“They cut off their heads!” chipped in classmate Anthony Perez.

Men wore a gold earring to pay for their burial should they meet any of the sudden, brutal ends so common at the time, Sir Frances Drake informed his rapt young listeners.

Owls with orange or yellow eyes hunt at twilight, making them “crepuscular,” explained falconer Kate Marden, repeating the word for them. Marden has 20 raptors but only brought three to Dutcher’s day – an owl, a hawk and a falcon. The vulture she pointed out flying above was a bonus.

“The birds were the best,” Perez said as the whole wheat-weaving table nodded their agreement.

Also in store for them, however, were outdoor activities. At medieval weaponry, with a grid of students carrying wooden muskets and pikes, learned the my-turn, your-turn orderly ways of chivalrous combat.

A Renaissance-garbed fiddler led students through a line dance at another, and at a third students learned the rules of rounders, a precursor to baseball.

Many of the students wore Renaissance-type garb, earning extra credit from social studies teacher Leisa Machado, who organized the day. Wednesday was devoted to the Renaissance, fitting in with the world history material covered by seventh-graders.

A day of Civil War-era stations on Thursday will take eighth-graders studying U.S. history through marching drills, square dancing, games, song and science.

Both come courtesy of $6,000 set aside in Local Control and Accountability Program funding for enrichment, Machado said.

“Kids think history is a bunch of dead people and why should we care,” Machado said. But when students see the lives they led, the games they played, they see how history connects to how humans have lived over the centuries, she said. “I love bringing these kinds of enrichment activities to my students.”

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 1:43 PM with the headline " Turlock tweens meet lords, ladies of the Renaissance."