Knights and Castles....

[Pat in MI]

My ds would like to study knights and castles next year. Do you have any suggestions for books and activities that you have enjoyed? Any on-line sites that you really liked? Are there any already made up unit studies that you know of? Thanks so much!
Blessings,
Pat

[Pat in MI]

I should add it would be for an 11 year old. So upper grammar / early middle school level. Thanks!
Blessings,
Pat

[Philothea]

Pat, if you are travelling any time during this time of study... there is a beautiful castle in upper state NY, called Boldt castle (I believe). There is also a castle in MA, right on the coast, Hammond Castle, brought over brick by brick from Europe by an eccentric inventor. It is one of my favorite places to visit.

I'm am sure there are more places all over the US. I know you were looking for books, but seeing one in person is so much fun.

[Lorna]

Our two love http://www.bellerophonbooks.com/shopsys/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=25&cat=Medieval You can buy their books on Amazon too. Their particular favourites are Castles - to cut out & put together and Paper Soldiers of the Middle Ages, Vol. 1 (The Crusades). With the former, we had the opportunity to later visit one of the castles, King Richard the Lion Heart's Chateau Gaillard , in Normandy. With the latter, well they still make and colour these and it is six months since I gave them them. They are firm favourites. Each knight has details at the base of the dates and context.
We haven't used any other of these marvellous books but I shall certainly get some more in future.

[Karenciavo]

We are going to build a castle out of appliance boxes after it warms up here in NJ. How to build a cardboard castle. (http://www.mrmcgroovys.com/t-plans-cardboard-castle.aspx)

[Trivium Academy]

The Knights Treasure Chest

It has a castle to build, catapult, games, etc. We used a few elements for dd7's 2nd grade year but I'm saving the rest for the next cycle. I love self-contained activities!

[Chris in VA]

My two favorite resources for activities for knights and castles are two of the books found in this link--Knights and Castles (the kaleidoscope book) and Days of Knights and Damsels. They are a blast!
Amazon link to those books and more (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/103-5907753-9158230?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=knights+and+castles&x=18&y=20)

[Chris in VA]

Oops, forgot to include these links--really great info
How Castles developed (http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fs earch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dmedieval%2Btimeline%26toggle% 3D1%26cop%3Dmss%26ei%3DUTF-8%26ni%3D20%26fr%3Dyfp-t-501%26b%3D91&w=400&h=300&imgurl=www.btinternet.com%2F%7Etimeref%2Fmottea.jp g&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.btinternet.com%2F%7Etimeref% 2Fcastindx.htm&size=44kB&name=mottea.jpg&p=medieval+timeline&type=jpeg&no=99&tt=700&oid=4475f76d6b95178c&ei=UTF-8)
British Castles (http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/list-brit.php)

[Surfside Academy]

Where do you find the Knights Treasure chest?

[Laura Corin]

Castle Diary is good, if a little young. I also recommend The Sword in the Stone by TH White - it's about King Arthur but is set in the knights and castles period. The other books in the Once and Future King cycle are quite dark, but the first gives a delightful picture of castle life.

Laura

[Chris in VA]

Rainbow Resources has one.

[Lorna]

Where do you find the Knights Treasure chest?

We got ours on Amazon.

[chai]

These are some of the links I found when we studied the Middle Ages/Renaissance. I haven't been to them lately, so hopefully they are still good links.

On-Line Resources
Hyper History: great timeline of events
Hyperhistory.com
National Geographic:
Nationalgeographic.com
Thinkquest:
http:/tqjunior.thinkquest.org/4051/titlepg.htm
Fordham
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html
History for Kids
http://www.historyforkids.org/ (http://www.historyforkids.org/)
ProTeacher: lots of activities and lesson plans
http://www.proteacher.com/090074.shtml
Mr. Dowling: Links
http://www.mrdowling.com/index.html (http://www.mrdowling.com/index.html)
Shakespeare for Kids: coloring pages and activities
http://www.folger.edu/education/kids/kidshome.asp (http://www.folger.edu/education/kids/kidshome.asp)
BBC: Anglo Saxons
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/anglosaxons/index.shtml (http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/anglosaxons/index.shtml)

Ben Turner’s Robin Hood: general information
www.benturner.com/robinhood (http://www.benturner.com/robinhood)
About.com: Great links and activities
http://homeschooling.about.com/cs/medievaltimes/ (http://homeschooling.about.com/cs/medievaltimes/)
Castles for Kids: See parts of a castle, people who live there, coloring pages—awesome
http://www.castles.org/Kids_Section/Castle_Story/index.htm (http://www.castles.org/Kids_Section/Castle_Story/index.htm)
Cybrary Middle Ages: lots of good info on legends, crusades, plague, castle, etc.; Kids’ Castle—cool
http://www.cybrary.org/medieval.htm (http://www.cybrary.org/medieval.htm)
Enter the Middle Ages: Mostly text—looks at life through four different people
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/middleages/ (http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/middleages/)
Maya Adventure: by MN Science Museum—mostly pictures of sites plus some activities
http://www.sci.mus.mn.us/sln/ma/ (http://www.sci.mus.mn.us/sln/ma/)
Medieval World: very extensive site, but still in progress. Lots of artists and art.
http://www.geocities.com/MedievalWorld/ (http://www.geocities.com/MedievalWorld/)
Vikings Network Web: links and info
http://viking.no/e/index.html (http://viking.no/e/index.html)
1492: An Ongoing Voyage by Library of Congress—lots of text
http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/1492.exhibit/Intro.html (http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/1492.exhibit/Intro.html)

http://www.iwebquest.com/middleages/medievalbooks.htm (http://www.iwebquest.com/middleages/medievalbooks.htm)
Renaissance Connection: shows how the Renaissance affected the way we live today
renaissanceconnection.com?

[BritAnnia]

This has been one of my ds favourite studies.
I had him study types of castles, how they evolved, specific building materials, etc. He then made his own castle with his choice of defences. (Painted cardboard on a sturdy base)

I used this lesson plan as the foundation for his study.
http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/castle_builder/

[Pat in MI]

I just came back to check my post. Thank you so much this is great! I guess ds is going to have a wonderful study next year. Oooh, I'm off to check these things out.
Blessings,
Pat

[Lux Et Veritas Academy]

Thanks for posting Hammonds in MA - I am going to visit that!:o

[KAR120C]

I just came back to check my post. Thank you so much this is great! I guess ds is going to have a wonderful study next year. Oooh, I'm off to check these things out.
Blessings,
Pat
One quick thing to add to the list -- we have really enjoyed a board game called Knights and Castles (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/14029), which is sort of like Parcheesi, but with a medieval trivia component.

[Linda in NM]

Jack Hammond was quite a character--I'm not sure if he was involved in the Lafayette Espadrille or not, but he was part of that whole group (Isabelle Gardner, too--she of the art museum in Boston and the salons). There's a whole set of fascinating houses up along the "Gold Coast"--from Manchester-by-the-Sea (to Beverly-by-the-Depot, as Oliver Wendell Holmes replied)..

can't you tell I miss being home? I grew up in Nahant, which was the first resort colony (yes, before Newport) in the Northeast...

[mcconnellboys]

Some books we like related to this time period:

Life in the Middle Ages, The Church, Kathryn Hinds
The King Who was and Will Be: The World of King Arthur and his Knights, Keven Corssley-Holland
Charlemagne and the Early Middle Ages, Miriam Greenblatt
The Battle of Hastings, William Lace
The Tower of London, Leonard E. Fisher
The Middle Ages, Jane Shuter
Knights, Philip Steele
Castle at War, Andrew Langley (DK)
A Medieval Feast, Aliki
In the Time of Knights, Shelley Tanaka
A Samurai Castle, Fiona Macdonald
Saladin Noble Prince of Islam, Diane Stanley
Great Events that Changed the World, Brian Delf (read about the Crusades)
The Story of Britain: Magna Carta, C. Walter Hodges
Masada, Neil Waldman
Kids in the Middle Ages, Lisa Wroble
Life During the Black Death, John Dunn
Women in Medieval Times, Fiona Macdonald
The Middle Ages, Jane Shuter
A Medieval Cathedral, Fiona Macdonald
Otto of the Silver Hand, Howard Pyle
Favorite Medieval Tales, Mary Pope Osborne (used this book several times during year)
Young Arthur, Robert San Souci
Lancelot, Hudson Talbott
The King's Chessboard, David Birch
Castles in Spain: From the Alhambra, Jane Watson
Castle Diary, the Journal of Tobias Burgess, Page, Richard Platt
Till Year's Good End, a Calendar of Medieval Labors, W. Nikola-Lisa
Saint George and the Dragon, Margaret Hodges
The Reluctant Dragon, Kenneth Grahame
The Making of a Knight, Patrick O'Brien
The Samurai's Daughter, Robert D. San Souci
The Inch-High Samurai, Shiroka Samatsu
Sir Cumference and the First Round Table, Cindy Neuschwander
Three Samurai Cats, Eric Kimmel (good)
Knights of the Round Table, Gwen Gross
The Dragons are Singing Tonight, Jack Prelutsky
The Gargoyle on the Roof, Jack Prelutsky
The Braggin' Dragon, Bill Martin, Jr.
The Saracen Maid, Leon Garfield
The Legend of Robin Hood, Dami Editore
Beautiful Warrior: The Legend of the Nun's Kung Fu, Emily McCully (good!)
Bestiary: an Illuminated Alphabet of Medieval Beasts, Jonathan Hunt
The White Stag, Kate Seredy (I LOVE this book!)
Day of the Knights, Christopher Maynard
Robin Hood, Angela Bull

Regena