Ye Old Student Projects to Make Ye Chuckle!
Not only during a quarantine... you can have fun and learn all of the time. Here are a few ideas to do with family, friends, and other students!
Painting by Frank Dicksee
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Complimenting Contest:
Have a Complimenting Contest at home or school. Youth can create their own compliments and then select an opponent… the more elaborate and colorful the compliment, the better. The last person to run out of compliments wins! This is fun to record (For the best formula in creating a renaissance-style compliment is to compare your subject to beautiful things. For example: “Your eyes, radiant as a thousand stars, glimmering on a crisp, clear night, make my heart flutter like the wings of a swallow.” For inspirational grammar one of the best sources is Shakespeare, with plays such as Romeo and Juliet. |
https://www.ehow.com/how_4709843_build-popsicle-stick-castle.html
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Build a Castle:
Design and build a model of a castle during Henry VIII’s reign, he built the castle of Deal, St. Mawes, Walmer, Sandown, Pendennis and rebuilt Darthmouth. However, due to the utilization of gunpowder and cannons during this period, the design of castle changed from the medieval castle. Tudor castles were circular or semicircular structures made up of several circular sections. Medieval castles, for the most part, were square or rectangular. Rounded walls gave the Tudor castles a move deflective surface against cannon fire and better field of fire for their own guns and cannons inside the castle. Tudor castles also had a lower profile (less of a target for cannon fire) and thick walls. Will you build your castle from clay? Wood? Popsicle sticks? |
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Greetings:
Greet one another, check customs and mannerisms of the 15th. A great resource https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10940/10940-h/10940-h.htm Examples:
https://hobbylark.com/fandoms/How-to-Talk-at-a-Renaissance-Faire |
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Historical Writing:
Write a journal entry from the point of view of a historical figure. For example a letter from Cardinal Woolsey to King Henry VIII regarding Parliaments refusal to grant him funding for a war. Or a journal entry from Joan of Arc as she entered Orleans. Draw diagrams, or pictures of those involved. Pick anyone, be creative, but make the letter deal with one specific event. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaro_Pargo
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Role Playing:
Dress up and Act out the meeting of King Philip V of Spain, and the Pirate Cosair Amaro Pargo. When he received a letter of Marque for his plundering and pirating in the Americas! 
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https://www.google.com/search?q=illuminated+letters,+images&tbm=isch&chips=q:illuminated+letters,g_1:medieval:F4XN0z5HUSg%3D&client=firefox-b-1-d&hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwjH6-mewPfoAhXBE80KHQ9jDQcQ4lYoAHoECAEQFQ&biw=1076&bih=488
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Calligraphy & Illumination:
Study different calligraphic alphabets and then try to learn one. Copy or write a paragraph (perhaps one of your favorite historical figures quotes) in your new handwriting. Look at examples of illuminated manuscripts. Create a Book mark with your own initials. |
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Coat of Arms:
Create a Coat of Arms. You can use, markers, crayons, colored pencils or paints... rough out on a scratch paper what you want and then do a fine detailed drawing and color it, with your favorite colors (colors also have meanings!) Many Coat of Arms contained lions, eagles, and mythical beasts. An excellent resource is “a Complete Guide to Heraldry” by AC Fox-Davies https://www.google.com/search?q=coat+of+arms,+images&client=firefox-b-1-d&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjS1du1wffoAhXKKM0KHXZDDMQQ_AUImwIoAQ&biw=1093&bih=488 |
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Create a Newspaper:
Although there were no newspapers in the Renaissance, create one of your own regarding your favorite Kings military activities. Look at local newspapers to see stories placements, writing style, and use of advertisements, then put your story with others stories and create your newspaper columns. Name your newspaper something fun like “Medieval Times” or The Renaissance Post” |
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Timelines:
Pick your favorite King or Queen and create a timeline of events from their life. Such as King Louis VIII of France, and find out why he was called the Lion! Son of Philip II and Isabelle of Hainault Married Blanche of Castile Was known as the Lion due to his military prowess. He had briefly been declared King of England in 1216 when the barons rebelled against King John but this had been reversed after the death of the English King. Louis only ruled France for 3 years before he died. Pick your favorite! |
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A Renaissance Christmas:
Stage a Christmas celebration from Renaissance Germany, with a Christkindlesmarkt. Popular attractions at your market include the Nativity Scene(a crèche or crib), Zwetschgenmännle (figures made of decorated dried plums), Nussknacker (carved Nutcrackers), Gebrannte Mandeln (candied, toasted almonds), traditional Christmas cookies such as Lebkuchen and Magenbrot (both forms of soft gingerbread), Bratwurst. |
http://medievalcookery.com/recipes/
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Royal Feast:
Research and create a menu for a feast. England is an island and had plenty of sheep but not many spices because of their expense! Try this fun Salad: SALLET OF LEMMONS (Lemon Salad) The Good Huswifes Jewell, Thomas Dawson, 1596 Cut out the slices of the peel of the Lemmons long Waies, a quarter of an inch one piece from an-other, and then slice the lemmon very thin, and lay in a dish Crosst, and the peels about the Lemmons, and scrape a good deale of sugar upon them, and so serve them. |
For fun facts of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages Click Here Life at the Castle Click Here Life in a Medieval Village Science & Technology in the Middle Ages Weaponry of the Middle Ages Actors and Drama Music of the Middle Ages Food & Gardens of the Middle Ages Art & Architecture of the Middle Ages Religions of the Middle Ages Clothing of the Middle Ages |
Translating Conversation:
Try to translate an ordinary 21st century conversation into Old English: Old English 21st Century Faith, Jack, where hast thou been? Wow, Jack, where have you been? Thou wast to have been up betimes! I thought you were going to get up early! Aye, even so. My good beige mare threw a shoe upon the road, naught could I do but lead her to the smithy in Strafford von Avon, some six miles off. Yeah, but I had a flat tire and no spare, I had to hike to O’Reileys! By St. Christopher, t’is ill luck! Yeah bummer! Too true, alack, Hast supped? I fear thy trenches be bare. You’re telling me, is there isn't any food left? I bet you guys ate it all. Nay, in good sooth, we kept a cold partridge wing and a tankard of cider against thou shouldst arrive. No matter of fact we saved you pizza and a Coke |
There is some evidence that, then as now, the fastest way to get a short message across was twitter: that is, birds. The idea of using pigeons as messengers, seems to be one of the many innovations that Western Europe learned from the Arabic past, particularly from their exposure to this while on crusade.
Information gathered from Danièle Cybulskie. |
Code Breaker
Break the secret message. Most people in medieval Europe were illiterate, which meant that writing a letter by themselves was next to impossible, and also that, even if they managed it, the letter’s recipient would likely have been unable to read it on his or her own. Messages, then, would have often been oral communications, carefully memorized by the messenger. Once a message was written down, it would often have been sealed with wax, using a custom seal that was associated with the sender. Often Kings sent secret codes to their allies in times of war or civil unrest. Solve the code. Each letter corresponds to a different letter of the alphabet! 1. WLVKHUDQ UVKPN HF WHNFUPNLVDP DPJHVNNHJWP AHVDP 2. XWGYC KRQX XNJPTHGC BCK WUC DJCC NRQGI PITQXXQWU KW GWXK XOPUQXR KJCPXEJC REUK DJWT KRC KQNCK WDDQNC WU GJCXCUKQUB KRQX OPBC. |
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Printable Paper Dolls
As a child I loved paper dolls and would create many different dresses for them, color them, cut them out and then dress them in many different costumes. This is a fun stay at home project. A friend sent me this link, (there are costumes for boys and girls). https://www.allfreepapercrafts.com/Paper-Dolls/Free-Printable-Medieval-Paper-Dolls?fbclid=IwAR27qu6EjMSPVJpYEqCql1DeNuQ5ABaEKKiYra45A_BhamKCnBYp_j_ju2w Color them, cut out carefully, and let the magic stories begin! |