Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.

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.

Days of Knights and Damsels: An Activity Guide is a wonderful purchase from A Kid's Guide series, especially for home schoolers, or families who love to share educational play! There's a lot to learn with this, and the best part is that it will spark a continued interest in learning about this era for years to come.

Every one of the projects is clearly detailed, so that kids can usually work on a project with minimal adult supervision. There's also lots of historical data to highlight the era of your activity. What more can you ask?

Your family will love Days of Knights and Damsels, and I highly recommend it.

This book works great for children across a wide range of ages and interests.

Beginning with the introductory text, the book is clear and informative.

For kids who like to dress up, there are pages and pages of costuming ideas. For kids who need to move around, there are about 30 pages of games to play and toys they can make. There are cooking ideas that everyone can participate in. There are journaling ideas and paper-printing ideas.

The activities in this book are amazing and will support any level of family involvement. That's one of the main reasons we've liked this book so well -- the kids can get GREAT results on the activities with MINIMAL HELP FROM MOM.

This is a keeper.

This book helped me plan many children's activities with a medieval theme. I do medieval demonstrations for children's groups a few times annually, and am always looking for ideas. Warning to authenticity snobs: Not all the activities are authentic, such as making a crown out of plastic milk jug. But they are inexpensive and fun for the kids and get a discussion going! It is also packed with hostorical information of interest to kids and adults alike.

I've ordered a couple of these books to use in homeschooling. It is so filled with ideas and projects that will help make history come alive. I homeschool two of my grandchildren, including a 7 year old with sensory problems and mild aspergers. He learns best when the material can be related to a hands on project. This book is full of interesting things to do, from making simple costumes and performing a play to cooking curds and whey. There are directions to make period toys and games, lessons about Calligraphy and mapping.You will cover history, math, science, arts and crafts in this book and the children will enjoy doing the projects. I also purchased Laurie Carlson's Classical Kids to cover the Roman period of study this year, too. These books will supplement the history and literature we use to cover both periods.