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THE COLOSSEUM
Welcome to our “Wonders of the World Week” an at home week filled with days of relaxed learning and fun activities all themed to a few of the new wonders of the world! Part history, part cultural studies, this week was definitely a thrilling, whirlwind adventure as we “traveled” to a different Wonder each day, learning a bit about the man-made construction, time period, and culture of each magnificent structure.
Our next wonder that we turned to was the Colosseum! We learned about where the Colosseum is, why it was constructed, what events took place within it, how it was built, and more! Read on to check out a fun filled day of learning, reading, crafts, and activities all the amazing Colosseum!
A TYPICAL DAY
All kids are different and you can definitely vary your day with whatever works for you 🙂 Our relaxed & learning fun day kicks off with an introduction to the day’s theme. Then, we move onto videos and themed activities (reading, writing – or story telling – time, crafts, food crafts/snacks, and games or experiments). Feel free to pick and choose whatever works for you 🙂
INTRO
The Colosseum is a massive, grand structure built in Ancient Rome, offering thousands of Romans a chance to witness marvelous spectacles and entertainment! It is a mathematical wonder, an architectural feat, and still stands today!
We started off by asking the little ones what they knew about the Colosseum, and what they wanted to learn. Then we revisited their list toward the end of the day to compare 🙂
If you’re looking for some more quick facts, check out these great sites:
- Colosseum by Britannica Kids
- 10 Facts About the Colosseum by National Geographic Kids
- Ancient Rome The Colosseum by Ducksters
WHAT TO WATCH
We find that mixing in a short video themed to our day is a great way to add some learning fun! We try to pick informative videos OR mix in a cartoon favorite (where they don’t even realize they’re learning). Below are some of the videos we picked from for the day:
- History of the Roman Colosseum for Kids: All About the Colosseum for Children – FreeSchool by Free School (5m)
- Colosseum History, Facts and Secrets – Fun Facts for Kids by MocomiKids (2m)
- How the Roman Colosseum Was Built by Weird History (11m)
- The Genius Construction Of Ancient Rome’s Colosseum | Colosseum | Timelin by Timeline – World History Documentaries (44m)
FOOD CRAFTS / SNACKS
What’s more fun than taking a break and having a simple snack??? Including the snack in your theme of the day! We find that our kiddos are more than happy to eat the snacks they create especially when they can arrange them into fun shapes and scenes!
Since the Colosseum was a venue for entertainment, it was only natural for us to wonder what the people in the audience snacked on during the shows – was it anything like the popcorn, nachos, or candy you can find in modern venues?? After a quick search, we found out that they snacked on olives, fruits, meats, and maybe even pizza?
Check out these articles for the full read (Note: the articles do also touch on other finds that archeologists discovered (animal bones, so younger/sensitive kids may not want to read through the entire article).
- Here’s What Ancient Romans Ate While Watching Shows at the Colosseum by Popular Mechanics
- Spectators at Rome’s Colosseum ate olives, fruit and nuts while watching gladiators fight to the death, archaeologists find after discovering 1,900-year-old food fragments by Daily Mail
READING
It’s no secret that reading is an important part of learning, which is why we pick out a handful of books that are fun and filled with some learning tidbits. For our older ones, we have them fill out some worksheets (or let them create some of their own comics) to describe what they read and/or learned! These are a few we picked from for the day:
- Where Is the Colosseum? by Jim O’Connor
- Mission Rome: A Scavenger Hunt Adventure (Travel Guide For Kids) by Catherine Aragon
- National Geographic: Rome, Italy. The puzzle kit came with a book with lots of pictures! It was nice to flip through 🙂
WRITING & WRITING PROMPTS
Just like reading, writing is a great way to keep kids learning by both encouraging their creativity and thought process as well as helping them practice their motor skills and penmanship.
If you’ve got a little one, have them trace words related to the theme: HISTORY, WONDERS, ITALY, COLOSSEUM
If you’ve got older children, have them write a sentence or two up to a page or two (depending on their age). Encourage them to be creative AND give reasons for why they made certain choices. This was our writing prompt of the day (and we offered up some examples as well) but definitely pick something your kiddo might be interested in writing about!
- The colosseum was built to entertain the people. What event would you have liked to have seen if you lived in Ancient Rome?
- Write a short story about being trapped within the Colosseum and are trying to escape. What time period is your story set in? Why are you trying to escape? What troubles would you find along the way?
CREATE & CRAFT
If you’ve got a crafty little one, a simple craft is a great way to keep them interested in the topic. While their creative juices are flowing, you can also chat about what they’ve learned so far or ask them what else they’re excited about learning!
For our crafts of the day, we gave them a few options that would help them enhance their pretend play or add in some of what they learned.
- The Colosseum by Super Coloring
- Dioramas with the Colosseum from the World Landmarks Toob
STEM & STEAM ACTIVITIES
While crafting and writing get their creativity and imagination flowing, we also like to add in an activity that gets them thinking along the lines of science, technology, engineering, or math! These engaging activities or experiments are a great way to keep them learning!
- CubicFun National Geographic 3D Puzzle for Adults Kids Rome Colosseum (Note: this one was a bit more complex than the puzzle from the Great Wall. Younger children may need some help)
- Lesson: Build the Roman Colosseum by education world
THANK YOU
Thank you for checking out our at home learning fun article! If you enjoyed this post, please let us know what you think in the comments below and/or follow us on Pinterest
Also, if you haven’t already, check out some of our other History Weeks as well as our DIY At Home Camps!
Happy Learning!
