Days of Knights and Damsels: An Activity Guide (A Kid's Guide series) [Paperback]

Laurie Carlson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1998 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up | Series: A Kid's Guide series

Kids can re-create a long-ago world of kings, castles, jousts, jesters, damsels, magic fairies, and Robin Hood—all they need are their imaginations, materials they can find at home, and the activities in this book. Dressing up in a coat of armor made from plastic milk jugs, whipping up a batch of curds and whey, writing secret messages in invisible ink, and telling time with a sand glass made from soda bottles are just some of the fun projects. Every activity is illustrated, and sidebars highlight colorful facts about life hundreds of years ago.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[A] jump-start to creative interpretation of life in the Middle Ages and a helpful augmentation to elementary school medieval studies."  —Children’s Literature

About the Author

Laurie Carlson is the author of Colonial Kids, Westward Ho!, More Than Moccasins, Green Thumbs, and Kids Camp! She has taught preschool, primary grades, and children’s art classes.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press (March 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556522916
• ISBN-13: 978-1556522918
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 11 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #144,342 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #29 in Books > Children's Books > History > Medieval

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hands On ways for Kids to Re-Live the Middle Ages, August 17, 2001

By 

Charles Flemming (Fort Worth) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Days of Knights and Damsels: An Activity Guide (A Kid's Guide series) (Paperback)

We're a homeschooling family who've just finished up studying the Middle Ages. We're always looking for resources, just like this one, that let the kids make things and pretend. To get a real taste (literally!) of the way things were a thousand years ago.

The thing my wife and I like about Knights and Damsels, is that the kids can take charge of their own projects with only a little supervision from Mom & Dad. What a timesaver for homeschool parents.

Also, although there are some obvious compromises in costume-making and food preparation, there's still enough there to give our kids the "look and feel" of more primitive times, from making butter from scratch, to various costumes, to games kids (and grownups) played in medieval times. I bet they remember more, too, as their studies continue and they get older. And when they have an opportunity to dig deeper into this era academically, I'm betting they'll be pretty motivated.

If you want your kids to be excited about history, this hands-on, low maintenance book may be your answer.

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Huzzah (Hooray) for this excellent medieval activities guide, April 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Days of Knights and Damsels: An Activity Guide (A Kid's Guide series) (Paperback)

Our outreach education company does interactive historypresentations and medieval theme birthday parties and we areconstantly recommending this book to both educators and parents alike.We suggest it as a primer for activities and decorations to go along with our presentations. Simple yet fun, this book lays out, in easy to follow steps, how to design, build, and play with the suggestions provided. It includes costuming, props, games, recipes, accessories... for ages up to about 12. It is not a historical treatise (it shows how to make a mirror from cardboard and aluminum foil rather than burnished copper for example) but is a fun way to "get the feel" of the time, if a bit fanciful. This book is a delight for the harried parent or teacher. GregRobin Smith and Cymbric Early-Smith.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fun activities- not too complicated, September 3, 2009

By 

C. Rayl - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Days of Knights and Damsels: An Activity Guide (A Kid's Guide series) (Paperback)

This is a nice book to compliment The Story of the World Volume 2 or any Middle Ages history curriculum. It has simple but fun projects and provides more illustrations of projects than The Story of The World Activity Book- so you can really see what you're getting into. Great for K-5 and it includes a few projects that middle school would enjoy- baking, knitting, embroidery, sculpting. It could use a few more projects that a middle school boy would enjoy, but we've found a website for catapults to make up for that.