Our next homeschool history for kids  unit focuses on Medieval Times. We will be studying castles, knights, chivalry, coats of arms, food, and other elements from the middle ages.

Medieval Castles for Kids

I love planning and preparing huge history units for our homeschool! Our family likes to really immerse our self in the time period and do lots of hands on history projects. By doing so we are able to learn as a family (from toddler and preschool through kindergarten and elementary school), really explore a topic, and the content really sticks!

So here is one of my kids all time favorite history units – middle ages for kids!

Building Our Castle from Cardboard Boxes

The first thing we did in our Medieval Unit was to build our own castle. This helped set the time period, create interest, and was a LOT of fun! We have had countless hours of fun playtime in it and have even enjoyed reading our stories in it too!

 

We have been saving Amazon, Honest Company, and a filing cabinet for a while now. You can of course make yours bigger or smaller depending on how many boxes you have. The kids helped me stack the boxes to look like a castle – a great math game that helps kids with logic skills! Then I taped the boxes together slightly with packing tape to give them a little support. I cut out our draw bridge & window from guard tower.

Next I spray painted the front only. Ideally I would have done this outside, but it was winter! I had drop clothes down and windows open to help with the fumes. Of course you can always have a brown ‘sponsored by Amazon’ *grin* castle.   
The inside of the castle had a large Great Hall, Guard tower, and dungeon. We’ve had so much fun with this project!
And of course we needed to guard our castle – so we made a catapult. The one we made was included in a Kiwi Crate, but you could easily make one with rubber bands & craft sticks like this one from Science Sparks.

Medieval Costumes

Dressing up is part of the fun!! We happen to have some costumes that worked perfectly {I stock up after Halloween when Target costumes go 75% off or more}, but if you don’t have costumes there are lots of great suggestions in Days of Knights and Damsels: And Activity Guide.

  

The kids dyed silks to make Minnie a princess hat. This clever idea using Kool-Aid and Vinegar was from Kiwi Crate.

Medieval Food:

We learned that eating in Medieval times was a lot different than we do today. For starters, you didn’t have a fork – you used a knife and your fingers. In the castle there were many cooks who cooked over fire and served many in the great hall. What you ate depended a lot on how much money you had as fruits and vegetables were a sign of wealth. Read more in A Medieval Feast recommended below.

We made Peasant bread. Lucky for us we have clean water and refrigerated milk to have with ours. In Medieval times even children drank beer with their meal.

Medieval Unit Literature Based Study Guide & Lapbook

We started reading a wonderful historical fiction for the middle ages. The Door in the Wall really helps the time period come alive to kids K-6th grade as a read aloud or 4th –6th graders to read independently. As we read this 100 page book we will fill in the different elements from the lapbook that help explain more about the Middle Ages and help my kids understand this Newberry Medal Winning book better. Don’t miss the Door in the Wall Study Guide & Lapbook.

Book Recommendations:

Books are a HUGE part of our learning. These are books that we own and LOVE! These books, except as noted below, are great for kids K-6th grade. (click on the book to see more)

    

Note: Medieval World is geared at ages 9 and up, but is a wonderful way to see what is going on around the world during this period. I highly recommend it for those teaching this time period.

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!
• Learn about US States for Kids – state coloring pages, president coloring pages, state report forms, states and capital printables, and so much more!
• Learn about the Roaring 1920s for Kids – Printable Book to Read, Color, and Learn
• Rosa Parks for Kids Printable Reader to Color and Learn
• Martin Luther King Jr for Kids Printable Reader to Color and Learn
• 1950s for Kids Reader to Color, Learn and read about what life was like in America in 1950

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
• Ove 30 FREE Country Worksheets for kids to learn about countries around the world
• 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