History Resources

Hands-on Ancient Babylon: Hanging Gardens Fun Activity

October 16, 2018 | Leave a Comment
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Hands-on Ancient Babylon Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Known as one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were thought to have been a showpiece in the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire and built by King Nebuchadnezzar. But there is some debate among scholars if it really even existed or it was just a fable or who actually built it. While some historians believe that the gardens towered hundreds of feet in the air while others believe it was much smaller, there is also some debate on just exactly where the gardens were located.

It is said that the gardens were built to help Nebuchadnezzar’s wife Amytis get over her homesickness. She was from a region that was green and mountainous and very much unlike the flat land of Mesopotamia. Again, there is some disagreement here. Some believe that the queen Sammu-ramat who ruled after Nebuchadnezzar was responsible for the gardens instead.

They were built with layered platforms of stone and filled with trees, hanging plants, and flowers. The gardens are thought to have disappeared during an earthquake and we do not have any physical confirmed evidence of their existence but there are varied accounts of them throughout history and foundation vaults and chambers were located near the palace by archeologists that could support their location.

This is a great hands-on project for children from middle elementary up through high school and can be done while you read about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. It can be made as simple or as elaborate a project as you wish.

To make your own Hanging Gardens of Babylon you will need the following items:

A floral foam block
Cream or tan craft paint
Play sand
Tools-wooden skewer, spoon, wooden craft sticks,etc..
Small silk flowers, real flower cuttings, greenery
Tacky craft glue
Knife/cutting board
Paint brush

I was able to pick up all of our items at our local Dollar Tree and some we had on hand with plenty of leftovers for another project. This makes it a really inexpensive way to get some hands-on learning.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon Hands-on History

Start by cutting floral foam block into 3 pieces of graduating size, so that your layers when stacked leave a ledge on each one. For little ones you can let them cut their own foam with a wooden craft stick or even a plastic knife (the foam is soft and easy to work with). Press a skewer down through the center to secure them together. We will trim it later.

It is very simple to add foam pieces together and make this project as large as you like. We stuck with a small tabletop version so that everyone could make their own to enjoy looking at.

Search for photos of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon online to use as a reference and leave it open as your child works. We looked up several sites to get a clear picture of what they are believed to have looked like. Use your tools to carve out windows, doors, columns, steps, etc. in the foam, this is a great medium for carving. Our preferred tool was a wooden skewer because it gives great detail.

Brush away any excess foam in your carving with a soft paint brush to give it clean sharp lines. If you use something too stiff it will wear away more of your foam. You could also blow it clean with canned air if you like.

Hands-on History: Ancient Civilizations

Mix cream or tan craft paint with a couple teaspoons of play sand. We are going to create a texture that is similar to bricks or stone on our tower. Paint your structure all over, be sure to get some inside your carved areas. Allow to dry for 2- 3 hours, or until completely dry to the touch.

Place on a plate or other flat surface in a small bed of play sand. Lift up your top most layer and snip off the skewer, leaving enough that the top piece remains secured.

Begin decorating by laying moss all over the levels, letting it hang down randomly and securing with glue as you go. Press the plastic end of small flowers, greenery, and even small pieces of aquarium plants into the foam to make your gardens lush and exotic looking. Secure your plants with glue if you feel like they need a little more anchoring.

Imagine the beauty that must have been there as they walked throughout the various levels, the exotic scents and sounds.

Also, I wanted to let you know about this. If you’re looking for more hands-on history, we love using Home School in the Woods.

We added a few blue pebbles at the bottom for water. This is an ideal time to talk about the watering system they were believed to have used on the gardens- a series of waterways to deliver water to the top that then cascaded downwards, very similar to Archimedes Screw.

You’ll love these other hands-on Ancient Civilizations fun activities:

STEM and Geography: How to Build an Ancient Viking Ship

October 9, 2018 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

As we’ve begun our history lessons this year, Exploration through the Revolutionary War, we’ve been learning so much about early explorers such as the Vikings. From reading fun books to STEM projects, this Viking Unit gave us a vast insight to where exploration began and helped set the stage for the Age of Exploration. Studying the Vikings is not a standard that is mandated by our state, but I still wanted the kids to be interested in these explorers who were instrumental in changing the world.There are many options for studying about the Vikings, but my love for hands-on learning drove me to find STEM projects to keep my engineering minded kids engaged. Since geography and map skills are important standards to be covered, I made sure to include map activities as well.I decided to begin our history journey with the Vikings this year, and was able to create a fun, engaging unit in the process!

Hands-On Viking Unit: Geography

To do this activity you will need the following materials:

books about the Vikings (“You Wouldn’t Want to be a Viking Explorer”, “National Geographic Kids Everything Vikings”, Viking (DK Eyewitness Books))
blue poster board
reference map of the Viking routes
pencil
black fine tipped marker
orange/red/green paint
viking ship pattern

You also may want to have something to cover your table during this project. I like to use Rosen paper from Home Depot. It’s durable enough to withhold spills and can be reused for other art projects.

Using a pencil in case of mistakes, we drew out the shapes of the countries onto the blue poster board. When we were satisfied with our outline, we went over it with the black tipped marker.We then painted the countries to represent the Viking’s homeland and their settlements. We made a map key and labeled each country.To get some writing into this activity, I had the kids write down some facts about the Vikings on ship templates. Then we glued them around the poster board.Because I have engineering minded kids, it’s really hard to not do a whole unit without a STEM project. To tie a little science into this history unit, we also completed a Viking Ship STEM challenge. An important aspect to this challenge is researching the history and the anatomy of a Viking ship. It was important for the kids to realize how the environment and the purpose of the ships affected the way they were designed.

Not only were Vikings barbaric warriors, they also had a mind for engineering. They truly understood how to mold their engineering designs to fit their need of plundering, raiding and invading their neighbors! Their ships were such a great design that it’s still in use today!

Hands On Viking Unit: STEM

Hands-On Viking Unit: STEM and Geography

To do this activity you will need the following materials:

an image of the anatomy of a Viking ship (there are many resources on the internet. Just google it.)
paper and pencil
ruler
8 popsicle sticks
2 straws
1 piece of card stock
2 strips of duct tape
stick of modeling clay
hot glue
scissors
markers or paint

The very first step of any type of STEM project should be the blueprint. After researching and observing the design of a Viking ship, the kids determined how they could use the materials to build their own.

I made sure they drew out their ship, carefully labeling the materials they would use as the parts of their ships.

Next, the kids used the hot glue to build up the design of their ship.With the card stock, markers, straws, and modeling clay, the kids designed their own sails.Because the Vikings didn’t have a lot of materials in which to choose, I made sure to limit the amount of materials available to build the ships. The kids got very creative in designing. Another thing I really like to do with STEM projects is to let the kids come up with their own ideas and designs. I only give hints or ideas when I see them becoming frustrated.

Hands-On Viking Unit: STEM and Geography

After building, the kids tested out their design. This is a very important step and one of the most fun! After careful observation, the kids could see what parts of their ship needed modification.

Also, you’ll love the hands-on ideas from Home School in the Woods.

Helpful Hints

To build the hull, use popsicle sticks and hot glue. Make the bow tall enough so water won’t submerge and sink the ship. The bow and stern should be the same height since Viking designed their ships to travel either way.
For the keel, use more popsicle sticks to create and place on the underside of the hull. This should run from bow to stern. The keel counteracts the side to side motion of the ship. Test in water before proceeding.
Use a straw and card stock to build a sail and mast. Use modeling clay to attach the mast to the hull.
Add ballast if the ship needs more weight. Small amounts of modeling clay works well.
Keep modifying! Use a hair dryer to test your ship during a storm. A rudder may be needed to keep the ship on course.

Look at these other awesome hands-on ideas for studying Ancient Civilizations:

The BEST Viking Unit Study for Homeschooled Kids

October 3, 2018 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

The fierce Norseman or Vikings came from what we now know as Scandinavia or Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. An ancient Viking unit study makes for a fascinating study for kids of all ages.

Ancient Vikings Unit Study

Vikings prospered in Scandinavia from about 800 AD to 1066 AD. From their homes in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, the Norsemen (Northmen) explored much of the northern hemisphere between Europe and North America. A Germanic people, the Vikings had a great love of adventure.

Ancient Civilizations

Vikings became infamous for sacking villages and towns, destroying churches, and easily defeating smaller armies in their search for new avenues of trade and the spoils of war.Fearless warriors and superb shipbuilders, Vikings left their mark on Europe, Asia, Iceland, Greenland, and North America before they were absorbed into European Civilization.

Viking lands

Viking civilization began in the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, but in the nearly 300 years of their power they traveled to and traded with many distant lands. They also created settlements in England, Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, and other countries.

Viking Expansion Watch a short video about Viking exploration.
Viking Settlements Learn which countries the Vikings settled in outside of Scandinavia.
Life in Viking Settlements Learn what life was like in a Viking settlement.
Viking Houses See the types of houses Vikings lived in.

Viking Society

Viking society consisted of jarls (nobles), karls (middle class freemen), and thralls (slaves).

Viking social classes Learn how the classes worked together and how a Viking could up and down in social status.
Viking social classes in Iceland Learn how society differed abroad from Scandinavia.
Gender and age in Viking society Learn the roles of men, women, and children in Viking villages

Viking warriors Learn what it took to be a warrior, what a beserker was, and the role women played in war

Futhark Learn about the runic alphabet of the Vikings

Viking Mythology

Vikings believed in a pantheon of Gods led by Odin. The pantheon included Thor and Loki of Avengers fame.

Norse mythology Read an overview of Norse mythology along with a brief history of Vikings.
Norse mythology dictionary Learn about Norse mythology with an A to Z listing.
The Nine Worlds A more in-depth look at the worlds of Norse mythology.

Viking Ships

Viking ships were the fastest and sturdiest of the era. The Norse skill in shipbuilding helped enable the exploration and settlement of other lands

Types of Viking ships:

Faering
Knarr
Longship
Karve

Viking ships Learn the different types of Viking ships and how they were used.
Vikings at sea Learn more about sailing and ships in the Viking Age.
Navigating the open seas Learn how the Vikings knew where they were going and how to get home.

Viking Vocabulary

Althing Yearly meeting of all Viking tribes to discuss laws and solve disputes
Beserker Warrior who wore a bearskin cloak or shirt and worked himself into a frenzy before battle
Brooch A decorative piece of metal used to hold a Viking’s cloak closed. The more ornate the brooch, the richer and more important the Viking.
Burial Ship Used for the wealthiest Vikings, these ships were filled with the belongings of the deceased and set ablaze or buried under mounds of earth or in underground chambers
Fjord A long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs found along the shores of some Scandinavian countries
Flax Cloth made from the stalks of the flax flower
Futhark The runic alphabet of the Vikings
Jarl A Viking Noble
Karl A middle class, free Viking
Keel The lengthwise timber structure along the base of a ship that supports the framework of the vessel and sometimes extends downward to increase stability
Loom A machine that weaves yarn or thread into cloth
Lyre A string instrument resembling a small, u-shaped harp
Norseman Northman
Pantheon A religion that believes in a group of gods/more than one god
Prow The portion of the front of the ship that is above water
Runes Letters of an ancient Germanic alphabet
Stern The rearmost part of a ship or boat
Strake A continuous line of planking from the stem to the stern of the ship
Thing Local assemblies where all freemen could file complaints and voice opinions
Thrall A Viking slave

Famous Vikings

Erik the Red Viking explorer who discovered Greenland
Leif the Lucky Son of Erik the Red
Harald Bluetooth Viking king of Denmark (also namesake of Bluetooth technology)
Olaf Tryggvason Viking king of Norway
Sweyn Forkbeard Declared King of all England in 1013
Gunnar Hamundarson Icelandic chieftain

Also, we love the hands-on ideas for studying history over at Home School in the Woods. They cover Vikings in their middle ages lapbook.

Recommended Books

Eyewitness Books Viking stuffed full of information and real photos
National Geographic Kids Everything Viking Short, interesting facts and large, colorful illustrations
Make This Viking Settlement by Iain Ashman Just add scissors and glue and create your own cardboard model
Who Were the Vikings? by James Chisholm and Stuan Reid Detailed drawings and answers to kids’ most pressing questions (like what kind of toilets Vikings used)
The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland A collection of the stories from Norse Mythology
Focus on Vikings by Anita Ganeri Includes history, information, and cool art projectsAlso you’ll love these other unit studies and lapbook:

Hands-on Ancient Phoenicia: Alphabet Clay Tablet Craft

September 24, 2018 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Written by Leah from As We Walk Along the Road

The study of ancient civilizations is one of the most interesting parts of history to me. I’ve enjoyed teaching about ancient civilizations and their contributions that have led to some of the great inventions and resources that we still use today.

In this lesson, kids can learn about the ancient Phoenicians and the alphabet that they developed as well as creating their own clay tablet with Phoenician writing.

About the Phoenicians

Phoenicia was actually a group of city-states. It was established in the area that we now know as Syria, Lebanon, and northern Israel. These city states began forming around 3200 BC and around 1500 BC, Two of it’s most well-known city states were Tyre and Sidon. In Scripture, Phoenicia is the area known as Canaan.

The Phoenicians were an ocean people. Phoenicia was a very popular place for trading and manufacturing. They worshiped many gods and goddesses. One was their god of the sea- Yamm, and they put horses heads on their mighty ships to honor him. They were known for the manufacturing of the powerful ships, for glass-making, and for the making of their famous purple dye. The name Phoenicia comes from the Greek word for purple. In fact, they were sometimes called the “purple people” because the dye they made would stain their skin purple.

The famous historian Herodotus gives Phoenicia the credit for the invention of the alphabet. They supposedly brought the alphabet to Greece sometime before the 8th century BC. Most of the western languages that we know today came from the Phoenician alphabet. And the Phoenician city of Byblos where papyrus was manufactured and traded gave the Bible its name- through the Greek words Ta Biblia, “the books”.

The Phoenician Alphabet

The Phoenician alphabet that was later passed on to other countries and cultures developed around the 15th century BC. Before that, the Phoenicians used a form of cuneiform writing. The alphabet spread so rapidly and to so many places because the Phoenicians were such avid traders and sailed around trading with many different peoples. Most of the writings that have been discovered from the Phoenicians have to do with trade and business.

The alphabet had twenty-two letters. It was read from right to left in diagonal lines. The shapes of the letters came from an earlier Egyptian form of hieroglyphics. Their shapes came from the meanings of the symbols. For example, the first letter- aleph– means ox. And it’s shape looks a little like the head of an ox.

All of the letters in the Phoenician alphabet are consonants. The vowel sounds were added in when the language was spoken. The Phoenician alphabet was different from other systems of writing that came before because instead of having a symbol to represent every word, the symbols actually represented letters that were put together to make words. Occasionally- but not always- the Phoenicians put a straight line in between words to separate them.

This is what the Phoenician alphabet looked like.

Clay Tablet With Phoenician Writing

Although the Phoenicians often wrote on papyrus, they also occasionally wrote on stone tablets or gold panels and later on parchment and wax tablets. When they wrote in clay, they used a stylus to inscribe the letters into the clay. In our activity, we’re going to use clay to write on and a wooden dowel as our stylus. So we’ll create a clay tablet with Phoenician writing.

Materials Needed:

Clay- You can use a variety of clay types, but you want a clay that is going to dry and maintain its shape- not just crumble like playdough. Modeling clay works well or a homemade clay that will dry out well without crumbling.
Wooden dowel or toothpick to write with
Phoenician alphabet chart- Download printable chart here.

Procedure:

Roll out your clay and shape it into a rectangle- or as close as you can get. We tried for a rectangle because we wanted our clay tablets to look “authentic.”

Use your wooden dowel or toothpick to copy the letter shapes from the chart onto your clay. You can also use the tip of a broken pencil. (We like to adapt and use what we have.)

Remember that this alphabet only contains consonants, so you won’t use the vowels of your name.

See what other words you can write using the alphabet. Because there are no vowels used, you can write words and see if others can decipher what you’ve written. Although this alphabet is supposed to be read diagonally from right to left, we used the traditional straight across left to write because it was easier.

Also, I wanted to let you know about this. If you’re looking for more hands-on history, we love using Home School in the Woods.

Once you’ve written the name or message you want to keep, let your clay tablet harden over night. If you use a colorless flour-based clay, you could paint your tablets as well. I use an all-natural dough that comes in earthy colors, so we didn’t paint ours.

Most historians agree that the most important legacy that the Phoenicians left behind was their alphabet. It’s been changed and added to, but it is the basis for the alphabet that we still use today.

Hands-on Ancient Phoenicia: Alphabet Clay Tablet Craft. Your kids will love this easy hands-on history craft if you’re looking to study the Ancient Phoenicians. CLICK HERE!

You’ll love these other activities:

Amazing Hands-on History Activities for 14 Ancient Empires (free notebook cover too)

July 18, 2018 | 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I was given this product for free. ALL opinions are my own and I will always tell you what is on my mind. When I do accept a product it’s because I’m giddy to tell you about it. Read my full disclosure here. Now on to the fun stuff!

Hands-on History Activities Ancient Empires

Over the years I have shared my passion for hands-on history activities which breathes life into lifeless events of the past. So when planning our year end history co-op, I decided to use the Great Empires Activity Study, which is an activity study by Home School in the Woods. I have to say a fair amount of swooning was involved because of the scope of empires that the Great Empires Activity Study covers. Your kids will love these hands-on history activities for 14 Ancient Empires.Great Empires Activity Study by Home School in the Woods covers fourteen empires:

Ancient China
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Greece
Ancient Rome
Arab-Muslims,
English Empire
French Empire
German Empire
Japanese Empire
Mongols
Russian Empire
Spanish Empire
United States and
Viking.

Not wanting to make a choice using the eeeny, meeny, miny and moe method between any of these swoon worthy civilizations for our history loving co-op, I decided to cover a little about each of these empires through hands-on projects.

Organizing and assigning hands-on projects for our Great Empires co-op was easy and enjoyable because of how the information is laid out. After reviewing the download of the material I received, I noticed the files are organized by master, texts and projects. The projects page for each empire, I found extremely useful in wading through all of the excellent material.

The project page is like your weekly lesson plan at a glance page and the master is your lesson plan for the day. The master pages include a helpful teacher’s key reference, which is a map marked with key areas, boundaries and other helpful features for each region covered by that empire.

Glancing at the project page, we could select all the hands-on activities that we wanted to do and find them among the 107 master pages.

Too, background information on each empire is vital in covering the topics like we did because we wanted to savor a morsel of each empire. The text pages for each empire are 2-3 pages. However, one gem about the text pages is that they cover the empire at its height.

Non-history loving folks don’t like history because they can get caught up in a quagmire of details that can drain the life out of a history lesson. Unsure of which invention, event or key point to highlight, a budding history buff may come away more confused.

However, the text pages by Home School in the Woods shaves off non-essential details for the elementary age child but builds appreciation by covering key events that are significant for each civilization.If you are a give-me-the-facts-only type of person, you will enjoy reading about each empire in the condensed text because you won’t come away feeling overwhelmed. Beyond covering key events for each empire or covering significant inventions, the text unifies the past to the present. Your child comes away with a better understanding of the impact previous civilizations made in today’s world. Keeping it simple without being boring makes the text a nifty feature.

However, if you already have a basic framework of history knowledge and want to explore beyond that foundation, you will enjoy the additional reading suggestions in each projects page and the extensive links found in the text which directs you to a website page at Home School in the Woods. Easily, you could spend a week on each empire.

Because the Great Empires Activity Study is about exploring, discovering and hands-on learning, you will find plenty of activities for each empire from making scones when learning about the English empire to making an Egyptian cartouche. Activities vary with each empire from learning about history through cooking, painting pottery like the Greeks and printing minibooks about famous people to Japanese kiragami.

Hands-on History Projects

You will not find cheesy analogies of history clip art in this product. All of the clipart, projects and pictures have amazing detail. If you are a non-artsy person you will enjoy assembling the easy to do projects because a lot of them are printable. You decide if you want to color or not.Here is what I find most appealing about this product:

The scope of empires covered. If you have been lagging behind in covering history topics or are trying to follow the 4 year cycle used by a lot of homeschoolers and it is going slower than you would like to, using Great Empires Activity Study would be a useful tool if you want a bird’s-eye view.

It can be used as a stand-alone history curriculum because you have the option with additional reading material listed in the projects pages and links provided by Home School in the Woods to extend each empire. With the abundance of reading recommendations and because we love history, I personally would take two weeks to cover each empire if I were using this as a stand-alone curriculum. Doing one hands-on activity per week would not be overly time consuming and you could easily end up with a year’s worth of history. What a bargain for the price and you are using it for all of your children.

If you are using a history text and would like the flexibility of adding in an activity to enrich your reading, then Great Empires Activity Studywould be a nice fit.

Great Empires Activity Study allowed a lot of room for flexibility in our co-op setting because it allowed each family to focus on the topic that interested them.

History clip art matters to me because pictures are important in history. The fine detail and high quality pictures can be used for a timeline, history notebook or to add to a lapbook.

Many of the creative activities can be printed and do not involve a lot of teacher supervision or tons of crafty artsy items on hand to do them.

The constant in all the empires is the beautiful teacher’s key map. Providing a key map for each empire is like having a mini geography curriculum as a bonus.

I feel that persons can vary tremendously on what each one thinks is a disadvantage in a product. I prefer using the word considerations because it gives you pause for thought to see if your circumstances fit that product.

Considerations for this product would be:

There is not a lesson planning guide or checklist for each day’s activities. For some homeschoolers that may feel like freedom to explore and breathe but for others having a to-do checklist each day may feel a bit more secure.

Some of these activities are ones that history lovers may have already done if they have been homeschooling for a while or find them easy, but again the product is aimed at the elementary aged child.

Download Free Notebook Cover here.

You know I have to organize most products I get and this one was no different. I have created a printable for you to use as cover page for your binder when covering these empires.Home School in the Woods is an excellent example of showing how history does not have to involve a textbook or always acquiring random uninteresting facts.

With background information on each past civilization and several creative activities to choose from on each empire, you will not be disappointed with Great Empires Activity Study.

Whether you are studying about the legends of Crete or are exploring the adventures of Captain John Smith, adding in hands-on history along with a huge dose of field trips and a history co-op or two is a sure way to making learning about the past meaningful.

You’ll also love these other helpful posts with activities:

Hugs and love ya,

History Resources

Hands-on Ancient Babylon: Hanging Gardens Fun Activity

Hands-on Ancient Babylon Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Hanging Gardens of Babylon Hands-on History

Hands-on History: Ancient Civilizations

STEM and Geography: How to Build an Ancient Viking Ship

Hands-On Viking Unit: Geography

Hands On Viking Unit: STEM

Hands-On Viking Unit: STEM and Geography

The BEST Viking Unit Study for Homeschooled Kids

Ancient Vikings Unit Study

Ancient Civilizations

Viking lands

Viking Society

Viking Mythology

Viking Ships

Viking Vocabulary

Famous Vikings

Recommended Books

Hands-on Ancient Phoenicia: Alphabet Clay Tablet Craft

About the Phoenicians

The Phoenician Alphabet