Epic Heroes & Heroines of the Middle Ages

 

Hands-on homeschooling does not have to be intimidating. It all comes down to a mindset shift. Redefining education. What I have seen with homeschoolers, and what I am guilty of myself is trying to do too much. By attempting to do traditional schooling *plus* the extras. What if the extras could actually count as school? What if the hands-on experiences around the kitchen table or on the living room floor are where the learning truly happens? This week, my kids have learned about the parts of a cell through notebook journaling, how to read through a Green Eggs and Ham unit study, and about the Middle Ages with paper dolls. Yes, paper dolls! A more acurate term would be articulated paper dolls, but yes, children can and do learn through play. 

Epic Heroes & Heroines of the Middle Ages: Articulated Paper Dolls to Cut, Color, and Assemble was added to our homeschool as an supplement to our Medieval studies, but this resource could easily be a stand alone unit. In addition to the paper dolls, other content is included to make this a complete unit study. 

How We Used the Book

Since we are already in the middle of studying this time period, my children are already familiar with some of the heroes in this book. I allowed my three homeschoolers to flip through the paper doll patterns and pick one that they would want to create. They could chose from the following: 

Mulan

Beowulf

King Arthur

Queen Guinevere

Rostam

Robin Hood

Maid Marian

Don Quixote

Scheherazade

Sinbad the Sailor

Ivanhoe

They could chose to cut out an image of their character in color or black and white if they wanted to color the image themselves. My kids all chose a stunning full-colored page. All we needed to  complete the project was a container of brads and scissors. As they cut and assembled their paper dolls, I read the write-up in the book about their character. Each write-up is about two or three paragraphs. Once their character was created and we read about him/her, they were able to play with their new creation.  

Additionally, suggestions for read-alouds, audiobooks, and books for independent readers are included in a resource section for further study. Reading the write-up as they were creating their paper dolls opened up discussion and conversation in a casual way, making education interactive, fun, and a memorable family experience. 

Disclaimer: Many thanks to Timberdoodle for providing the above resource in exchange for an honest review. 

All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.