Ways to explore Medieval Europe.
Medieval period is a fascinating time to study, and these activities will bring it to life for tweens. From authentic recipes to knights and castles, there's something here for everyone.
When I visited Europe as a child, I remember being struck by the Gothic stained glass windows, and particularly the rose windows found in so many cathedrals- for their symmetry and massive scale. So this year as we've been homeschooling through the Middle Ages, I found myself wanting to help my children interact a little with the beauty of Gothic stained glass somehow. I liked the way this project allowed my children to do their own work but create pieces that were unique and presentable. I had envisioned helping them a great deal, but found that the the art mediums at both stages of the project were very forgiving. My six-year-old and four-year-old made their windows almost entirely on their own. I think an older child could include finer detail and could maybe be more creative with the project. Materials: Glass rectangle from a small picture frame Black fabric puffy paint with a fine tip Acrylic paints Clear liquid glue Procedure: 1. Find a simple outline of a rose window online (a google image search produces lots of options), resize it to fit your glass rectangle, and print onto paper. 2. Place the paper with the outline underneath the glass rectangle. Trace the outline of the rose window onto the glass using the black puffy paint. There will probably be more detail on the outline than is possible to include in the tracing. I let my six year old decide which lines to trace and which to ignore. If you do a little research you can easily find the technical terms to describe the different kinds of shapes in your particular rose window. For example, my six year old's window included a central roundel, and trefoils around the outside of the wheel. It's ok if your child doesn't have a perfectly steady hand with the tracing or if the lines run together at some places. The black puffy paint looks like lead between the panes of glass, and wobbly-ness is actually a pleasing effect here. Also, you can touch up major mistakes with a paper towel. 3. Allow the puffy paint outline to dry. (At least three hours). Mix acrylic paints with clear gel glue on a palette. There is no exact ratio to follow. The finished color on the glass will be more or less opaque depending on the amount of glue. Different amounts of transparency in the same window can be pleasing. Just make sure the glue is thoroughly mixed with the glue before painting with it. If you paint with a little bit of paint that has no glue mixed in, the finished product will have brush marks instead of the smooth look of stained glass. Make sure all the panes in the window are thoroughly filled with paint for best results. Allow to dry overnight. I love these! They cheer me in my kitchen as the light shines through them on the window sill there. The fact that stained glass is beautiful only when light shines through it reminds me of this fact: "God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."* They are a gentle reminder to me to stay in fellowship with Christ during the day! I John 1:5-7 Get 10% sitewide when you shop at Access Hydroponic. Valid until November 2013!
Need ideas for a hands-on, literature-based Middle Ages unit study? This post has got you covered with projects, literature lists and resources.
Ways to explore Medieval Europe.
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.
Fun and easy crafts to enhance your medieval European history lessons in elementary schools.
This Paper Bag Dragon Craft is a fun medieval themed craft using basic supplies like paper, glue, a brown paper bag and googly eyes! With our free template, you'll have your own fire-breathing friend in no time!
How to Make a Castle - DIY Cardboard Medieval Castle Craft One of my most favorite activities and indeed craft times with my kids was castle making! We made an awesome cardboard castle. Medieval times, or the middle ages, were between 5th to 15th century. A long time ago. These times in history were very
These days we can notice more and more children ditching outdated gender conventions. TV historian Dan Snow shared such an event on Twitter. His 7-year-old daughter was preparing for a "medieval feast" held by her school.
Wondering what to do in Sigulda, Latvia? This gateway to Gauja National Park has medieval castle ruins, cable car rides, hiking trails, and more!
We have been doing some fascinating activities for our Medieval History unit, (Viking Runes, Medieval Illuminations, and our own homemade Medieval Subtleties) but this craft or "craftivity" turned out the most beautiful of all. We created our own stained glass windows! This is an easy activity, especially if you purchase our premade Medieval Window packet which includes 4 possible designs for your students to choose from to make their window. You will also need a transparency sheet (or some recycled flat plastic), a sharpie, food coloring and glue. And some Q-tips. Because we always fall back on Q-tips as an easy go-to paintbrush for these kinds of activities. After drawing the designs on the transparencies with black sharpies, we cut out our window shapes. And we began to fill in the window shapes with our glue paint. To make it easier, we cut out our paper design and taped it, along with the transparency to the table. It kept our image stable while the kids filled in the colors. After the colored glue had dried, we cut out our window edging and glued it over the glass. An optional idea is to go over the top of the sharpie with black puffy paint. This raised black edging makes the stained glass really pop. It feels just like the leaded glass stained windows you might see in an old church or heraldic window. The finished product is tacked to the window so that the light can stream through, just like it streamed through Medieval stained glass windows, many years ago. A beautiful finished product! Check out our packet that includes everything you need to create this craft, here in our store. Reviews "My students were completely engaged and created a great deal of stained glass with this project. We researched how stained glass was made with Medieval techniques (the V&A Museum has a fantastic video!) and then we got to work, having unearthed a box of old transparencies, which I think really makes this project. We also were creating them for our Medieval Faire for our K-3rd graders and they found the stained glass captivating. I would have never guessed they would have looked so good! Excellent lesson!" --- Anne C. "Loved the informational text. It was so helpful. The activity wasn't as engaging as I'd hoped, but it was still worth the purchase." --- Get Schooled "We a learning about the role of churches during the Medieval time period so this is a great supplemental for us and a nice break from the heavy reading and material. The students enjoyed creating these." --- Pham-tastic Teaching "One of the better stained-glass projects I've seen. Worked greatly for my A&H class!" --- Eli Edwards "We used the patterns to make our own stained glass. We used sharpies instead of glue and they came out beautifully." --- Tippecanoe "I used this resource to supplement what we were learning in class. My students loved the activity?" --- Wendy E. "This was a fun activity to do in my summer program during medieval week." --- Karen C. "My students really enjoyed making them, and were so proud of the outcome. We did what someone else suggested and just used permanent sharpies. They look awesome!" --- Randy Bland "My students loved this activity! We completed it in the middle of our Middle Ages reading unit. To make them even more stained glass in appearance, they lightly used a cotton ball to spread vegetable oil on the back to make them translucent." --- Dayna K. Check out our packet that includes everything you need to create this craft, here in our store.
Check out these fun medieval crafts! Learn about the middle ages for kids with these fun crafts. These medieval crafts are great for kids of all ages. Try
These days we can notice more and more children ditching outdated gender conventions. TV historian Dan Snow shared such an event on Twitter. His 7-year-old daughter was preparing for a "medieval feast" held by her school.
Dive into this classic Medieval literature with this The Door in the Wall Study Guide & Lapbook perfect for kids in 4th-6th grade.
32 Memes That Inspire Wonderment - Funny memes that "GET IT" and want you to too. Get the latest funniest memes and keep up what is going on in the meme-o-sphere.
The Medieval City Plan Generator. It's the free online tool you've always wanted. It doesn't create maps of actual medieval cities--only nice looking maps of imaginary cities, with the ability to add plazas, castles, rivers, city walls, and even shanty towns.
These days we can notice more and more children ditching outdated gender conventions. TV historian Dan Snow shared such an event on Twitter. His 7-year-old daughter was preparing for a "medieval feast" held by her school.
These days we can notice more and more children ditching outdated gender conventions. TV historian Dan Snow shared such an event on Twitter. His 7-year-old daughter was preparing for a "medieval feast" held by her school.
These days we can notice more and more children ditching outdated gender conventions. TV historian Dan Snow shared such an event on Twitter. His 7-year-old daughter was preparing for a "medieval feast" held by her school.
Old Town Alcudia is full of great things to do from walking atop the city's medieval wall to unique shops and picturesque neighborhoods.
Minecraft Maps for you to download and explore!
Looking to learn about the great white north, eh? You will love this free printable Canada for Kids reader to color, read, and learn!
32 Memes That Inspire Wonderment - Funny memes that "GET IT" and want you to too. Get the latest funniest memes and keep up what is going on in the meme-o-sphere.
Beaune is a wine lovers heaven. Enjoy Burgundy's finest varieties of wine and food, tour the walled city and cycle around the vineyards.
Planning to visit and explore Bacharach? Here are the fun and best things to do in Bacharach, Germany you should not miss.
In this blog post, we will explore some two-point perspective drawing ideas that range from easy to complex. The difficulty level of the ideas depends on several factors.
32 Memes That Inspire Wonderment - Funny memes that "GET IT" and want you to too. Get the latest funniest memes and keep up what is going on in the meme-o-sphere.
Thinking of a few summer activity ideas or simple cut and paste craft ideas to add on your kid’s fantasy collections? We love to share with you this free printable princess castle craft template that
Want to know about the Middle Ages? You’ve come to the right place! I’ve collected a wide assortment of resources for this unit study on Medieval Times with a focus on Europe. While our…
Movies are a great tool for teaching history to middle and high achoolers! Here are my favorite medieval history movies.
Done!
If you're wondering what to do in Ghent for a day, this itinerary covers all the best things to do in Ghent you can't miss!
Twitter Thread: Medieval Artists Had No Idea What Animals Looked Like - Funny memes that "GET IT" and want you to too. Get the latest funniest memes and keep up what is going on in the meme-o-sphere.
Students follow the clues to solve a crime. Keys provided. Practice on Past Simple, mainly was or were............................................................... - ESL worksheets
These days we can notice more and more children ditching outdated gender conventions. TV historian Dan Snow shared such an event on Twitter. His 7-year-old daughter was preparing for a "medieval feast" held by her school.
32 Memes That Inspire Wonderment - Funny memes that "GET IT" and want you to too. Get the latest funniest memes and keep up what is going on in the meme-o-sphere.
