Are you studying the Middle Ages or Medieval/Renaissance Times in your history this year? Maybe your children are just fascinated with princesses, knights and dragons. I love finding printables to supplement what we are studying in our homeschool, or to help peak my children's interest in a specific subject.
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Time travel back to the time of castles and medieval warfare in this wonderful knights unit study! Join us now! #hsreviews
Are you studying the Middle Ages or Medieval/Renaissance Times in your history this year? Maybe your children are just fascinated with princesses, knights and dragons. I love finding printables to supplement what we are studying in our homeschool, or to help peak my children's interest in a specific subject.
Huge pack of themed worksheets to help preschoolers learn math and literacy skills with a fun medieval theme. Print pdf file with Castle Worksheets!
My son has developed a love for non-fiction, and Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Tree House Fact Tracker (or Research Guides) have been a new favorite. When my son was reading the Knights & Castles book, he paid special attention to the hierarchy of people that lived in the Middle Ages, recording in a notebook the feudal system from King down to serf (peasant). His interest sparked an idea. What if I made a card game of some of the people in the Middle Ages, and players would have to put them in order from the lowest person in society (i.e. prisoner) to the mightiest and most powerful (i.e. the king)? With a week of isolation ahead of me due to radioactive iodine treatment, I seized the opportunity to make the illustrations for eleven game cards. Here's a diagram of the illustrations and the individuals' "rankings" in society. The game is played similar to Skip-Bo Junior, a favorite in our house. Download and print a 12-page PDF of these game cards here. How to Win The first player to play all of the cards from their stockpile is the winner. How to Play This is a two-person game. The dealer deals 10 cards facedown to each player; this is their stockpile. The top card is turned over (i.e. face-up) and placed on top of the rest of the cards. Next, the dealer deals three cards in three separate piles to each player face up next to the stockpile. The dealer does this with each turn. In the playing area between both players, four kingdoms can be started. These four kingdoms, which are essentially piles, are played on by both players and must begin with a No. 1 card (the prisoner) or a Wild (Jester) card, played face up. The youngest player looks at the three cards in their "hand" (those dealt face-up by the dealer on the table) as well as the one card on top of their stockpile to see if they can begin a new kingdom or add to an existing one. The player plays all the cards that they can, even those that may be revealed from under another card that was just played. For example, if there is a No. 2 (peasant) card face-up as one kingdom, a player can place the No. 3 (apprentice) or Wild (jester) card on top of it from their hand, as well as any other cards they may have to play. If the card from the stockpile is played, the card underneath is turned over. It's the next player's turn when a player can no longer play any cards from their stockpile or hand. NOTE: The card on top of the stockpile may not be moved to the player's hand, even if all the cards in one pile of their hand have been played. Remember, each time it is a player's turn, three new cards are dealt on top of the existing hand from the last round of play. Once the new cards have been dealt, the player can take their turn. When a kingdom has either been completed with the number cards 1-10 and/or a mix of wild cards, the pile is turned over and removed from the playing area, so a new kingdom can be formed in its place. If the dealer runs out of cards and neither player has played all the cards from their stockpile, the piles of old kingdoms can be reshuffled to continue play. My son and I had loads of fun playing this game. He was thrilled to see his notes come to life and the hierarchy of cards supported what he'd learned from the Magic Tree House Fact Tracker about various people's places in Medieval society!
Find the best boys bedroom ideas to spark creativity and bring out your child's inner artist. Stylish, fun, and functional designs await!
Huge pack of themed worksheets to help preschoolers learn math and literacy skills with a fun medieval theme. Print pdf file with Castle Worksheets!
Wartburg castle was built in Germany as a fortress but never served as one. Learn more interesting facts, history, and travel tips!
The Middle Ages- Free History Curriculum Series Part 5: History Of The Middle Ages Welcome back to the final post on Free Ancient World History Plans ! Thi ...
The castles in Kent are imposing, diminutive, ornate and plain. Some are perched on a cliff, others are embedded within rolling fields, walls or moats.
Free playdough printables? Yes please! These printable play mats are a wonderful addition to play dough. You can use them as an invitation to play, giving your children a spark of an idea which they can them make their own. Play dough printable play mats Use the links under each photograph to see all our […]
Explore the magnificent castles in Estonia. You will find history, interesting facts, pictures, videos and more.
Stories of battles for the crown, romance and royal splendour: a project on knights and castles is great for your child to do at home.
Mythical Realms: A Coloring Book of Medieval Adventures is a captivating coloring book that brings to life the world of knights, kings, dragons, wizards, magic, castles, and vikings. Featuring intricate illustrations of mythical creatures, epic battles, and enchanting landscapes, this coloring book is perfect for children and adults alike who love to explore the imaginative realm of medieval times. With over 30 pages of beautifully detailed illustrations, Mythical Realms invites you to unleash your creativity and personalize each scene with your own unique touch. From valiant knights fighting fierce dragons to powerful wizards conjuring spells in towering castles, each page offers a new adventure waiting to be brought to life through color. Whether you're looking to unwind after a long day, bond with your children, or simply indulge in the joy of coloring, Mythical Realms: A Coloring Book of Medieval Adventures is a must-have addition to any coloring book collection. So grab your pencils, markers, or paints, and let your imagination run wild with the magical world of Mythical Realms.
Castles is a FANTASTIC topic for both KS1 and KS2. Learn about Castle Staff, Explore Castles around the UK and find lesson ideas and interactive resources.
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Our fairytale unit study was a great way to kick off a new homeschool year. We learned about story elements and studied castles together.
The Middle Ages and Medieval time period is so fascinating and kids really enjoy learning about it in history studies.
Living in Europe does have its advantages when it comes to teaching a child about medieval times. If Adrian were any older, he'd probably be delighted by the jousting tournaments Germany offers (yes, they are back!), the history found in various museums and be surprised to hear that the plague completely wiped the human race from the area we currently live in. For now, he simply enjoys the festival with the "costumes" and the beautiful castles. Hohenschwangau Castle, Germany - A Medieval Castle we visited last fall Building a wood castle for our knight Most families have wooden blocks of some kind. We were gifted these beautiful natural wood blocks made by Melissa & Doug one or two years ago. They do not get that much playtime but if I bring them out along with ideas, then they do. The task that day was to build a castle for a knight and a "cave" for a dragon. Adrian quite enjoyed having our Fisher-Price plastic knight visit the wooden castle after. Counting & Poking Swords Jolanthe, at Homeschool Creations, makes beautiful FREE preschool packs I use once in a while. I don't like worksheets per se but I'll use bits here and there. The numbers and knight cards you see above were part of her Knights package. I taped the numbers and knights together and taped them to a toothpick I then inserted into a styrofoam board. I also put plastic sword toothpicks into a bowl and let Adrian poke them in a row in front of each number. They represented, I said, the quantity of swords the knights needed in their castle. A knight in shining armor - Tin foil knight craft This picture does not make it justice but it truly was a nice craft to make for a preschooler. I personally pre-cut the shapes since foil is so easily torn but I let Adrian crumple the foil for the feet, hands, knees and elbows. He's also the one who glued all the parts in place, including the sword (pipe cleaner), feather and eyes (pink construction paper with two black dots). Wanna make one as well? Check out the template at Busy Bee Crafts! That is where we got ours and where the idea for the craft came from. By the way, Busy Bee Crafts has a few more medieval crafts your kids might enjoy. We thought about building our own catapult for the activity listed next but in the end, ran out of time and used the one we already had... Catapult testing - how far, how high, and adjusting to reach targets I pretty much knew this would be well loved. I did not want it to be simple catapulting though. I did want to involve more physics and understanding of how catapults were used back in the Middles Ages. Our first test involved calculating the distance our pompoms were going and how to make it go far and how to keep it close (see masking tape pieced on the grounds?). Then we tried to make it go high and then tried to keep it low. Finally, I asked Adrian if he could figure out how to hit our targets (the mixing bowls on the grounds). It didn't take him long to figure out the catapult should be aligned with the targets to be effective! Now we own a catapult thanks to a Fisher-Price Little People Play 'N Go Castle set but I initially intended to build a catapult with Adrian following the instructions given on Busy Bee Crafts. See link above. Making a "medieval" stained glass window Stained glass became quite popular during the Middle Ages and I thought it would be kind of fun to do a "kid" version of stained glass. That usually means using "contact" paper or waxed paper but we had just done that for Valentine's Day so I decided to let Adrian paint the windows. Yep. I wasn't sure I wasn't gonna regret my decision but I had read that writing on a vertical surface might help his pencil grip so the incentive was there. Turns out, Adrian LOVED painting the windows. He wasn't sure he should at first and hesitated knowing I'd normally say this wasn't allowed. I made sure I explained this was a one-time thing. We used liquid washable tempera paint mixed with dish soap. Once it was dried, I washed it off with water and had no trouble getting it off at all. I encouraged Adrian to draw but he really just wanted to paint and spread colors all over. Sponge-printed castle - Art & Fine Motor Fine motor skills and art? Absolutely. Other than a good pencil grasp, there is also the tiny sponges that can get involved! Today I cut a tiny sponge from a much bigger kitchen sponge for Adrian to use on this white crayon castle (pre-drawn by...me! No laughing!). The idea was to make "brick prints". Of course, with a preschooler, bricks might not look so much like bricks because they like to dip their sponges into A LOT of paint but if you can convince your child to dip lightly and to print often instead of dipping every time, you may have beautiful bricks on your castle, especially if they are spaced instead of all stacked on top of one another. I tend to emphasize the process over the product with my kids so to me, Adrian's castle was great. I love that he finished it (not a small task with a tiny sponge and that he printed instead of smeared the paper like he could have). The idea for this castle was adapted from Deep Space Sparkle who did the project with older kids and included more steps.
"The habits of the child produce the character of the man." - Charlotte Mason The beauty of a Charlotte Mason education is the opportunity to develop character though living books and projects that highlight qualities such as endurance, bravery, honor, & me
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"The habits of the child produce the character of the man." - Charlotte Mason The beauty of a Charlotte Mason education is the opportunity to develop character though living books and projects that highlight qualities such as endurance, bravery, honor, & me
A few weeks ago we read Knight Before Dawn by Mary Pope Osborne as part of our study of Great Britain (I know...great literature, but the kids love it!).
We are so excited to have just released our newest curriculum The Kind Kingdom. This is meant to be a guide for parents geared towards elementary students. The Chronicles of Narnia is used as a spine, along with amazing stories of famous people of Europe, Grimm's Fa
5 brave knights tease Mr. Dragon from their castle wall. It follows the same pattern as 5 little monkeys teasing Mr. Alligator.
Young students love castle, knights, kings & queens...this is a great unit to teach your elementary students all about the middle ages/medieval time period. Included: Introduction to the middle ages, castles, knights, kings, children, and the middle age life. Pictures to accompanied the introductions Pictures of different type of castles, famous castles and castle parts Pictures of knights, weapons, warhorse and etc. Pictures of kings and famous Middle Age people Pictures of everyday life: people, houses, fun, etc. Vocabulary words with and w/o pictures. Activity pages for students to complete 1. Introduce the middle ages. Discuss with students how the Middle Ages is different than today. Briefly discuss the different elements of the middle ages: castles, knights, kings, battles, etc. Just wet the appetite of your students. Explain to them that later they will learn more details about the middle ages. Activity: Students write something about the Middle Ages that they just learned and draw a picture of it. 2. Introduce castles: explain why they were built and how they were built and how they have changed. ~ Different types of castles ~ Parts of a castle ~ Famous castles Activity: Student label the castle Activity: Students build a castle. Materials that can be used: Lego's, Popsicle sticks, Graham Crackers & icing, etc. Students tell the type of castle they made: Motte & Bailey, Concentric, etc. 3. Introduce the people of the middle ages: Briefly discuss the different people from the middle ages. Spend more time and detail on the following people: ~ King: his duties, his court, ~ Children: what did the play, work, education ~ A Guild Activity: Students are to write & draw: If I were a king I would: Compare/Contrast children of today & children from the Middle Ages If I were a member of the guild what guild would I be a part of? People of the Middle Ages: continued: ~ Knight What is a knight? How to become a knight: the different stages of a knight Order of Knights Armor and weapons Coat of Arms Knight activities Code of Chivalry Famous knights Activity: Student writes about being a knight. Draw a picture about your knight story. Student draws a coat of arms. 4. Introduce living in the middle ages: ~ The church and its power ~ The homes ~ The food ~ Marriages ~ Clothes ~ Taxes ~ Social: festivals ~ Health: Black Death, ring around the rosies ~ Jobs ~ Marketplace Activity: Write about one aspect of living in the middle-ages. 5. Vocabulary Words: ~ Vocabulary words with definitions; vocabulary words w/o definitions; vocabulary pictures
Castles Dragons Kings and Queens ! Let's get planning for some great make believe play and learning!
