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Kids Art History Board Game Ideas

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

If you’re looking for fun kids art history board game ideas. you’ll love Professor Noggins. Also, look at the other History Games on my page.

Too, sometimes instead of an art history board game, you can substitute a card game and that is what we did.

I love the Professor Noggin games because they contain a wealth of information in an easy to play format and cover a huge variety of topics.

Kids Art History Board Game Ideas

In addition, the games cover nature, science, animals, birds, reptiles, history, and geography.

Today we are going to look closer at Professor Noggin’s History of Art.

Games teach children, critical thinking, curiosity, accepting failure, creativity, innovation, and more.

9 Things to Love About Art History

However, look at these nine things I love about Professor Noggin’s History of Art.

  1. Teach on a specific subject in a fun way.
  2. Are easy to learn and play.
  3. Build observation and memory skills.
  4. Have a quick play time.
  5. Are portable for road trips and waiting at doctors offices/restaurants.
  6. Have a great price point- around $10- $15
  7. Cover an excellent variety of topics- currently 39 titles on their website.
  8. Have two levels of play for players of different skill levels.
  9. Games have a variety of trivia, true or false, and multiple-choice questions.
Kids Art History Board Game Ideas

The only drawback is that they are small games with limited questions.

I like to get as much value out of things as I can so I started thinking of other ways we could use the games beyond their intended use.

First, look at some of these other fun history games.

Fun History Games Resources

Look at them below.

Moreover, Professor Noggin’s History of Art is an easy way to introduce artists and their masterpieces to kids of any age and ability.

Even if you do not know a lot about art, you can learn art history through a game.

Too, when you use this game, you teach so much more than just a particular artist or style of art.

Through art history you learn geography, get a better understanding of various time periods throughout history, improve reading and research skills, and more.

About Professor Noggin’s History of Art Game

However, look first at a few facts about how the game is intended to be played.

Professor Noggin History of Art comes with 30 cards.

The cards contain a famous artwork on one side and 6 questions on the other.

In addition, there are three questions for the younger or newer student and three for older children or more knowledgeable players.

Also, it’s recommended for ages 8 and up.

From this game you will learn about.

  • Famous artists
  • Major art periods
  • Works of Art
  • Art techniques
  • World architecture
Kids Art History Board Game Ideas

Next, look at these there creative and fun ways you can use the game to turn into a learning day.

8 Ways to Use a Art History Game

I have come up with 8 fun and educational additional activities  to do with this art history game to extend the basic game,

1. Get Artsy Fartsy

If you are not using a formal art curriculum, games like this are a great choice.

First, you can choose cards and have your child attempt to recreate the art piece including using the same medium.

These little tubes of acrylic paints really help you feel like an artist.

Next, do an artist study.

Kids Art History Board Game Ideas

However, I also want you to know about this wonderful Art History for Kids curriculum.

2. Do an Artist Study

Randomly choose a card and study that artist for the week.

Focus on their art, techniques, life story, what period or style they were.

Kids Art History Board Game Ideas

Add in this fun book The Story of Paintings.

3. Focus on Art Period Definitions

Additionally, there are plenty of great vocabulary and spelling words to choose from in this game.

Flip through cards to list all the great art periods and list them. Have your child define each one.

4. Guess the Story

Further, have your child write a poem or a story about an art piece before they learn anything about it.

Then check out the real story or at least the name behind it and see how close they were.

5. Reverse Pictionary

Another one is to pull a random card or one of your choosing and describe the photo for your child and have them draw it from your description.

Kids Art History Board Game Ideas

This can end up being funny and entertaining.

6. Teach Geography or World Culture

Also, pull a random card and locate the country on the map where the artist is from as well as the museum where their artwork is displayed.

Kids Art History Board Game Ideas

This scrunch map gets a lot of use as a favorite resource for just about any theme we choose.

7. Place the Cards in Timeline Order

Give your child a stack of 5 random cards and have them lay them out in timeline order.

Kids Art History Board Game Ideas

They either from memory if they can or allow them to research the time periods in a book or online.

8. Host a Fun Share and Tell

Finally, host a share and tell.

Go through the stack of cards with your child.

Each of you choose your favorite artwork, share it and tell why. And you can include extended family members.

Kids Art History Board Game Ideas

Encourage your child to use descriptive words to help strengthen their vocabulary.

What do you think? Ready to turn a game into a fun and full day of learning?

Day 26 Tips for Resistant Learners And New Homeschooler Free Bootcamp

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today is day 26 tips for resistant learners You’ll find the other tips on 31 Day Free Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers.

Channeling a self-willed child is like either hitting a concrete wall or floating along a calm stream.

In my experience, I know that a child alone does not determine whether you hit this wall or float calmly.

Day 26 Tips for Resistant Learners And New Homeschooler Free Bootcamp

Our children, like us, are products of what they have experienced learning to be at this point in their lives. They are a reflection of positive or negative experiences.

I agree that it can be hard to look at the positives of a self-willed child, but we need to understand the difference between a rebel and a resister.

They are not the same.

However I want you to understand that a rebel is somebody that consistently disobeys authority.

Resistant Learners

On the other hand, a resister is somebody who can refrain or just not do something or they may actually just resist you.

Even the most well informed parent has a hard time telling if it’s resistance or rebelliousness.

Take a look at some of these tips to decide which is which and put them in your homeschool arsenal for when you need them:

1) Does your child only express what you think is rebelliousness during school? If so, then it may be resistance no matter how ugly the show down between you and your child was. This tells me that whatever assignment he is doing could be causing some anxiety. Is it too hard? Is he gifted and it’s too easy? Are you presenting curriculum that is hard to learn because it is not his learning style?

On the other hand, if he is rebellious about doing his school, doing chores and is cruel on a daily basis to his siblings and shows disrespect to you as his parent, it may be rebelliousness and not the new homeschool routine. It becomes a case of discipline or parenting

Homeschool Rebels or Resistant Learners

Hear my heart on this. If this is the case, you are not alone.

Some children do grow out of this, but just have a hard time dealing with body changes and hormones.

Don’t be too quick to pin the label rebel on him, but if it does happen, cut back your school to focus on what is important and that is your relationship.

I have found more cases than not, kids are resistant learners.

2) What value is learning if we can’t investigate our interests? Children, like us want to learn about things that interest them too. A child may become self-willed if he was forced to bend to another one’s will or stay in sync to a scope and sequence that was not a good fit. If that force was not motivated by love as it is by parents, then a child might be asking “why risk getting hurt?” Then rebellion sets in and it becomes a battle of the wills. Again, place a precious value on what your child tells you and this helps them to resist the urge to be a rebel.

Too, I’m going to switch gears here on you.

Who is Tina Robertson

But before you can appreciate how I can help you, here are a few things about me. Sure, this free new homeschooler boot camp is all about you.

However, you need to know that I’m not new to the homeschool world.  

It has been several years since I wrote this series and I want to update you on my successes. And I’ve helped HUNDREDS get on the road to homeschooling.

Too, I have 3 homeschooled grads. So I’m well past having my oldest kid being 10 years old.

Day 21 Time Tested Tips For Homeschool And New Homeschooler Free Bootcamp

But the best part is that what I have for you works.

Also, look at a few other things about me.

And I have a detailed self-paced online homeschool Kickstarter course. It is a detailed comprehensive course for first time homeschoolers.

Day 21 Time Tested Tips For Homeschool And New Homeschooler Free Bootcamp

That is enough about me.

Day 21 Time Tested Tips For Homeschool And New Homeschooler Free Bootcamp

New to Homeschooling Start with the Basics

1 – 7 Start with the Homeschool Basics

8-14 Homeschool Organization 101 for Beginners

15 – 21 Best tips for New Homeschoolers Choosing Curriculum

22- 28 Homeschool Preschoolers, Highschoolers, and Resistant Learners

Even if his ideas are far-fetched, he knows you gave him a listening ear.

3.) Boundaries equal limits and children thrive within them. A rebel will push and test the limits. Inconsistent discipline, inconsistent school schedule and inconsistent rules breeds a rebel. All three of these things can be taxing to get a handle on when you’re new to homeschooling.

It is better to do less in the day and keep expectations clear so that you are not frustrating any of your children, than it is to push ahead and then take off days because you are behind.

Consistency, no matter how small keeps mutiny in homeschool to a minimum.

Create boundaries and a few rules so that they are easier to remember. A

flexible, but clear schedule posted in a prominent place helps everybody to see how to get the day started.

We all have buttons that can be pushed, so we need to realize when our resistant learner is pushing them. If you have to postpone correction because our emotional tanks are empty, do so.

When both a child’s and parent’s emotional tanks are empty, this is a collision course and not the best time to correct behavior.

Day 26 Tips for Resistant Learners And New Homeschooler Free Bootcamp

You are not alone. We ALL deal with resistance and rebellion and as long as we’re human we can’t completely eradicate it, but we can cope successfully with it.

Hugs and you know I love ya,

Day 26: Homeschool Rebel or Resister - Are You the Cause? {31 Day Boot Camp For New Homeschoolers on My Blog}

Free Awesome Ancient Greece Lapbook and Fun Hands-on Activities

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

You’ll love my first free Ancient Greece Lapbook. I have many more on my Homeschool Lapbooks page.

But why study Ancient Greece?

Greece has often been called the birthplace of Western civilization.

Many of their thoughts about science, man, and politics are studied today and respected.

Free Awesome Ancient Greece Lapbook and Fun Hands-on Activities

About 2,400 years ago ancient buildings in Greece were shining marble temples dedicated to the gods of Mount Olympus.

And myths were part of the every day of Greeks.

We know about these stories because they have been passed down to us. 

Objectives for Ancient Greece Unit Study

Look at some of these ideas for objectives if you’re preparing a unit study.

  • Compare and contrast features of the Greek city states.
  • Analyze the Spartan way of life.
  • Summarize how democracy worked in ancient Athens.
  • Evaluate cultural ties the Greek people had with one another.

The highest point of this civilization was during the fourth and fifth centuries B.C.E.

It was during this time that the Greeks really flourished.

And they had many great ideas which make it easy to see why they are so important to history.

Many words in the English language today come from the Greeks.

Free Awesome Ancient Greece Lapbook and Fun Hands-on Activities

Besides language, many other discoveries and ideas came from the Greeks including: democracy,
earth science, music, math, sports, and poetry.

More Hands-on History Lapbooks

Also, you’ll love these other history homeschool lapbooks.

Free Awesome Ancient Greece Lapbook and Fun Hands-on Activities

And you can your next history homeschool lapbook with my free ones.

Finally, look below at the minibooks included in the 46 page download.

Free Awesome Ancient Greece Lapbook and Fun Hands-on Activities

More Hands-on Greece Activities for Kids

Ancient Greece Lapbook Minibooks

Also, look at these minibooks and notebooking pages which come in the free download.

  • Severn Wonder of the Ancient World 2 notebooking pages
  • Minibook for Seven Wonders of the World
  • Three beautiful Ancient Greece covers for the outside of your file folder
  • Two Ancient Greece Notebooking Pages
  • Daily Life minibook
  • Geography of Greece
  • Thinkers
  • Vocabulary words
  • Latitude and Longitude
  • Parthenon
  • Tortoise and Hare Notebooking Page
  • Vase Painting
  • 20 page PreK Unit Study about Greece to keep your littles ones learning alongside your big kids.
Free Awesome Ancient Greece Lapbook and Fun Hands-on Activities

How to Get the Free Lapbook 46 page download

Finally, how to grab the free page lapbook and notebooking pages. It’s a subscriber freebie.

 1) Sign up on my list.
2) Grab the freebie now.
3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me!

Geronimo Stilton The Race Against Time Build a Fun Greek Water Clock

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

We are time traveling to Ancient Greece in Geronimo Stilton The Race Against Time The Third Journey Through Time. And we’re building a fun Greek water clock. Be sure to grab more Geronimo Stilton Books ideas and crafts on my page.

Our favorite adventuring mouse gets to wander through Athens in 434 BCE. He meets Xanthippe, the wife of famous philosopher Socrates, and Socrates too.

After exploring the Greek alphabet, he visits The Symposium.

Geronimo Stilton The Race Against Time Build a Fun Greek Water Clock

He is really living his best life, isn’t he?

These books give amazing vocabular and detailed descriptions of clothing for the period.

Geronimo Stilton The Race Against Time The Third Journey Through Time

In addition, they show architecture and important people of the time to give the young reader a fun glimpse into whatever historical era he ends up in.

Geronimo Stilton The Race Against Time Build a Fun Greek Water Clock

Before we make the water clock, look at some of these resources.

Geronimo Stilton The Race Against Time Build a Fun Greek Water Clock

I have many resources to make this wonderful book a full literature unit study.

Ancient Greece Resources

Add these resources to your day to make learning come alive or do a full unit study.

Geronimo Stilton The Race Against Time Build a Fun Greek Water Clock

In addition, I have many crafts to go with some of the books in the Geronimo Stilton series.

Other Geronimo Stilton Chapter Book Activities

Next, look at these other crafts to go with the books.

Then, here are a few more facts about The Greeks.

Geronimo Stilton The Race Against Time Build a Fun Greek Water Clock

Amazing Ancient Greek Facts

  • Roughly one third of Ancient Greeks were slaves.
  • Greeks called themselves Hellenes.
  • The Ancient Greeks invented the Yo-Yo.
  • The Greek alphabet came into being around about 1000 BC.
  • Many Ancient Greeks wore a chito which is a long shirt made from a single large piece of cotton.
  • The Greeks really loved to learn. They felt that learning was one of the best ways you could spend your time.
  • The basic crops that were grown in Ancient Greece were wheat, barley, olives, and grapes.
  • Romans were considered big copycats of the Greeks. They copied a lot of the Greek culture.  Everything from their gods, to architecture, language, and even what and how they ate.

Finally, look below at how to make this fun water clock.

We are going to create our own version of a Greek water clock.

A water clock or clepsydra was used in Ancient Greece to measure time by regulating the flow of water.

As water moved from one vessel to another in a certain period, they measured it.

Water would drip through a hole in the bottom of a filled container into the bottom one.

Often, the bottom container was marked with the hours of the day so that they could tell time by how full the vessel became.

Basically it is an hourglass with water instead of sand to simplify it.

It also happens to be one of the oldest ways to tell time from the ancients.

How to Make an Ancient Greek Water Clock

You will need:

  • Two 16-20 oz. bottles with lids
  • Water
  • A sharpie marker
  • Hot glue or e6000
  • A timer
  • Drill/small drill bit.
Geronimo Stilton The Race Against Time Build a Fun Greek Water Clock

Pull the label off both bottles and wash the bottles well (especially if they were soda bottles).

Remove the caps and drill a small hotel through both caps, in the center, and line them up as close as you can.

Geronimo Stilton The Race Against Time Build a Fun Greek Water Clock

Glue the two caps together, flat top to flat top, take care not to get glue in your holes and plug it up. You can reverse this order if it’s easier to line up the holes after gluing.

Start with 1 cup of water and pour it into one of your bottles, mark the line where the water stops. 

You may want to open the bottle backup and add more later if you want the timer to go longer.

Geronimo Stilton The Race Against Time Build a Fun Greek Water Clock

Screw the glued tops onto the empty bottle and then flip it and screw it onto the bottle with water.

Geronimo Stilton The Race Against Time Build a Fun Greek Water Clock

Get your timer ready, as soon as you flip the bottle and the drops begin to go through, start the timer.

Mark the water line in the bottom bottle at 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc.

Reverse the bottles and do the same on the other side.

Geronimo Stilton The Race Against Time Build a Fun Greek Water Clock

You now have an awesome low tech timer for games, quizzes, or cooking and a little better understanding of how time was kept in Ancient Greece.

What do you think? Ready to make this?

Cute and Simple Snowman Story Stones Winter Art Activities For Preschoolers

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, you’ll love these cute and simple snowman story stones for winter art activities for preschoolers. Grab my other ideas for a winter unit study.

I am all about learning through play as much as possible, especially when it comes to younger children.

Story stones are fantastic tools that can be used to teach your children so many early literacy skills and more.

Cute and Simple Snowman Story Stones Winter Art Activities For Preschoolers

They are inexpensive, easy to store and easy to use.

Too, they offer an open-ended learning experience that has many benefits for young budding readers.

First, in creating the story stones your child gets a chance to express themselves artistically.

In addition, they can work on fine motor skills and hand eye coordination.

Benefits of Storytelling Through Hands On

Then, in the storytelling there is so much that the story stones help build and improve.

For example, communication skills, language skills, listening, vocabulary, memorization, recall, imagination, creativity, and critical thinking.

Story stones also help children express their feelings, thoughts, and ideas.

These open-ended winter themed story stones are sure to spark some fun and interesting tales that will entertain both you and your little one for hours.

You can use these story stones in so many ways to change up the learning.

14 Ways to Use Your Snowman Story Stones Creatively

  • Have your child blindly draw 4 or 5 stones from a bag and tell a story using the prompts on the stone.
  • Ask your child to choose 3 stones for first, next, last and tell you about it.
  • Use the stones for young children to work on positional words. For example, put the hat ON the snowman and put the snowman NEXT to the tree.
  • Draw a simple winter scene on a large piece of construction paper and encourage your child to place some stones around the scene and tell you about it.
  • Place them in their small world or sensory bin play and let creativity take over.
  • Start a story with “once upon a time”, pull a stone and give a couple sentences, the next player pulls a stone and continues the story, repeat.
  • Use in co-op in small group settings, take turns telling a piece of a larger story.
  • Tell a story using the picture prompts, present some sticky situations to your child, like the sun coming out, and ask your child to finish the story with solutions.
  • Use the stones to sort living and nonliving items.
  • Show the pictures on your stone and have your child tell you the beginning letter, sound, how many syllables, etc.

  • In the reverse call out a letter and have your child find a stone that starts with the letter.
  • Choose one stone and ask your child to describe it.
  • Practice writing the words for the pictures on the stones on paper, a chalk or led board.
  • Have your child practice stacking the stones as high as they can to work on fine motor skills and they can tell a story about the objects as they stack as well.
Cute and Simple Snowman Story Stones Winter Art Activities For Preschoolers

Next, look at some more winter unit study activities.

More Winter Unit Study Resources

Look at these other winter unit study resources and more winter art activities for preschoolers.

Too, here are some fun ideas of what to paint on your stones.

Cute and Simple Snowman Story Stones Winter Art Activities For Preschoolers

Of course the best pictures are ones your little ones love, but here are some ideas too.

Winter Art Activities For Preschoolers Storytelling Stones Ideas

  • A frozen pond
  • Snowmen
  • Hats
  • Trees
  • The sun
  • Spring flowers.
  • Animals
  • Childs favorite items like football, doll, bike, etc..
  • Snowflakes
  • A road
  • Letters or numbers
  • Your child’s name

How to Make Snowman Story Stones

You will need:

  • I use acrylic paint /paint pens and sometimes both. Acrylic paint is easy to use, durable, and inexpensive. It is a great choice for this project.
  • Paintbrushes
  • Any matte clear sealing spray or you can brush on a couple coats of modge podge.
Cute and Simple Snowman Story Stones Winter Art Activities For Preschoolers

First, wash and dry your stones well to remove dust and dirt.

I got mine at a local landscape company but you can also find them on Amazon or at craft stores if not in your area.

Draw on your designs with a pencil until you are satisfied with them.

Cute and Simple Snowman Story Stones Winter Art Activities For Preschoolers

Then, use small paint brushes or paint pens to fill in your designs and allow them to dry completely and keep wet q tips on hand to tidy up your lines as needed.

Cute and Simple Snowman Story Stones Winter Art Activities For Preschoolers

You can also use a paint pen.

Cute and Simple Snowman Story Stones Winter Art Activities For Preschoolers

Or fabric paint, these have a great small tip for little hands but do come out thick.

Once the designs are dry spray well with a coat or two of clear sealer to preserve them or alternatively you can use paint on modge podge to seal.

Cute and Simple Snowman Story Stones Winter Art Activities For Preschoolers

Let dry according to directions on the can.

Store the story stones in a pretty basket on a low shelf to invite your curious creative little ones to use them.