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Hands-On History: Make a Coat of Arms Activity (Middle Ages History)

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Written by Selena at Look! We’re Learning!

I’m extremely fascinated by the Middle Ages. I know that the reality of that time was far less romantic than novels and films make it seem, but the castles and the jousting tournaments and the costumes are just wonderful to think of.

In those years (and in the years since), royal and noble families have had a coat of arms to show what they’ve accomplished in their history. And, while the coat of arms is often associated with Medieval Europe, it’s actually been used all over the world – from China to Senegal.

To learn more about how these designs were used and passed down through families, we decided to make our own coat of arms! See how you can do the same for a hands-on history lesson!

Hands-On History: Make a Coat of Arms

A coat of arms is a special design made for a distinguished person or family. The design varies, depending on the family’s (or person’s) accomplishments, titles, and positions.

Each part of the coat of arms actually has a name. The top third is called the “field” and the bottom two-thirds is called the “escutcheon”, which is actually a small shield within the larger shield.

Everything on a coat of arms is significant and meaningful. The colors, symbols, choice of animals, patterns, and designs can all denote something different.

The design of a coat of arms can vary greatly, according to family or country. For example, this is the coat of arms of the country of Botswana.

Coat of arms of Botswana

Now compare that one to this one that belongs to the Duke of Westminster.

Coat of Arms of the Duke of Westminster without Order of Garter

There’s a lot going on there, right?

For our coat of arms, we went with a much, much simpler design, but it incorporates some of the significant colors, symbols, and patterns we read about.

To do the activity yourself, you’ll need the following:

Simple Coat of Arms Activity

Start by printing out the coat of arms and the animal symbols.

Coat of Arms Printable Craft

I didn’t have white cardstock, so I printed ours on a white piece of printer paper and then glued it on the grey cardstock we had. Then we cut it out.

If you have white cardstock, you can skip that step and just print the coat of arms directly on that.

Making a Coat of Arms

Now, it’s time to choose your animal symbols! I only included four in this printable, but there are truly scores of different animals that have been used on coats of arms through the years. And they all have a different meaning.

The animals in the printable mean the following:

  • Griffin – means valor & bravery
  • Pegasus – means poetic genius (as an English major, I had to include that one)
  • Horse – means ready for battle
  • Bird – means peace & affection
Creating a Coat of Arms

Then it was time to choose our coat of arms colors! As we learned, blue means truth & loyalty, so we colored the “field” blue.

Choosing Animals for a Coat of Arms

Then we added our animals.

Choosing Colors for a Coat of Arms

And we surrounded them with orange, which means “worthy ambition & work”. Also because it looked cool.

DIY Coat of Arms Craft

Finally, we learned that furs denoted nobility, so you could add a fur-like pattern to your coat of arms to show that you were of the upper class of society. One of those fur patterns was white with black spots – like a Dalmatian. We went with that.

As I kept looking at it, though, it just didn’t look right. Then it hit me! The animals are supposed to be facing each other!

Finished Coat of Arms Craft

Ahhhh….that’s better! Be sure to print both pages of the animal symbols so that you can choose two animals that will face one another on the coat of arms.

This was so neat to do! We didn’t know that the coat of arms was so full of meaning, so this was a great hands-on lesson to learn about that.

Looking for an easy hands-on middles ages history activity? Your kids will love making their own coat of arms. Scoot by and download the activity at Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus!

Check out these other hands-on history projects kids can do!

Hands-On Geography Activity: Make a Pangaea Puzzle

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

Today, I have a hands on geography activity which is a pangaea puzzle printable.Too, look at my page Homeschool Geography for hands-on and simple ideas and tips.

When you look at a map of the world, what do you see?

Probably the continents and the ocean, right? But historians think that a long, long time ago (millions of years ago, in fact), the continents didn’t exist. Instead, there was one super continent of land on Earth.

They’ve even given that supercontinent a name – Pangaea.

Hands-On Geography Activity: Make a Pangaea Puzzle

Looking at a world map, you can see why their theory makes sense. South America’s east coast does look like it could have fit up against the continent of Africa.

And Europe does look like it could have fit up against the eastern coast of North America at some time in the past.

To help the kids visualize this idea, we decided to make a simple Pangaea puzzle activity. That way, we could move the pieces of this supercontinent around to see how they would have fit together all those years ago.

See how to make this activity with your kids!

Hands-On Geography: Make a Pangaea Puzzle

Pangaea continents.png

To get a picture of how the continents we know today may have originally fit together, take a look at this illustration of Pangaea.

Pangaea Puzzle Activity

Of course, the actual borders of these continents are different in real life, but as the supercontinent broke up, historians think that some of the land in between formed the islands that dot the oceans in our day. Neat!

To make the Pangaea puzzle activity, you’ll need the following supplies:

Making a Pangaea Puzzle
Making a Pangaea Puzzle Activity
Cutting Out Pieces of a Pangaea Puzzle
Assembling a Pangaea Puzzle

Glue one copy of the Pangaea map to a piece of construction paper.

Piecing Together a Pangaea Puzzle

This will serve as your puzzle template. From the second copy of the map, cut out the land as one whole piece. Then cut the pieces apart.

Homeschool Geography

I used the black lines as general guides, but you could really cut them into whatever shapes you choose. No one is really sure how they looked as they separated, anyway.Then, let the kids practice putting the pieces together to form the complete supercontinent!

This was such a cool lesson! You can laminate the puzzle pieces if you want them to last longer or you can print them on cardstock. Just store them in a plastic resealable bag when you’re not using them.

If you love hands-on geography, your kids will love some of my favorite hands-on geography programs:

North Star Geography is a love of mine for teaching geography at the middle and high school levels to keep learning hands-on. I prefer the digital format so that we can take it with us.

And if you love learning geography through literature, look at another one of my favorites from Beautiful Feet books which is Geography through Literature.

When you look at a map of the world, what do you see? Probably the continents and the ocean, right? But historians think that a long, long time ago (millions of years ago, in fact), the continents didn't exist. Instead, there was one supercontinent of land on Earth. They've even given that supercontinent a name - Pangaea.

As the kids become more familiar with the parts of Pangaea, you can challenge them to try to trace the modern continents as they appear today on the puzzle pieces.

Then see if they can cut those out to form a current world map, complete with all the continents and a few islands!

See more fun ways to teach geography with hands-on projects below!

Fall Y’all:Pumpkin Pie in a Bag (Easy Homeschool Co-op Idea)

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

Fall is always one of our favorite times of the years. With the falling temperature and days getting shorter, I just had to show you another fun and easy activity we’ve done.

This pumpkin pie in a bag is not only a hit with the kids, it’s delicious, and is so easy to make.

You can just hand it over to your kids. And it’s a great activity to do with a fall unit study. Most of the ingredients you probably already have on hand.

EASY HOMESCHOOL COOP IDEA

But why in a bag? I originally had this recipe so that we could do this with a crowd of kids in a co-op setting.

The bags used in this recipe are thrown away to make clean up easy and that means you only need minimal supplies to take to the co-op.

Too, because it makes a lot, you can easily line up 10 to 20 paper cups and build the pie in the cups.

If you’re at home, you can use bowls to mix it.

We didn’t want to clean any bowls, so we stuck to the easy ziploc bags.

Look at this list of ingredients:

  • 1 big can of pumpkin.
  • 2 2/3 cold milk. We poured some in a measuring cup and stuck it in the freezer while we got the rest of the ingredients ready.
  • 2 boxes of instant vanilla pudding mix. This is the secret to making it sweet.
  • 2 gallon ziploc bags.
  • Graham crackers.
  • Butter.
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
  • Then your choice to add ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.
  • We used 4 glass ramekins to have big individual pies.
  • whipped topping of course.

The list is really short and it doesn’t take too long to whip this together.

Empty the pudding mix and cold milk in the gallon size Ziploc bag.

Let your kids work out their frustration for the day by mixing and kneading the mixture in the bag until combined.

Next, add the pumpkin.

We also added a teaspoon of cinnamon and some nutmeg.

We’re not too crazy over here about ginger, but you can add about 1/2 teaspoon of it too. Just add whatever your family likes.

Just keep combining until the pudding, pumpkin, and spices are combined.

Next, grab a package of graham crackers to make the pie base. We just rolled it out until it was crushed pretty well.

We decided to add some melted butter to bind it and add some moisture.

Besides a bit of butter doesn’t hurt anything. We combined the butter with the crumbs right in the bag.

PUMPKIN IN A BAG

After the pumpkin pie mixture and crumb crust are combined, you’re ready to begin building your pumpkin pie.

Using a 1/4 cup plastic measuring cup, we divided out the mixture for the 4 ramekins.

Using the back of the plastic measuring cup, we pressed the crumbs down and packed it well.

Next, cut off one corner of the bag and squeeze it into each ramekin.

Smooth the top with a plastic knife, add just delicious whip cream and it’s ready!

We put ours in the refrigerator for a bit, but either way, it’s just delicious and fun to make.

Fall Y'all. This is a fun activity for a homeschool co-op. Make pumpkin pie in a bag. Scoot by and see how to make this EASY activity. Your kids will love it. Click here! #pumpkin #homeschool

This is a fun way to welcome fall. And I know your kids will love it.Also, you may like to read these other fun fall posts!

Hugs and love ya,

Easy Hands-On Science: Label the Atom Playdough Activity

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

Today, I have an atom playdough activity.

This year, we’ve been learning some introductory physics with our fourth-grader. And you can’t talk about physics without mentioning the atom.

Atoms are all around us.

They’re even inside us!

Easy Hands-On Science: Label the Atom Playdough Activity

When my son learned that everything in the universe is made up of atoms, he was amazed.

But that led to more questions, such as “What are atoms made of?”

Which is how we ended up learning more about the parts of the atom through this fun label the atom playdough activity!

Pick up the free printable diagram and see how to complete this hands-on science lesson with your kids too!

Hands-On Science: Label the Atom Playdough Activity

To complete this label the atom playdough activity, you’ll need the following:

  • Printer
  • Laminator
  • Assorted playdough (at least three colors)
  • Printable Atom Diagram Playdough Mat (Download this image and then print it as is to make it a full-size printable.)
  • Mini sticky notes
Atom Playdough Mat

The playdough mat shows a basic diagram of an atom, complete with three electrons moving around the nucleus.

Inside the nucleus are two protons (designated with the positive sign) and two neutrons.

Of course, this is a very simplified diagram.

Scientists now know that electrons travel around the nucleus so quickly that they actually tiny electron “clouds”!

Making a Playdough Atom Diagram

After printing and laminating the atom diagram, you can start having the kids add small balls of playdough to fill in the picture.

We started by adding three electrons with green playdough.

Learning about Parts of an Atom

Then we added two red neutrons inside the nucleus.

MORE FOURTH GRADE HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES

Making an Atom Diagram Out of Playdough

And, finally, two protons made out of blue playdough.

Labeling Parts of an Atom

Now it’s time to label each part of the atom!

We added mini sticky notes to each item on the mat and then labeled them all.

Playdough Atom Labeling Activity

Electrons were first, then the nucleus.

Then we labeled the protons.

Labeling a Playdough Atom

And the neutrons.

Learning About Atoms with Playdough

And we’re done!

This was a quick activity that really helped the kids visualize what’s inside an atom.

It’s truly incredible to know that the movement of the atom is what makes up matter inside and around us.

It’s also neat to discover that atoms are in constant motion, even inside solid objects!

Items that appear to be stable are only stable because the atoms that make them up move super duper slowly.

Easy hands-on science: Label the Atom Playdough Activity

But they’re still moving. The chairs at your dining room table? Yep, the atoms inside are in motion.

The foundation of your house? Its atoms are moving too!

This year, we've been learning some introductory physics with our fourth-grader. And you can't talk about physics without mentioning the atom.Atoms are all around us. They're even inside us! When my son learned that everything in the universe is made up of atoms, he was amazed. But that led to more questions, such as "What are atoms made of?" Click here to make this fun and easy hands-on activity!

If you want to try this activity without playdough, you can print it out and have the kids color it in with markers and then label each item on their own.

Or you can challenge them to draw a similar design themselves!

Ready to share more hands-on science lessons with your kids? Try these fun activities!

Hands-On Geography: Australia Awesome and Deadly Animal Art

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

For years now, we have completed “continent studies” and hands-on geography as a way to learn more about our world and it’s geography as we homeschool. Too, look at my page Homeschool Geography for hands-on and simple ideas and tips.

The truth is: it was so much easier to do this when they were younger. I selected books from the library, we looked at the pictures of different dwellings and foods, and we colored in maps.

But my boys are older now. The same approach no longer keeps anyone interested for very long (including me!).

In order to keep them engaged and increasing in their overall level of knowledge, I decided it was time for a change.

This year, my boys are each “in charge” of their own continent for a more in depth study. Each month, they pick a topic to cover from their continent and “teach” each other about it.

My youngest chose Australia for his study this year without a second thought.

For his first presentation, he asked me to help him put together a presentation on Australia’s deadly creatures, because animals and danger – I am not sure I need to say more.

See how we used this hands-on Australia unit to study the continent’s awesome and deadly animals!

Hands-On Australia: Awesome and Deadly Animals

You see, I remember being in middle school. I remember preparing presentations to deliver in front of the class.

I remember listening to my friends. As much stress as it caused, I have to admit, I really learned from “teaching back” activities. I want my boys, despite being in a “classroom” of two, to experience the same.

And that’s why this hands-on activity was such a good way for us to learn about geography together!

What You Need:

My son began his research at the library, checking out various books on Australia in general, and a few on the animals themselves. For further investigation, we also watched a YouTube video and looked at various pictures of aboriginal art online.

More Hands-on Australia Activities

Then it was time to get started.

Hands-On Australia Activity

Cutting Out Australian Animal Templates

Our first step was cutting out the templates. We then used them to trace animal outlines onto black construction paper.Then we cut out the traced forms of the jellyfish, shark and snake.

Deadly Australian Animal Templates

(Incidentally, if I could do it all over again, I would eliminate the tracing portion and just have my son use the templates to paint. Cutting each animal out twice was far more scissor action than either of us have seen in a long time.)Next, he glued the black deadly creatures onto brown construction paper backdrops.

Decorating Australian Animals with Paint
Making an Australian Animal Display Board

This color scheme is consistent with what we learned about aboriginal art.Taking the q-tips and the paint with us outside, he carefully “dot painted” each of the black forms, true to aboriginal tradition. The Q-tips make perfect paint brushes and are easy to clean up!

Q Tip Painted Australian Snake

The more my son painted, the more excited he became.

Q-tip dot painting is really easy, even for children with fine motor differences or those who get a little perfectionistic with their art projects.

It looks wonderful, even if the artist struggles a bit with steadiness.

Australian Deadly Animals List

When all three had dried, he attached them to the poster board.

Giving a Report about Deadly Australian Animals

At the last minute, he also decided to add a “cheat sheet” with facts he wanted to share about the different animals (printable) as well as a list of Australia’s Top 10 Deadliest as learned from the video and books.Once his presentation was assembled, his brother and I sat down and he taught us more about Australia’s Box Jellyfish than we ever thought possible!

He did a great job and I had a lot of fun working with him on this project.

If you love hands-on geography, your kids will love some of my favorite hands-on geography programs:

Overview of Activity:

Step 1: Trace and cut-out deadly creatures on black construction paper.
Step 2: Attach to brown construction paper background.
Step 3: “Dot paint” black areas with various colors.
Step 4: Create list and fact sheet about Australia’s deadly creatures.
Step 5: Attach all to posterboard and teach what you’ve learned.

Learning about continents is a way to learn more about our world and its geography as we homeschool. This Australia awesome and deadly animal art activity is not only fun but it gives kids a chance to learn about science too. Click here to do this fun activity if you’re doing a unit study about Australia.

Overall, this hands-on activity worked well for us. It incorporated in a different culture’s art and allowed my son to really dive deep into a subject he is already incredibly passionate about. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next!

Learn more about the countries of the world with the hands-on geography activities below!

Written by Shawna at Not the Former Things.