What a wonderland of music Austria is: the land of Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Strauss Jr, and the Von Trappe Family Singers! We had a blast learning about Austria and even went on a field trip to a Swarovski store. There is so much interesting history, from it’s height of power as the Austro-Hungarian Empire through both World War I and II.
Navigate this page: Missions, Booklists, Field Trip, Cooking, Composer Study, Folk Dance, Art Project, Art Study, Game, Movies, Videos
Free Printables
- Crayola.com’s Free printable of Austria Flag and Map
- Seterra.com’s Free printable maps of Europe
- Seterra.com’s Free online geography games for Europe: Austria is grouped in the Northern Europe Countries game.
Missions Spotlight
- Prayercast.com/Austria: Prayer Points, Summary, Quick Facts
**parents should preview the short prayercast.com video for sensitive topics that may not be age appropriate.
Top 3 Books about Austria
The following list is a sampling of my favorite books for different age groups. (These are Amazon affiliate links that do not increase your price. I may earn a few cents on qualifying purchases.)
Preschool/Kindergarten
Elementary
Late Elem
Reference Books for Austria
Easy Field Trip idea
We had watched a video about the Austrian company, Swarovski, and then happened to be at the outlets where there is a Swarovski store! We were the only people at the moment but the salesperson was so kind to the kids and led them to the case with Disney characters. I explained that we were learning about Austria and she asked the kids a little bit about it. This was right after the Lunar New Year, so there were also crystal figures of some of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. I think I must’ve said “Don’t touch anything!” about ten times, but the kids did well, even the 4-year old.
Cooking Austrian Food with Kids
The Austrian Apple Strudel was the most fun to make with the kids, and it was not that difficult! I made the Linzer cookies for Valentine’s Day, and we made the Pigs in a Blanket for President’s Day in honor of it being one of Teddy Roosevelt’s favorite foods.
Kaiserschmarren (Light and Fluffy Shredded Pancake) 
Traditional Linzer Cookies 
Viennese Pork Schnitzel and Austrian Potato Salad 
Frankfurter im Schlafrock (Pigs in a Blanket) 
Authentic Austrian Beef Goulash and Glühwein (Mulled Wine) 
Making Homemade Apple Strudel 
Super thin strudel dough 
Apple Strudel 
Apple Strudel 
Viennese Iced Coffee 
Viennese Hot Chocolate
Composer Study
Mozart is the main claim to fame for Austria and we enjoyed all the kids books about him as a child prodigy as well as mature composer. Other notable composers from Austria are Haydn, Schubert, and Strauss Jr.
We listened to the fantastic audios at Classicsforkids.com for some music history. There are also lesson plans to learn music history!
- Five shows about Mozart and the Classical Period
- Music Theory Lesson plans about Mozart’s Variations on “Ah, je dirais-vous maman” (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) for the Elementary ages
- Six shows about Haydn
- Music Theory Lesson plans about Haydn’s Symphony No 94, “Surprise Symphony” for the Elementary ages
- Five shows about Schubert
- Four shows about Strauss, Jr.
Other fun music YouTube Videos:
- Strauss, Jr’s “Blue Danube Waltz” complete with Viennese Waltzing: André Rieu – The Beautiful Blue Danube
- Haydn’s Farewell Symphony Finale with players exiting the stage
- Mozart’s opera, “Don Giovanni,” with English subtitles (almost 3 hours long)
Folk Dance
Art Project
From “Global Art,” we learned that it is customary in Austria to decorate a chair for a wedding. We tried the chair decorating project for my youngest son’s 4th birthday! He felt extra special and the other kids kept to the Mandalorian/Grogu theme of his party.
Art Study
We studied the Art Nouveau-style art of Austrian Gustav Klimt. I had my kids watch these videos and then try to draw their own “Tree of Life.” We used washable shiny paint from Michaels–so much fun!
The picture book, “Klimt and His Cat,” has a lot of beautiful, shiny, gold pictures, and also a bit of nudity, which, in my opinion, is completely unnecessary for what is clearly intended as a picture book for children.
- Educational Videos for Art: Who is Gustav Klimt?
- Color my Monday: Gustav Klimt – The Tree of Life
Games
The board game, Thurn and Taxis, includes the Austrian cities of Innsbruck, Salzburg, and Linz, so we revisited that one. I love board games that use maps! This one is a historical map, so it doesn’t specify the current-day countries. It is such a great way to get kids thinking about how countries changed throughout the course of history.
Another great overview game for Europe is Ticket to Ride: Europe.
Movies!
We have watched “The Sound of Music” so many times but it was even more enjoyable after reading the biography of Maria von Trappe. The movie incorporates so many folk elements in their clothing, the dancing, the music…. it’s fabulous. If you have an elementary-level pianist on your hands, this Level 1 Popular Book by Faber has “Do a Deer” and many other favorites.
And at the very least, here is a playlist of the songs:
YouTube Videos
- The Largest Ice cave in the World, Eisriesenwelt
- The World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions
- The Spanish Riding School of Vienna
- Rick Steves’ Europe and Geography Now! are geared towards adults and older kids; I recommend that parents pre-watch before showing to younger kids.
- Rick Steves’ Europe: Vienna
- Rick Steves’ Europe: Salzburg and Surroundings