Marble Roman artwork of children playing ball games
{photo by Marie-Lan Nguyen on Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0}
Once again we want to offer some options for enriching your home learning environment and inspiring your kids to go deeper as we study Ancient Rome – but without feeling like you’re adding more school work.
Below are a few ideas for toys, games, puzzles, special books, and other fun activities that relate to this time period, so you can encourage your kids to explore and play. Fun items like these can entice your kids and feed their love of learning!
(If you follow our Facebook page, you’ll see that we post more suggestions like these from time to time…)
We'll start with a few recommended books that we carry in our school store – here are some for high school students and adults:
- Imperium by Robert Harris – a historical novel about the Roman Senator Cicero
- Lavinia by Ursula Le Guin – a fictional story of Vergil's Aeneid as told from the perspective of his wife, Lavinia
- Quo Vadis by Henryk Sinkiewicz – this novel about Rome and early Christianity won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905
- The Just City by Jo Walton (first in a trilogy) – a fantasy/science fiction twist on Plato's Republic involving several figures from Greek and Roman antiquity
And here are a few novels for kids that we have in the library:
- The Roman Mysteries by Caroline Lawrence (Int-UMS)
- The Ancient Ocean Blues and The Roman Conspiracy by Jack Mitchell (LMS-UMS)
- Gladiator by Simon Scarrow (LMS-UMS)
Plus we carry lots of nonfiction books about Ancient Rome in the library, too!
Games/Toys/Kits:
- Nanoblock Colosseum Building Kit
- SuperToob: Ancient Rome (this might be available somewhere else for a better price)
- Action Figure Playset – Roman Gladiator
- Plastic Toy Soldiers Roman Infantry and Auxiliary Painted Figure Set
- Julius Caesar Finger Puppet and Refrigerator Magnet
- Ancient Roman Colosseum Beach Sand Toy Set
- PLAYMOBIL Caesar and Cleopatra
- FloraCraft Styrofoam Kits, Make It Fun: Project Bricks
- Roman Coliseum Wooden Architectural Building Blocks
- Rome: City of Marble – a board game for ages 10 and up
- Rome: Rise to Power – a board game for ages 13 and up
Here are instructions for playing a few Ancient Roman games: knucklebones, roman ball, and dice.
Puzzles:
- 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle for Adults – Rome City View
- Roman Amphitheatre Jigsaw Puzzle, 1000-Piece
- The Romans Jigsaw Puzzle (1000 Piece)
- Colosseum Jigsaw Puzzle (1000 Piece)
- The Coliseum, Rome 1500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle
- 3D Puzzle – Colosseum Rome Miniature Architecture, 38 pieces
- Roman Colosseum 3D Puzzle with Book
- 4D Cityscape Inc 4D National Geographic Ancient Rome Puzzle
Activity Books and Fun Books (you can also search for some of these at your local library):
- DK Eyewitness Books: Ancient Rome
- DK findout! Ancient Rome
- See Inside Ancient Rome (Usborne Flap Book)
- Where Is the Colosseum?
- Ancient Rome and Pompeii: A Nonfiction Companion to Magic Tree House
- Roman Diary: The Journal of Iliona, A Young Slave
- The Romans: Gods, Emperors, and Dormice
- What Happened to Pompeii? Ancient Rome History for Kids
- History News: The Roman News
- Tools of the Ancient Romans: A Kid's Guide to the History & Science of Life in Ancient Rome
- The Thrifty Guide to Ancient Rome
- Ancient Rome (Curious Kids Guides)
- Pocket Genius: Ancient Rome
- Ancient Rome (Little and Large Sticker Activity Books)
- Ultimate Sticker Book: Ancient Rome
- Romans Sticker Book
- Life in Ancient Rome (Dover History Coloring Book)
- Greek and Roman Fashions (Dover Fashion Coloring Book)
- Explore Ancient Rome!: 25 Great Projects, Activities, Experiments
- Spend the Day in Ancient Rome: Projects and Activities that Bring the Past to Life
Here’s a website with t-shirts, stickers, posters, and other gifts relating to Ancient Rome. And here are more Ancient Rome gift ideas on Etsy.
And finally, enjoy this fun article about toys and games from Ancient times: These Ancient Toys Prove That Times Haven’t Changed That Much
