"Coincidence"

I love it when coincidences happen...

Today we read about the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain and the beginning of the Dark Ages for history. Here is Noah's narration of the reading:

There was a Celtic king named Vortigern. He asked some barbarians called the Angles and the Saxons from across the North Sea to come and help him fight off the other Celts that were attacking his tribe. He said that, if they did, then they could live in his kingdom. So the barbarians fought off the other Celts and settled in Britain. There were so many barbarians that the Celts had to move up into Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Like the Celts, the barbarians did not write so we do not know what they did in every day life. These times are called the Dark Ages.

We then read a portion of Beowulf, the Hero, which is the best known of the stories that the Anglo-Saxons passed down (instead of writing their histories the bards sang their stories and passed them down through the ages).

The coincidence happened when the kids started listening to their book on CD, Sea of Trolls, by Nancy Farmer, with lunch as is their daily habit. One of the main characters is a bard and he tells his apprentice the story of Beowulf and Grendel. Noah was quite excited about this and came running to tell me all about it.

I call it a coincidence because I had no idea that there would be any connection between this story and our history reading when I borrowed this book from the library and it makes me think that I am not the only one who has a vested interest in my children's education. I have a feeling the kids will remember well this history lesson.