My elementary-age kids use the classical Story of the World as our base curriculum for history, but with so many rich children’s literature options available, we often pause in the text to incorporate supplemental books and projects.
This past school year wrapped up our medieval history exploration, and as an introduction to the early Renaissance time period we dug into a biographical study of Leonardo da Vinci – known as the Father of the Renaissance.
We began with several read-alouds about Leonardo – our favorite being the historical fiction Monday with a Mad Genius, from the Magic Treehouse series.
Have you incorporated The Magic Treehouse series into your homeschooling? The series has been a go-to for our family, and my early-chapter book readers have devoured the predictability of the simple text and adventurous story lines, all while being introduced to historical events, science, and literature. The non-fiction “fact tracker” companion series makes a wonderful set of fact guides for beginning research projects or expanding further knowledge.
The Leonardo da Vinci research guide did both, and then we applied our newly-acquired knowledge by creating an interactive flipbook writing project.
How to create an interactive flip book
- Free Leonardo da Vinci Flipbook printable
- glue stick
- colored pencils/crayons/markers
Begin by printing the pages, then cut apart along dotted lines, and layer the pages in order.
Line up each page on the left side and staple together. The pages are meant to be staggered, with the top being the shortest, and the bottom the longest.
Color illustrations, if desired. We’ve been loving watercolor pencils lately.
Fill the flipbook with facts about Leonardo da Vinci’s life, art, inventions, obstacles, and more.
Paste the pictures throughout to illustrate the biography flipbook, if desired.
If this printable flip book is something you could use in your historical studies, help yourself to the free Leonardo da Vinci Flipbook printable.
What are some fun learning activities have you done when teaching history to your kids?