Last winter, we were studying the early modern period in our homeschool, so we decided to do a project that would help us to experience what life was like during this time in history. We wondered how much more work it may have been not to have a modern pen to write with, but to use a feather quill instead.

Here is the link to read the rest of this post that I wrote for the Homeschooling with Heart blog.

After writing this post, we found a turkey feather and had a chance to make our own quill pen.  We used these instructions, which were helpful, because they have detailed pictures on shaping the tip of the pen.  It’s tricky to get the shape right, and some sharp tools are required, so your child will need assistance with this.  I also do recommend heating the tip of the quill in the sand, as described in my Homeschooling with Heart post, before you attempt to shape it.  This will make the tip easier to work with.

It takes a lot of practice to get the hang of writing with a quill, but we definitely enjoyed doing these projects together.