Vikings on stage and screen often appear in horned helmets, but Vikings of olde did not wear horns. The people known as Vikings came from three Scandinavian countries: Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The word Viking means "a pirate raid" in the Old Norse language and was originally used as a verb, i.e., "going viking" (going raiding). During the Viking Age, AD 700 to 1100, many Vikings left Scandinavia to go raiding or to settle in new lands.
A Virtual Tour of Children's Websites About Vikings
At the BBC's Primary History Vikings website, children can get to know the Vikings by reading about their lives at home and at sea. The website answers questions about Viking family life, towns and settlements, and beliefs and stories, as well as what happened to the Vikings. Children can "Dig up the Past" in a game about Vikings and parents and educators can visit the Teacher's Resources section to access worksheets, activities, quizzes, photos, videos, and more.
The Smithsonian Museum's website, Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga, begins with an animated introduction to the time 1,000 years ago when Vikings left a colony in Greenland to become the first Europeans to discover North America, which they called Vinland the Good and where they made a settlement known as L'Anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland, Canada.
From the main N. Atlantic Saga page, kids can go to "The Viking Voyage" section where they will find a video introduction, an interactive map, a guided tour, and links to information in the categories of archeology, saga, history, environment, and genetics.
The Viking Route to the Americas
In "The Vikings in Newfoundland," Florence Cardinal gives an overview and timeline of the history of the Viking arrival and settlement in North America. She states that the Vikings, led by Leif Erikson (also known as Leif the Lucky), who settled in Newfoundland most likely originated in Norway. The first indigenous people the Vikings encountered were probably the Beothuk Inuits, whom the Vikings called "Skraelings."
In "The Viking-Maya Connection," Vickie Britton asks "Did the Vikings ever sail to Latin America?" She begins with the legend of Quetzalcoatl, sometimes described as a "magic raft of serpents," and moves on to murals of a red-bearded man and armored warriors appearing in murals around Latin America.
The Vikings traveled around the world, encountered many peoples, and settled in many places. Children who know something of Viking travels may enjoy learning more about the settled life and culture of the Scandinavian peoples known as Vikings. New discoveries await for those who keep searching.
Related: Travel further back in time to prehistory in An Online Learning Adventure About Dinosaurs.
Sara McGrath - Sara is a veteran homeschool mom of three, Usborne consultant, and the author of Unschooling: A Lifestyle of Learning.
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