As part of our homeschool history for kids unit on middle ages for kids we explored Medieval Art & Music by learning about famous artists Giotto, creating a medieval tapestry, creating our own psaltery, learning to draw a castle, and reading some excellent books.
Medieval Artist Giotto
Favorite Resources
Learning about Famous Artist Giotto for Kids
Giotto was an Italian painter in the 1300s. He is known for adding depth to pictures by adding the background and for making his people look more life-like by adding emotions. Giotto mainly painted frescos. A fresco is a painting done on wet plaster; the color really sinks in and give the color a glowing look to it.
Egg Based Paint for Medieval Artwork
Giotto used an egg based tempera paint. So we made our own egg based paint for our artwork.
First Goofy crushed up some chalk using a rock. The rock was very slow going so Mommy helped out with a rolling pin and that went super fast!
We mixed up 2 egg yokes with 2 TAB water. Then we added it to the chalk and we had our paint. (We used a muffin tin for the paint)
Unlike other artists of his day, Giotto used bright colors in his paintings. He was also the first major artist to convey emotions in his painting.
Giotto Medieval Times Artwork
Notice the yellow hallow around people’s heads. Giotto painted scenes from the Bible and like others from his time used hallows to depict saints.
Additional Medieval Art & Music Activities
Drawing Castles
We used Draw and Write Through History to learn how to draw a castle, catapult, knight, princess, dragon, and a falcon.
Medieval Tapestries for Toddlers and Preschoolers
In Medieval times people wove with wool, but we didn’t have any around here. So we used paper to make a Medieval Woven Placemat. During the time period people also created amazing tapestries which created amazing woven pictures. These were hung on castle walls to make the cold stone rooms pretty and warmer
Medieval Music
We made a psaltery. A psaltery was a medieval musical instrument that was played at banquets or for the royal court in the castle. You can see a video hearing our psaltery.
Medieval Family Read Alouds
We Read The Knight at Dawn and the accompanying Fact Tracker Book Knights and Castles that explains more about the time period. These short and sweet books contain sketched illustrations every couple pages and are great read alouds for ages 5-9. Children in 2nd grade and beyond will be able to read them by themselves.
Journey back to the time of castles and knights with this fun middle ages for kids hands-on history lesson for kids!
- Lesson 1 – Castles for Kids
- Lesson 2 – Medieval knights for kids
- Lesson 3 – Church Medieval history for kids
- Lesson 4 – Famous medieval artists
- Free Simple Knight Coloring Pages
- Visit Medieval Times
- The Door in the Wall Study Guide and Lapbook for the Middle Ages
- Cardboard Sandcastle Castle Engineering with Paper Towel Rolls
- 4 and 20 blackbirds baked in a pie Activity for toddlers and preschoolers
- EPIC Marshmallow Shooters activity – they go 30 feet!
- Deliciously easy Making Butter Science Experiment
- Knights Quest – a free Division Games
History for Kids
Check out one of or MANY engaging, Free history lessons for kids or go to American History for kids including lots of fun, hands on activities, blank timeline template, and lots more printables. Plus don’t miss free Who Was Series biography report templates, historical fiction books for kids arranged in chronological order or Digging into World History Curriculum for the whole family to learn together!
- Dive into Mesopotamia History to learn about Gilgamesh and free printable sunday school lessons for kids
- Ancient Civlizations of MesoAmerica: Who Were the Ancient Maya People Readers, Inca Facts Reader, and Aztecs for Kids Reader
- Learn about Ancient Egypt Activities, crafts, lessons, worksheets, ancient egypt free printables, hieroglyphics activity worksheet pdf, and more!
- Discover Ancient Greece for kids and Ancient Rome for Kids
- Early Explorers for Kids hands-on lessons about Vikings for Kids, Henry the Navigator and Marco Polo for kids, Vasco de Gama / Vespuci / Christopher Columbus for kids, Magellan and the Spanish Conquistadores for kids, Drake / Cartier / Henry Hudson for kids, plus free printable Leif Erikson for Kids reader, Viking Worksheets, and printable famous explorers for kids reader
- Learn about Middle Ages for Kids with lessons and activities about Medieval Castles for Kids, Knight for Kids, Medieval Church for Kids, Medieval Art: Music, Tapestry, Giotto for Kids, and Door in the Wall Study Guide
- Make a teepee, dig for arrowheads, color our printable books and more in this Native Americans for Kids lessons – East Woodland Indians, Comanche Plains Tribes, Southwest Tribes of the Navajo and Hopi, Pacific Northwest Tribes, Florida’s Seminole tribe
- The Colonial America for Kids lesson takes kids back to the first American settlements in the 13 colonies Jamestown Activities, Pilgrims for Kids, Dutch & Sweed Settlers, Pennsylvania William Penn for Kids, plus free printable Jamestown worksheet pdf reader, preschool Thanksgiving printables, and how to make a wattle and daub house school project
- Make westward expansion for kids come alive – 1783-1898 including Lewis and Clark for Kids, Oregon Trail for Kids, Pony Express for Kids , Gold Rush, and the Transcontinental Railroad, plus Westward Expansion for Kids reader and Wild West Worksheets
- American Civil War for Kids lesson with Civil War Coloring Pages, free People of the Civil War flip book, Civil War Worksheets, and Civil War Games for students
- Modern US History resources – U.S. History timeline printable, free Titanic for Kids Reader, World War 1 worksheets pdf, Roaring 1920s for Kids, 1930s Great Depression for Kids, life in the 1940s America for Kids Anne Frank for Kids, free World War 2 workshets pdf, 1950s for Kids, Rosa Parks Worksheets pdf, printable Martin Luther King Jr for Kids, life in the 1960s for Kids , 1970s for kids reader, 1980s for Kids, 1990s for Kids, life for early 2000s Kids , and review with American History Worksheets
- Learn about US States for Kids including resources such as American Symbols Worksheets, American Symbols for Kids research pages, US States I Spy Worksheets, cute State Coloring Pages, USA President Coloring Pages, handy USA for Kids reader, United States Coloring Pages, free 50 States Worksheets, printable 50 States printable booklet, US Bird Scavenger Hunt, Flowers United States Scavenger Hunt, State Animals Scavenger Hunt, U.S. Presidents Worksheets pdf, free Voting and elections worksheet , handy printable list of 50 states and capitals, and States and Capitals Matching Game
Famous artists for kids
- Free Famous Artists Worksheets
- Giotto for kids Medieval art project with homemade egg chalk paint
- Kadinsky for kids leaf project
- Paul Klee for Kids felt square project
- Matisse for Kids valentines art project or this Matisse craft collage
- Piet Mondrian for Kids primary boxes project
- Monet for Kids tissue paper project or this monet painting style idea
- Picasso for Kids portrait project or this felt art picasso craft
- Pollock – Simple and fun Jackson Pollock for Kids art project
- Seurat for kids melted crayon art project
- VanGogh Starry Night Art Project with tin foil, van gogh sunflower for kids construction paper craft, or playdough starry night art project
- Warhol for kids father’s day art project
- Impressionism art easy or pointillism art for kids
- See all of our famous artists for kids art projects and TONS more arts and crafts for kids
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