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 Lessons for Kids
Check out one of or MANY engaging, Free history lessons for kids
- Explore American History for kids including lots of fun, hands on activities and free printables
- Dive into Mesopotamia History to learn about Gilgamesh
- 4 week lesson about Early Explorers for Kids
- Learn about castles, knights, and more in this exciting Middle Ages for Kids
- Make a teepee, dig for arrowheads, color our printable books and more in this Native Americans for Kids lessons
- The Colonial America for Kids lesson takes kids on a journey back to the first permanent settlement in America – Jamestown. Students will learn about colonial life with lots of hands on projects like eating Gruel, making a Wattle & Daub house, and creating a tin lantern will make the settlement come alive.
- We will make westward expansion for kids come alive for kids as they learn facts about the time period from about 1783-1898. In addition to learning about the Oregon trail, pony express, gold rush, transcontinental railroad, students will also learn to match animal trails, map the united states, and learn about North American animals too.
- Civil War for Kids – students will learn about slavery, famous Americans from the Civil War, famous battles, and how our nation stayed together. Lesson includes printable worksheets, mapping activities, printable civil war board game and more!
Looking for more resources and free worksheets to teach students about geography for kids? You will love these coloring sheets, printable maps, books, activities and games:
- Free Printable Maps including world map, continents, and country maps with and without labeling
- 16 Countries for Kids Printables
- Learn about the countries for kids with these free resources
- Help kids understand where do I live with this clever printable activity
- Super cute, Free printable India for Kids Book to color, read, and learn!
- China for Kids Printable Book helps kids learn about this large, populous country famous for the great wall of china, Terra Cotta Warriors, and the Forbidden city
- Join us for a fiesta as we learn about Mexico for Kids including delicious food, Mayan temples and more!
- Explore Venezuela for Kids with the beautiful Angel Falls and delicious Arepas in this printable mini book
- Learn about the fascinating country of South Africa for kids and its fascinating wildlife.
- You can find all our country coloring pages coloring pages or jump right to Spain Coloring Pages, China Coloring Pages, Italy Coloring Pages, Chile Coloring Pages, and Costa Rica Coloring Pages
- Children around the World Worksheets
- Country Coloring Book – explore 36 countries with country coloring pages
