Ways to explore Medieval Europe.
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.
Ways to explore Medieval Europe.
Are you on the hunt for engaging and effective Medieval Times activities for your 7th-grade social studies class?
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…
Learn all about the medieval manuscript making process with a fascinating but short documentary, several living books, and simple DIY project.
Hi teacher friends, I’ve been busy creating a series of STEM projects for students who are studying Medieval Times & Middle Ages.. Next stop, Late Medieval Europe! Challenge 1: The Ballista Challenge! Medieval times were a violent period in history. New styles of weaponry and warfare were introduced during the Crusades. Siege warfare
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.
Knights & Castles are fun to learn about in this Middle Ages for Kids, FREE 5 week unit that includes crafts, hands-on activities, free printables and more!
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.
Movies are a great tool for teaching history to middle and high achoolers! Here are my favorite medieval history movies.
Have you ever wanted to travel back in history? With Home School In The Woods, you can do that with Project Passport World History Study: The Middle Ages.
Pinay Homeschooler is a blog that shares homeschool and afterschool activity of kids from babies to elementary level.
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.
Hi teacher friends, I’ve been busy creating a series of STEM projects for students who are studying Medieval Times & Middle Ages.. First stop, the Early Byzantine Empire! Challenge 1: The Hagia Sophia Marble Run! The famous Hagia Sophia church was built under the direction of Emperor Justinian I. During this time period, (395-1453) Justinian
This castle STEAM challenge pairs art and engineering to challenge kids to make a working drawbridge for a castle with a Disney Frozen twist!
{All photos enlarge when clicked on} This weekend my husband, daughter and I drove upstate to Sterling Forest in Tuxedo, New York to attend the 31st annual New York Renaissance Faire. It was the fist time we attended this humorously stylized version of the 16th century. Walking through the main gate we are greeted by "Dooley Dragon," and we realize we are to suspend all reality and enter a world of humorous fantasy and Medieval entertainment. The day begins with a welcome address at Roselawn Tournament Field by "Queen Elizabeth 1," who is attended by all her Lords and Ladies. Actors and actresses in beautiful costumes are all over the reproduction village of Sterling Shire's 65 acres, and they greet visitors with a courtesy and "Good day ma'Lady" and "Good day ma'Lord" in 16 th century English accent. Many of the outside guests arrive in costume too! In fact, there are multiple costume rental facilities in the park in case you feel out of place and want to put on a bustier and long skirt. I dared my husband to wear tights but he politely declined. We stayed in our street clothes and felt much cooler that way in the August heat, but it was amusing to see the creativity of many of the visitors. The following photos are of the exciting tournament and joust that took place at the Renaissance Faire. It was all quite exciting! Some children were knighted by the Queen before the ceremony for doing good deeds all year long, and it was precious to see how proud and excited they were! There was also a very exciting chess match between Sir Philip De Marque, the Sheriff of Nottingham against Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men, on the giant live chess board! As each piece makes a move there is an ensuing conflict battle until one surrenders and the loser is eliminated. Sadly Robin Hood lost this chess match! Poor Maid Marian was devastated. I believe he was to be a rematch later in the day where she was hopefully won back by Robin Hood! A lively Maypole dance was held in the meadow, accompanied by many minstrels playing music. Round and round they danced until..... ...the entire pole of ribbons were braided to the end! Huzzah! We were told "huzzah" was the proper way to express congratulations during the day! There were rides for the children at the Renaissance Faire. There was also entertainment for the adults, from multiple skits performed on multiple stages throughout the park. The highlight was Aristophanes's' bawdy play "Lysistrata," where the female characters do some creative "withholding" to end the Peloponnesian War and secure peace. Glassblowing demonstrations were held throughout the day...... ...and there was multiple fortune telling booths..... ..... games of chance and skill to play..... ...and archery to try. A most unusual treat being sold by cart all throughout the park was pickles! Your choice to purchase a dill or a garlic pickle! Of course there were many other food options to choose from. This man, who I believe was a visitor, was sitting next to me at the group picnic tables. I found it interesting that he had to take off all of his rings, which you see in the pile next to him on the table, in order to eat. There were also many craft shops in the village which offered their wares for purchase as souvenirs. This booth sold shields for young knights, and the young man wearing the cape in the photo was trying to decide which one he liked. This shop had pretty pewter, silver and glass items for sale. Perhaps a goblet would be nice to have in which to drink the honey wine called Mead, which was the popular drink by many at the faire? There were beautiful hand carved items for sale at a wood workers shop. As you can see by the sign in this jewelry booth, "Lady Visa" and "Lord Master" were welcome forms of currency! All in all, we had a raucous good time visiting this replica Medieval village in Sterling Forest, and enjoyed the faire! I do believe Merlin the Magician put a spell on us as we left, so that someday we will have to return when our future grandson is old enough to be possibly knighted by the Queen! Until then, we bid farewell to the New York Renaissance Faire of 2008! If anyone is interested to visit the faire it will be held every Saturday and Sunday and also Labor Day Monday, until September 21, 2008.
The Middle Ages and Medieval time period is so fascinating and kids really enjoy learning about it in history studies.
If you’re searching for Medieval & Middle Ages Activities & Project Ideas for kids to do at home, you’re in the right place! Keep your learning spirit alive with our curated list of feudalism activities, feasts, catapult painting, stained glass, sewing knight’s costume, knight’s shield, coat of arms, chain mail armor, and music & dance […]
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 ...
Hi teacher friends, I’ve been busy creating a series of STEM projects for students who are studying Medieval Times & Middle Ages.. Next stop, Early Medieval Europe! Challenge 1: Water Mill Challenge! During the Medieval Times landowners with access to running water, specifically small waterfalls on their property, could build a watermill
This lovely, colourful display sheet of a labelled castle is an engaging resource for children. Supports Key Stage 1: History.
Change the way you look at fun homeschool projects and plan a Medieval Celebration for your family that isn't stressful!
"King Richard's Faire"
Middle Ages Projects and Books for Kids! As with a lot of our homeschool curriculum, we’re patching together our Middle Ages Unit. I thought I’d share some of the books, projects, and resources we’ve been using recently as we continue through our studies of the Middle Ages. Yesterday, we got to such an exciting part of our current Middle Ages novel, that we couldn’t stop! We read aloud for nearly...
Wow... We had a Sixth Grade Castle contest today. Every child who creates a Medieval Castle receives an extra credit 100 test grade. T...
Hi teacher friends, I’ve been busy creating a series of STEM projects for students who are studying Medieval Times & Middle Ages.. Next stop, Early Medieval Europe! Challenge 1: Water Mill Challenge! During the Medieval Times landowners with access to running water, specifically small waterfalls on their property, could build a watermill
We are studying the Middle Ages this year. It is so much fun for it is full of castles and knights, and classic stories I have been wanting to read to my boys for years like Robin Hood and the Story of King Arthur. There is so much out there to make this year wonderful it was truly hard to pick and choose for fear something fun will be left out. See my pinterest board on the Middle Ages/Renaissance. My saving grace was the spine, Story of the Middle Ages by Christine Miller and Passport to the Middle Ages a hands on trip through this historical period by Homeschool in the woods. Between these to resources I have just what I need to flesh out the middle ages time period with fun activities, great books and with more ease and peace of mind than I first thought was possible. Apparently we have the old out dated cover image. If you checked out the link to The Story of the Middle Ages you can see that it has been redone. I think I like our old version better. One of the best aspects of this book is the suggested book list in the back. It suggests living books that fit in with the story of the Middle Ages narrative. It also give you an idea just where they go in the flow of the historical story. So by using this suggested book list I was able gather together relevant living books and plan them out with the spine readings, and with the help of the SCM panner, I know it will all fit into the school year. Yeah! Below is a portion of my master list of books and where they fit into the spine. I have not stuck to the 20 minute lessons here as my boys can absorb more so my readings are a bit lengthy. It is working for us but it may not work for you. See for yourself, maybe you can do more. :) I also supplement with audio books when I need a break. See my other post on the ones I found for free at Librivox. SOTMA: Europe Long Ago-Ceasar in Gaul and Britain (one lesson) SOTMA: Europe under the Romans-The 1st Martyrs (one lesson) In God's Garden by Amy Steedman(7 lessons/days)* SOTMA: The Patron Saint of France- The Early Germans (one lesson) Children of Odin by Padraic Colum (portions of it in 3 lessons) SOTMA: How the Franks Came into Gaul-The first Kings (one lesson) The White Stag by Kate Seredy(two lessons) SOTMA: Theodoric and Ostrogoth-The Bishop of Ireland (one lesson) Our Island Saints by Amy Steedman chapter on St. Patrick begin lap book (two lessons) Lantern bearer by Rosemary Sutcliff (11 lessons) SOTMA: The Anglo Saxons-King Arthur (one lesson) King Arthur by Howard Pyle (five lessons) SOTMA: The story of St. Augustine (one lesson) Augustine came to Kent by Barbara Willard (six lessons) * If the book has 14 chapters in it like In God's Garden, it will take 7 lessons/days to complete the book if I can read two chapters/saint stories a day. Some books will be shorter or longer so the days it will take to read each one is different. Following is the rest of the list of living books we plan to use for History. Son of Charlemagne by Barbara Willard Story of Roland for Children by H.E. Marshall Castle by David MaCaulay DK: Castle at War Castle Diary by Richard Platt Vikings by Janeway The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow by Allen French The Viking adventure by Clyde Robert Bulla Leif the Lucky by Ingri and Edgar D'Aulaire Dragon and the Raven by G.A. Henty Illuminations by Hunt Little Duke by Charlotte M. Yonge Cathedral by David MaCaulay If All The Swords in England by Barbara Willard God's Troubadour by Winning His Spurs by G. A. Henty Magna Charta by James Daugherty In Freedom's Cause by G.A. henry Otto if the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle The Apple and the Arrow by Mary and Conrad Buff The Door in the Wall by St. George for England by G. A. Henty Canterbury Tales by Barbara Cohen Illustrated by Trina Hyman (a favorite illustrator of mine) Joan of Arc by Diane Stanley You may have observed as you read through the list that some classic books noted to be good for this time period like Robin Hood and Adam of the Road are missing. I have scheduled them into our literature readings instead of our history lesson and they should correspond also with the flow of history as it moves through time in the middle ages. Passport through the Middle Ages is something we do on project day which is the last day of our week. Project day was instigated last year because we love hands on activities but we also value the simplicity of Charlotte Mason's methods. One thing I wanted to make time for in our school week was to include more living books to fill them with ideas, "a banquet of mind food", and I also wanted to limit our hands-on work so we could practice narration which stimulates the mind to work on the ideas gained instead of and activity which may or may not accomplish this. So Project day is the sixth day in our week and it is where we do the fun activities, games etc. that we enjoy without losing the great advantage of sticking closely to a CM method during the week. This is TJ's notebook where he keeps his passport notebooking type activities. Sample of one of their notebooking pages describing the different class levels in the Middle Ages. The boys also keep up a time line as we go along. The boys write fictitious newspaper articles. And illustrate some. Here is Max's passport to travel into the Middle Ages. Each week I also read from a tour guide about that particular time in history, it sets the stage for the activities. Sometimes there are audio tours as well as the readings. This last week we listened as a reporter interviewed different people about their role in the Medieval class structure. Now and then we get postcards from historical people telling us about the event in history where they played a part. The boys then illustrate the front of the post card and place into their post card rack. We also are creating lapbook mini books as we go along and at the end of the year we will assemble the whole lap book. It should make for a fun review of all the things we have studied. There will be recipes to make, things to make like a castle out of sugar cubes and a Robinhood hat. We will also learn about every aspect of Medieval life. More about all that as we go along. I also have found oodles of wonderful you tube videos that go along nicely with each weeks readings and activities which I will be showing the boys each project day. NOTE: Many of the titles below are not suitable for children. We got around this by downloading the video and editing it in a editing program. Then we can be sure they boys get the content that is worthwhile for them at this age. Here is our list of Medieval history videos. You can find them all on you-tube: BBC Rise and Fall of Rome Series History Channel's "The Dark Ages" Merchant of Venice Terry Jones Medieval Lives: The Peasant Terry Jones Medieval Lives: The Knight Medieval Warfare: Castle at War Who were the Vikings BBC part 1/3 Viking Trading Empire BBC part 2/3 End of the Viking Age BBC part 3/3 History Channel's : "The Real Vikings" Terry Jones Medieval Lives: The Monk Illuminations BBC parts 1-6 History Channel's "The Plague" El Cid Terry Jones Medieval Lives: The Kings Terry Jones: The Crusades parts 1-4 Terry Jones medieval lives: The Outlaw Christina: a Medieval Life Terry Jones Medieval Lives: The Damsel Terry Jones Medieval Lives: The Philosopher Terry Jones Medieval Lives: The Minstrel Bye for now....Enjoy!
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.
An activity to enhance your Medieval History unit by exploring stained glass windows by creating something very similar. With four possible window designs, your student can use a plastic transparency sheet to create their own "stained glass window". Also included in this packet is a Stained Glass ...
