{photo by Kannan Kartha on flickr / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0}
Who’s ready for a contest??? Before we dive in to this week’s mix-ins, Down Home wants to give away a Coffee Card from the school store, and we invite all SLOCA families to enter to win! One lucky winner can look forward to several cups of delicious freshly brewed coffee to warm them on cold winter mornings. Keep it all for yourself, or treat a friend or two to a morning coffee chat after drop off.
Here are the details: With the holiday season merrily underway, we’d love to hear about different holiday traditions that our SLOCA families participate in. Which winter holiday(s) do you observe in your family? Do you continue any of the traditions you grew up with? Were you raised in another country or culture, and have you carried over any traditions from that culture? We come from a variety of backgrounds, and this is a fun way to get to know our SLOCA community a little better – we invite you to join in! Submit a response to be entered into the drawing.
It’s easy – click here to enter!
We will gather the responses and share them in a blog post over the break, so you’ll get to learn about some of the traditions held by SLOCA families.
The deadline to enter is THIS Friday, December 15th. Thanks for sharing, and good luck!
By participating, you will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a Coffee Card from the SLOCA store. This drawing is open to all current SLOCA parents and ends Friday, December 15, 2017, at 11:59 pm. Your name must be included in the email to be entered into the drawing. The winner will be chosen randomly and will be announced on the blog on December 20, 2017. The winner can pick up their coffee card when we return to school in January. Questions? Email Down Home.
On to our mix-ins. We are having fun with Greek myths at every level, and today we’ll provide several supplemental links to enrich your home learning days if you choose to use them. There are SO many videos about the Greek gods and goddesses, but here’s a good place to start. While the myths are the focus for this week, we will continue to explore other facets of ancient Greek life in the weeks to come.
As always, we do our best to choose kid-friendly videos and links, but please preview these or watch alongside your kids to be sure you approve:
VIDEOS:
Greek Mythology Digital Story – Here’s a crash course on the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus (SLOCA kids will pretty much know all this from our readings…):
Here are a few greek myth videos from TED-Ed:
The Myth of Prometheus:
The myth of Icarus and Daedalus:
The myth of Cupid and Psyche:
Match and Learn the Greek Gods – This video is really a preview of their app (which you can find for Apple devices here), but young kids might enjoy it, and they will learn about several of the Greek gods and goddesses:
Can I Learn about Greek Mythology at the Met? – A cute video of a 9-year-old girl talking about the Greek deities at a museum:
How to Draw a Greek God – A nice video tutorial:
History Channel – Clash of the Gods – There are 10 episodes in this documentary series (you can find them all on YouTube if you have the time and interest). These may be geared more toward older kids and adults:
Parthenon (Acropolis) – From Khan Academy:
Delphi, Greece: Spectacular Ancient Site – Learn about the Oracle at Delphi:
WEBSITES:
D’Aulaire chart of Greek Gods – If you don’t have the book, here’s a photo of their “family tree” illustration of the Greek gods and goddesses.
Odyssey Online – A very full site with lots to explore! Skip the intro if you wish. Click on the “Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes” section for this week, or the “Death & Burial” section to learn Ancient Greek beliefs about death and the underworld. But feel free to look around at everything else here.
Ancient Greece – A comprehensive website from the British Museum. Click on categories on the left to find “Story,” Explore,” and “Challenge” sections for each topic. Click here to go straight to the Greek gods and goddesses – try the Gods and Goddesses symbol game.
Archaeological Site of Delphi – A photo gallery
Death, Burial, and the Afterlife in Ancient Greece – See artifacts associated with Ancient Greek death and funeral customs. Click on the main picture to view the gallery. Then click on individual photos to learn more about each one.
Ancient Greeks: Gods and Heroes – From BBC, here’s a site for kids with photos, activities, and fun facts.
Greek Heroes – If your kids can’t get enough of the Greek myth stories, here are a few more.
The Labors of Hercules (Herakles) on Greek Pots – See pictures and click on each to learn more about his 12 tasks.
Poison for Good… Poison for Evil – Watch two stories animated as vase paintings, showing how poisons were used in two Greek myths. (This is pretty cool, actually.)
Greek Religion and the Gods – Click on each picture to read about them.
Which Greek God are You? – A quiz from National Geographic Kids
Greek Myth words today – Find out about how the names of Greek heroes are used in our language.
A List of the Roman names for Greek Gods
Max on Mount Olympus – A comic strip featuring a time-traveling mouse, from National Geographic Kids
Greek Gods and Heroes coloring pages
Greek Gods and Goddesses printable crossword puzzle
Myths Brainstorming Machine – Write your own myth with this interactive site.
