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STONEHENGE
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 is not actually one of the official seven, but it was one of the finalists – Stonehenge! Very well known, our little ones were quite surprised that this famous structure was not actually one of the official seven wonders of the world! Since they were so interested in it, we couldn’t pass it up for the week! Read on to check out a fun filled day of learning, reading, crafts, and activities all on this amazing monument!
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
Stonehenge has captured the imaginations of so many – featured in several books and set as the backdrop to so many King Arthur and Merlin movies, our little ones were no stranger to this famous structure! But, aside from knowing generally what Stonehenge looks like, they didn’t really know too much about the history, construction, or theories on the purpose of it! So, while it’s not actually one of the seven wonders of the world, we could not pass up a day to spend learning all about it!
We started off by asking the little ones what they knew about the Stonehenge, 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:
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:
- The History of Stonehenge for Kids: Stonehenge for Children – FreeSchool by Free School (3m)
- Stonehenge For Kids | What Is It? By The Touring Teacher (6m)
- Uncovering the Ancient History of Stonehenge (Full Episode) | Lost Cities with Albert Lin by National Geographic (45m)
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!
For our snack of the day, we constructed Stonehenge – out of wafer cookies!!!
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 Stonehenge? By True Kelley. This is one of the books from the non-fiction Where Is Series. It’s a great, short chapter book for kids looking for more information!
- Forecast from Stonehenge. This is a non-fiction, choose your own adventure book, great for older kids who enjoy interacting with their books!
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, ENGLAND, STONEHENGE
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!
- If you were an alien from another planet and saw Stonehenge from high above, what would you think of it?
- Imagine you lived during the time that Stonehenge was created. What would you use to help you and your team build such a massive monument?
- Imagine Stonehenge was a portal – would you want to take it to a different time period or location? Write a short story about it!
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.
- Clay Stonehenge Models: create a clay or play doh model of stonehenge
- Coloring Pages: Stonehenge by Super Coloring
- Dioramas with the Stonehenge figurine 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!
- Heave-Ho! Stonehenge Experiment May Show How Monument Was Built by Live Science
- Building structures with wooden blocks or upcycled cardboard boxes
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!
