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Ancient Greek Theatre Mask – Easy Hands-on History

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Our Ancient Greece unit study had a huge stop/start gap because we packed and moved back from South America, but we are winding it down finally.

Ancient Greek Theatre Mask - Easy Hands-on History @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Before we do though, we added one more fun easy hands-on history activity, which is an Ancient Greek theatre mask.

Hands-on Ancient Greek Drama

Tiny looked through the book TOOLS OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS: A Kid’s Guide to the History & Science of Life in Ancient Greece (Build It Yourself), which has been a huge help in finding activities for middle and high school kids and not so babyish.

Too, it was a good time to time talk about Ancient Greece drama.

Quoting from the book, TOOLS OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS: A Kid’s Guide to the History & Science of Life in Ancient Greece (Build It Yourself), “Drama included performances of tragedies, which often told stories of the mythical past, and comedies, in which performers poked fun at politicians, famous people, and even the gods.”

Tiny decided to make an easy Ancient Greek mask focusing on comedy.

Easy Greek Mask 1

So we gathered up what we had at home. Look at this list of things to gather.

  • pencil
  • cardboard or paper plates
  • paints, chalk pastels, sharpies
  • scissors
  • DAS Air Hardening Modeling Clay
  • your choice of yarn or paper to curl for hair and/or sequins or whatever you have around the house to decorate your mask
  • the red tie ribbon came off a used gift bag

Tiny started by drawing an oval on the cardboard to give the mask a shape to work with.

Easy Greek Mask 2

Then he started flattening the clay and using the clay to mold the face. The clay dries pretty quick, which is one reason he loves this clay.

Too, you could paint it or use a sharpie or even use chalk pastels. If you decide to use paper plates, then one suggestion in the book said to glue the paper plates back to back. Then, make one side comedy and the other side tragedy.

Easy Greek Mask 3

After Tiny finished the face, he added chalk pastels and sharpies along with red cheeks to make his face comical.

Ancient Greek Theatre Mask - Easy Hands-on History @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Adding a red ribbon or two and he was ready for drama. Tiny really enjoyed this activity and it was a great way to learn a few facts like:

  • drama is a Greek word meaning “action”
  • tragedy is a play that usually depicts events from a mythical past and that often ends sadly
  • comedy is a play that makes the audience laugh by poking fun at politicians, famous people, and even the gods

Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

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Top 10 Free Popular Homeschool History Printables

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Today, I wanted to share with you what my readers love here when it comes to history printables. Be sure you have grabbed all of these top 10 free popular homeschool history printables.

With all the free printables I have created, the number one spot goes to the What is History minibook on the Ancient Civilization Unit Study page.

Top 10 Popular Free History Printables @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

The number two spot or printable is ironically on the same page, Ancient Civilization Unit Study and it is the free Mesopotamia Cover sheet.

Essential Homeschool History Printables

Fast forward quite a few years and the third spot is my Lewis and Clark Unit Study and Lapbook. (Note: This was free for a limited time.)

Still moving forward to modern history, you are really loving the Titanic timeline printable, which came in fourth place.

In fifth place, we go back in time again and this time the Ancient Greece Geography minibook got fifth place.

Taking sixth place is Hammurabi from Babylon, which is another printable from the ancients on the Ancient Civilization Unit Study .

Coming in at seventh place, eighth and ninth place are all printables from my Egypt unit study which too are all from the Ancient Civilization Unit Study .

Egypt Map
Egypt  Famous Queens
Egypt Pharoahs and Queens Front Page

Finally, rounding out the top 10 popular history printables on my site is the Westward Expansion timeline on my Westward Ho Unit study and Lapbook.

I love getting a peek into what rocks your homeschool world, but more than anything it shows me what you use and love here so that I can continue adding more history printables for you.

Did your favorites make the list? What are you favorite homeschool history printables here? What would you like to see more of? (ok, it doesn’t hurt to ask)

Check out these other articles:
How to Use a History Spine to Build Your Study of History
8 Ways to Teach Homeschool History Other Than Chronologically.
How to Teach History in 14 Lessons (From Daunting to Doable)

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

3 Fun History Sites for Homeschooled High School Teens

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3 Free History Websites for Homeschooled High School Kids @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Earlier I shared 5 Free History Websites for Middle School Kids and today I am sharing 3 fun history sites to kick off the new year for your highschooler.

You know how easy it is to find activities for your kids in Kindergarten. And then it seems like when they hit the upper grades and especially highschool that learning is suppose to somehow get less — well– fun.

No way, if I have something to say about it. Look at these three websites below, which I rounded up for high school teens.

artifacts

I am excited about finding this site because I had shared a post earlier, 7 Things to Try When a Homeschool History Curriculum Isn’t Coming Together (Hint: Try a Primary Source or Two) because studying the way people lived and the objects they used everyday is intriguing and engaging.

Leave boring behind when you study primary sources.

The information from the site: This site presents a strategy for incorporating historical artifacts and documents into the teaching of U.S. history. Designed as a companion to the Advanced Placement Program U.S. History course, it is also effective in any instructional setting that emphasizes analytical thinking and writing.

crash

This next site is on YouTube and is called Crash Course. It is just what it says. Quick and fun crash course on many different topics.

Though it has all kinds of interesting topics, it has world history and American history that make learning history far from boring.

Tiny likes the fact that it is quick and I love the fact that it gives a sweeping overview and can introduce your teen to history topics he may not be aware of or just to be sure he has been introduced to major events.

civics

This next site is a complete fit for teens, which generally don’t mind arguing. Let them use all their prowess on this site.

From the site:

Our educational resources empower teachers and prepare the next generation of students to become knowledgeable and engaged citizens.

Founded and led by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, iCivics provides students with the tools they need for active participation and democratic action, and teachers with the materials and support to achieve this. Our free resources include print-and-go lesson plans, award-winning games, and digital interactives.

The iCivics games place students in different civic roles and give them agency to address real-world problems and issues. They are rooted in clear learning objectives and integrated with lesson plans and support materials.

Mark these and grab them. And you know as I find them, I share them with you too.

Also, you’ll love these other ideas:

Hugs and love ya,

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Snack Like They Did In Ancient Greece – Make Baklava (Delicious)

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Make delicious baklava when studying about Ancient Greece @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Moving on to our next hands-on activity for our newest unit study which is Ancient Greece, we decided to look for something “delicious” to do.

We also have the book, TOOLS OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS: A Kid’s Guide to the History & Science of Life in Ancient Greece (Build It Yourself), which is fantastic for hands-on ideas.

Tiny was reading about what the Greeks snacked on and some of the foods are still with us today.

Learning that the Ancient Greeks rolled out pastry real thin and made Spanakopita (spinach pie) or Baklava, we decided to try out a new recipe.

Deciding that Baklava sounded better to make because it would give us a sugar high, we opted to make it.

Baklava is a dessert made with phyllo, walnuts and honey.

I will warn you though that if you are a foodie blogger you might cringe at our substitutions and make do ingredients.

Living here in Ecuador some ingredients like phyllo dough are not even obtainable.

I read in one place on the internet when we were looking for a simple recipe that you shouldn’t even make it if you don’t have phyllo pasty dough. I am sure I am doing some awful foodie injustice.

Good thing I am not a foodie blogger because I would be fired from the hall of foodie fame deliciousness because we did substitute and make do with what we had.

Did I mention it came out super good and we had a ton of fun in the process?

Check out the ingredient list:

■phyllo pastry dough OR make it like we did. I used this easy recipe from Living in the Pie Life
■I had about 2 cups of walnuts at the house, but we could have easily used more.■About a teaspoon of cinnamon.
■We had some local honey – a small jar.
■Couple of sticks of butter melted.
■3/4 cup of sugar.
■vanilla extract to taste.

1 Baklava  2 Baklava

We made a well for our dough and added in all the ingredients.

We were so focused on getting this dough “right” that we forgot a few pictures.

But it came out perfect for us. We allowed the dough to “rest” and while it rested, we crushed the walnuts in a ziploc bag.

Then Tiny mixed the cinnamon in with the walnuts in a bowl and set it aside.

We also melted butter in a bowl and set it aside.

3 Baklava  4 Baklava

Our dough was less than perfect, but Tiny was pleased with it and so he started rolling it out.

We buttered every layer and that gave it tons of that light feeling and sweet layers. Butter fixes everything.

5 Baklava  6 Baklava

So he rolled out one piece of the dough and brushed with butter. Then he spread some of the walnut and cinnamon mixture on top.

He did that for a couple of layers. After that I cut through and made the diagonal slits.

7 Baklava  8 Baklava

While it was baking, we warmed some local organic honey and vanilla in a sauce pot.

After our baklava was baked, we let it cool down just a minute.

9 Baklava 10 Baklava

Then Tiny spooned the delicious honey sauce over the baklava and allowed the sauce to soak through.

Tiny shocked himself because  our make do baklava was absolutely delicious with crusty and sweet layers.

It was a fun way to read some about what the Ancient Greeks ate and try a dessert too.

12 Baklava

Hugs and love ya,

Tina Signature 2015c

 

Free Printable History Board Game American History Through the Life of Wyatt Earp

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

I have a free printable history board game. Also, look at Free American History Lapbook The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp.

Instead of writing about so many events in American history, which can be boring if you are not focusing on some action packed event.

So, I created a free history board game when learning about events through the life of Wyatt Earp.

Free Printable History Board Game American History Through the Life of Wyatt Earp

Of course, when I can’t find exactly what I want, I make it for you and me.

Like I mentioned before in another post, Wyatt Earp has been the perfect American history character to focus on when I needed quite a few events to introduce to Tiny or at least make him aware of them.

Hands-on History

From The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper to The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe to music, from the American Civil War to the First World War, from art to the idea of Manifest Destiny, Earp’s life spanned so many key events in American History.

Game Cards - Pieces - American History through the life of Wyatt Earp @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
Playing American History Board Game @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

We have literally been overwhelmed with so many rabbit trails we wanted to take.

So just to be sure Tiny has a good introduction to a lot of them, I created the board game along with playing cards.

And as your child plays the game, they are introduced to some events on the board game and others on the playing cards.

If your child lands on the star, then take one of the playing cards, follow the instructions and return it to the deck. If he lands on a yellow space, just follow the instructions.

This is a fun way to introduce a wide range of things that Wyatt Earp would have probably learned about during his lifetime.

Though he has already graduated, Mr. Awesome is still sweet enough to play with Tiny.

Learning American History Game through the Life of Wyatt Earp @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Just don’t do like us. Tiny got so excited that they printed the game off on regular paper instead of card stock paper.

Free Printable History Board Game

Too, like my French Revolution free printable history board game, I made the game really big, BUT you can print it out on regular size paper or print it poster size (4 separate pages under your print settings). We printed it on 4 pages this time.

Here are some of the resources we used too in this unit study.

MORE ACTIVITIES FOR LEARNING ABOUT WYATT EARP AND THE COWBOYS

HOW TO GET THE FREE WYATT EARP LAPBOOK, NOTEBOOKING PAGES & BOARD GAME

Update: The lapbook is now complete. Download all the freebies below.

  • Art cards by Frederic Remington about Wyatt Earp
  • Cover pages for the outside of notebooking pages 1800s and 1900s. Look here how to fold ordinary worksheets to interactive minibooks.
  • 8 Features of the SW United States
  • The 4 Southwestern states
  • American History during the Life of Wyatt Earp 1800s notebooking page
  • American History during the Life of Wyatt Earp 1900s notebooking pages
  • Who was Wyatt Earp
  • Who were the Cowboys
  • Who Was Doc Holliday
  • Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Tombstone, Arizona – About Tombstone – Ed Schieffelin
  • Printable Game with Game Pieces – The Most Famous Shoot Out – Gunfight at O.K. Corral

Now, how to grab the free lapbook. This is 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!