mazakaal Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 We're going to be finishing SOTW 2 and starting SOTW 3 next year when dc will be in 3rd and 5th grades. I'd like to add in some fun activities to supplement. This year I got a kit for building castles and the knights treasure chest along with loads of great books about knights, castles, medieval times, etc. Rennaissance and Reformation just doesn't seem like quite so much fun. I have the SOTW AG, but I'd also love to get some kits for things for the kids to build or do and some good, engaging books to supplement our studies. I had so many great book on Roman, Egyptian, Greek, and Medieval times left from my older kids, but just don't have that much for the later time periods. I have a lot of American history supplements, but don't want to depend too much on them because we did a year of American history with those books when the kids were in K and 2nd grade. So what fun books and kits have you used to supplement your studies for this time period? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3peasinapod Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 :lurk5: I would be interested in this too and even some activities for after these time periods if anyone has them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMOm Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Last year we took the kids to see replicas of Christopher Columbus' ships. Here is a schedule of ports they will be in this year: http://www.thenina.com/schedule.htm Another thing we did was visit a Rembrandt exhibit- you might check local art museums or your state art museum to see if there are any exhibits that would coincide with your studies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 That's a great idea, but I don't think it will be coming to England. ;) We will probably have a field trip to Plymouth, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkacademy Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 I hope you find some good ideas. For explorers have you looked at Homeschool In The Woods? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 I've used their timeline materials, but that's it. I didn't realize they have curriculum for explorers. I'll check it out. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 These are fantastic ideas! Thanks so much. I love the Shakespeare puppet theatre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMOm Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 That's a great idea, but I don't think it will be coming to England. ;) We will probably have a field trip to Plymouth, though. Ah, I didn't realize you were in England! I'd love to visit Plymouth- I am descended from Brother Brewster, the preacher on the Mayflower, so I'm a little jealous you are going! ;) We are using History Pockets this year for our study of the 1800's and are really pleased with them- you might like their Explorers History Pocket! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Do you have easy access to a good museum with Renaissance paintings and sculpture? I think that that period is the peak of painting, and because it is pretty representational with a lot of symbolism as well, it is both accessible to children and worthy of discussion. (Forgive me, I know I'm almost certainly saying something that you know far better than I do.) Anyway, when we studied that period, I bought heavily illustrated books about Michelangelo and Da Vinci, as well as the Greenblatt book about Lorenzo de Medici, and we went back to those and their pictures over and over. There is an excellent and pretty meaty book that is fairly unbiased that you might also like, "Rats, Bulls, and Flying Machines." Later we were fortunate to have two Da Vinci exhibits come to cities near us, and to be able to go back and review all of that art and symbolism and worldview again was excellent. I purchased a book of Renaissance art, one of those gorgeous coffee table books, and we sat and studied one picture a day maybe 3 days per week for a couple of months. Great discussions starters! I know these are not the hands on projects that you are looking for, but this era was so visual and literacy-oriented (Gutenberg, etc.) that reading and viewing seem pretty enhancing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 We are doing SOTW3 with HO next year! As usual, I'm excited - every time period :D These are some fun things we're going to be using: World of Inventors Leonardo Da Vinci kit (materials already included to build. among other things, an ornithopter) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1592238939/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1592238947&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=09NMP8PH2GNPJ088Z8H9 Art Fraud Detective, focusing on Renaissance and Early Modern http://rainbowresource.com/wldetail.php?&id=025056 Raphael and Botticelli (ds loves Mike Venezia's books!) http://rainbowresource.com/wldetail.php?&id=013336http://rainbowresource.com/wldetail.php?&id=020160 Story of the Renaissance and Reformation http://rainbowresource.com/wldetail.php?&id=008202 Diane Stanley's excellent biographies http://www.amazon.com/Michelangelo-Diane-Stanley/dp/0060521139/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330529406&sr=1-3 http://www.amazon.com/Bard-Avon-Story-William-Shakespeare/dp/0688162940/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330529406&sr=1-4 http://www.amazon.com/Good-Queen-Bess-Elizabeth-England/dp/0688179614/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330529406&sr=1-8 More biographies http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1893103013/charlottemasonap http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/006027820X/charlottemasonap Historical fiction and others http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0689710534/charlottemasonap http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316517305/charlottemasonap http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0374332630/charlottemasonap http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0899194400/charlottemasonap http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679444742/charlottemasonap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oraetstudia Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 That's a great idea, but I don't think it will be coming to England. ;) We will probably have a field trip to Plymouth, though. You could visit the Globe and the Golden Hind in London. I found some nice printables of the Santa Maria and the Globe free online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizaG Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 (edited) Art class! Mark Kistler's 3D drawing courses talk about the 12 Renaissance Words. You could use his lessons (Homeschool Buyers' Co-op has a discount for the online version), or any others that teach these principles. :) We also have some attractive wall charts -- explorers, Renaissance art, etc. -- that I found at the local teachers' store. They come with suggested activities, though I haven't used these yet. Perhaps there's something similar available where you are. Also, since you've already done US History, maybe a side trip into the exploration of South America or Canada? Lots of very interesting things to find out about, from the Incas to the Inuit, and guinea pigs to polar bears. Not sure how much realism you're interested in, but I hear that GP's are quite tasty with a brown sauce. (Just kidding! We have two guinea pigs as pets. But I can sort of understand how they became a dietary staple. They're much easier to catch than, say, wild boar. ;)) Edited February 29, 2012 by Eleanor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Here's some things I did with my co-op class (2nd-5th) this year: We walked 6 Barbies through the lives of Henry's wives. I made a doll sized coffin, a castle wall background, and we used her vet table as the chopping block. :lol: For introducing them to Jamestown I had them sign up on a voyage to go find gold. They had to either be indentured or pay outright, and then figure out a plan when the gold didn't appear. We put Marco Polo on trial, since his book doesn't exactly match up with what he might have seen at that time. We made explorer hats and asked the real Christopher Columbus to please stand up (since every portrait done of him is after death and looks different) We pretended to sail with the Mayflower, complete with arguing over whether to use John Smith as a guide or just John Smith's book. I'd need to go back through my stack of finished projects to remember the rest but we're getting into the colonies and Revolution time period right now. I did have one project that they never got to do because of time constraints - figuring out who the man in the iron mask was. I prepared a file with a diary page, death certificate, and other pretend artifacts for them to examine and narrow down the suspects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 My girls adore playing the "Renaissance Art Game" http://www.amazon.com/Renaissance-Art-Game/dp/1889613029 (It's just go-fish but with a deck of renaissance paintings and a nice book to go with it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 These are some really great ideas. Thanks so much for sharing. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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